This palate education program spotlights a local, frugal produce item for each month of the school year. Posters featuring the item are displayed for the month in the halls and in the cafeterias of each of the district’s six schools. An online newsletter recaps the posters and offers recipes and growing tips.  

In partnership with Metz Culinary Management, each of the district’s cafeterias includes the spotlighted food on the lunch line on Tuesdays and on Thursdays, with globally-based recipes and flavorings. These foods make direct links to:
• curriculum, including the NJ Climate Change Education mandate;
• diverse cultures within the student population;
• the origins of the food and its pathways to the Garden State;
• current events; and,
• campus lands, each school’s Edible Gardens, and the New Jersey food shed.

The program also aims to build community of the table and increase quality of the school food offerings by everyday incorporation of these produce items.

Produce items for the remainder of the school year:
February – sweet potatoes
March – carrots
April – spinach
May – lettuce
June – peas