The region’s small farms are likely to benefit from a new project planned for the Central New York Regional Market.
Onondaga County lawmakers are expected to accept a $5 million state grant to outfit a space with equipment that will allow farms to wash, cut, freeze, and store vegetables for school meal programs. Deputy county health commissioner Rebecca Shultz says, for example, small farms that harvest carrots can get them to large customers.
“They can be washed, peeled and diced right there at the facility, quickly frozen for future use and then stored until they can be distributed to the schools that need them,” Shultz said. “Because schools need that amount of product, it's been challenging up until now because we haven't had the infrastructure for those smaller farms to access that market.”
Carrot coins are popular items in school lunches. At least nine districts say they’re interested in all local produce, and Shultz says there’s potential to bring on many more in the county and region. She says the effort has multiple advantages.
“This project is really a cross-sector benefit for our community to benefiting the agriculture, the educational sectors," she said. "There's also a component of the project that is devoted to workforce development. So, there's going to be a commercial kitchen available to help train the next generation of foodservice workers in our community as well.”
Shultz says there’s also potential expansion into other types of institutional food service operations in future years, and plans are expected by later this summer or early fall. The regional market staff also have to decide on a site for the center and where it fits with much larger revitalization plans.
