Students in hundreds of public schools across the state will get a taste of fresh, Maryland-grown and produced food in their lunches during the Fourth Annual Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week, September 12-16, 2011. A statewide kick-off celebration will take place in St. Mary’s County at Benjamin Banneker Elementary School on Friday, September 9, 2011, 11:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Participants will include Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, Interim State Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bernard J. Sadusky, St. Mary’s County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Michael J. Martirano, Board of Education of St. Mary’s County Chair Dr. Salvatore Raspa, and Benjamin Banneker Elementary School Principal Debra Bowling. The school is located at 27180 Point Lookout Road, Loveville, MD 20656.
Maryland’s Homegrown School Lunch Week, an element of the Jane Lawton Farm-to-School Program, was created during the 2008 session of the Maryland General Assembly when SB 158 Farm-to-School Program — Activities and Promotional Events, sponsored by Senator Jamie Raskin and Delegate Sheila Hixson of Montgomery County, was signed into law by Governor Martin O’Malley. The program is designed to teach students where their food comes from, how it is produced, and the benefits of a healthy diet. The program also expands the market for Maryland farmers. For additional information, visit www.marylandfarmtoschool.org.
