GAINESVILLE - The Gainesville City School System was recognized with the Golden Radish Award, a statewide farm-to-school distinction which acknowledges the leadership of school representatives in building comprehensive farm-to-school programs.
The district was recognized for its efforts to educate students on nutrition and agriculture by state School Superintendent Richard Woods, Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, state Public Health Commissioner Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, and Georgia Organics Board Chair Mandy Mahoney.
Gainesville City School System was awarded at the Honorary level for its accomplishments last school year which include:
● Schools served local strawberries in their cafeterias.
● Students maintained an edible garden with their science teacher at Enota Multiple Intelligences Academy producing rosemary, cabbage, basil, sunflowers, various lettuces, tomatoes, squash, and snap beans.
School districts across Georgia are using farm-to-school programs to teach core curriculum, support their local economies, fight obesity and other preventable, food-related diseases, and increase the amount of local food they serve to their students.
The 2015 Golden Radish Award recognizes school districts for things such as local food procurement to hosting taste tests to gardening during the 2014-15 school year.
