Last week, Youth & Family Services participated in the Summer Food Service Program’s Farm to School Challenge Week. The Farm to School Challenge Week offers SFSP operators, like YFS, a chance to showcase a local food and provide education about local foods at their meal sites.

On Wednesday, June 26, YFS’ Garden Education Specialist, Destiny Durham, handed out locally grown sugar snap peas during YFS’ Summer Food Program lunch service. The peas, originally grown on a local farm, were purchased from Breadroot Natural Foods Co-Op in Rapid City.

“People really enjoyed tasting the peas and they were happy to know they were locally grown,” said Durham. “At first glance many people thought they were beans and were surprised to learn they were actually peas.”

In addition to sampling the peas, children and adults learned about the different types of peas, how they grow, and why we should eat them. Recipe cards created by SDSU Extension that featured peas as an ingredient were available for families to take home.

Funding for this activity was provided by a grant from South Dakota’s Harvest of the Month program. Harvest of the Month is an adaptable program that helps get kids excited about eating fruits and vegetables. July’s harvest of the month focus will be on strawberries.

YFS is an equal opportunity provider.