Best in NJ Farm to School Award

NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRESENTS

  BEST IN NEW JERSEY FARM TO SCHOOL AWARD

Joseph F. Cappello

In September, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture presented Joseph F. Cappello School in Mercer County with the “Best in New Jersey Farm to School Award” during a visit to the school’s garden and cafeteria. The presentation took place during the celebration of the 13th annual Jersey Fresh Farm to School Week and initial Ag Literacy Week being held September 25-29.

On the big day, balloons, bright flowerbeds, and pink flamingos welcomed guests to the Joseph F. Cappello School. Student ushers waited inside to guide visitors to the garden - the heart of Capello’s Farm to School Program. Here students of all abilities have access to plant and grow food, to share outdoor space, and to learn about nutrition, food growing, and the environment. At Cappello, the school garden provides enrichment academically, and socially, and even provides fresh-grown produce for their school meals, tastings, and as donations for local organizations. Many of Cappello’s students face challenges with mealtime, needing extra assistance, and on this celebratory day, all guests experienced what it means for the students to build a relationship with food. From getting fingers into the soil and harvesting veggies, to preparing their own garden-fresh kale chips, all could feel the sense of belonging, the agency, the learning, and the joy of food that Cappello is fostering for
their students academically, in the cafeteria, in the garden, and as a community!

Students learn to pick their produce from the garden.

Students at Joseph F. Cappello School make their kale chips from freshly picked kale out of their garden.