Farm to Tray: How Public/Private Partnerships are Transforming School Lunch in Greenville County

How does a school district serving over 12 million meals a year tackle 34 food recalls and a dangerously long food supply chain? In Greenville County, the answer lies in an innovative farm-to-school program in Greenville County that connects local farms directly to student meal trays. This initiative, kickstarted by a highly competitive federal grant, is not just about providing healthier meals; it's about rebuilding a local food economy, ensuring food safety, and setting a national precedent for school nutrition. This episode explores the powerful partnership between Greenville County Schools and the Feed and Seed food hub, a unique organization on the East Coast making it all possible.

This incredible story of transformation began serendipitously during Hurricane Helene, which left a local farmer with 600 pounds of basil and nowhere to sell it. Quick thinking from Greenville County Schools and the Feed and Seed food hub turned that crisis into delicious, nut-free pesto for school lunches, planting the seed for a much larger idea. The district’s push for local food in school cafeterias is driven by a serious need for safety and quality. After experiencing 34 food recalls due to contaminants in a single year, leaders knew they had to shorten the food chain. This partnership does just that by sourcing directly from South Carolina farmers. The entire operation has been supercharged by the USDA SCALES grant, a federal award given to only nine recipients nationwide, which provides the funding to process and deliver massive quantities of local produce. Already, the program has processed tons of sweet potatoes for sweet potato mash and tens of thousands of pounds of collard greens, with projections to deliver over 160,000 pounds of just those two vegetables over the next three years. The initiative also celebrates state heritage through programs like bringing Carolina Gold Rice in schools, connecting students to South Carolina's rich agricultural history with dishes like classic chicken bog. This episode details the 15-year journey that took Greenville from a pilot program to a national leader in school nutrition.

Episode Resources:

• Learn more about Greenville County Schools Food and Nutrition Services

• Learn more about Feed and Seed

• Read about the USDA SCALES Grant

• Episode with Feed and Seed Co-Founder and Board Chair Mary Hipp

Innovative Partnerships in School Nutrition

Katy Smith: When we think about the logistics of feeding students in school, we often think about efficiency and scale, but rarely do we get to talk about farm-to-table freshness in a school cafeteria. In Greenville County, though, that's different.

Our school district was recently named one of just nine recipients in the country of a highly competitive federal grant designed to bridge the gap between local farms and student meal trays. This isn't just a win for nutrition; it's a win for our local economy.

We're in rare company because we're home to Feed and Seed, the only food hub of its kind on the East Coast, which acts as the critical link between South Carolina farmers and our schools. I'm Katy Smith with Greater Good Greenville, and on this episode of Simple Civics Greenville County, we explore this innovative partnership that is already getting tons of produce into our schools, and the students are loving it.

Joining me today are the leaders making this happen. Ron Jones is Director of Food and Nutrition Services for Greenville County Schools, the largest district in the state and the 44th largest in the nation, serving approximately 77,000 students and over 12 million meals annually.

Heidi Mills is Operations Manager for Feed and Seed. In this conversation, we'll discuss how this grant is transforming cafeteria menus, the logistical magic Feed and Seed performs to move food from the field to the fork, and why this model is keeping Greenville County on the national map for school nutrition.

Katy Smith: I am so excited to be able to talk today to Ron Jones and to Heidi Mills about a very exciting program that addresses a lot of opportunities in Greenville County in the upstate of South Carolina. Thanks to both of you for being here.

Heidi Mills: Thank you.

Ron Jones: Thank you.

The Catalyst: Local Pesto and Hurricane Helene

Katy Smith: All right. Well, there was a catalytic moment that led to what you are going to talk about today. It's something lots of us experienced in Hurricane Helene, but it revealed a really special opportunity. Ron, can you talk about that?

Ron Jones: Well, Helene tragically blew through and upset everything. The Ingles Market Distribution Center was underwater. They had purchased 600 pounds of basil from a local hydroponic farmer, Tyger River Smart Farm, and he couldn't deliver. There was no place to bring it.

So he reached out to Feed and Seed and asked, "Do you know anybody who wants to buy this?" They called us and said, "Gee, can you use 600 pounds because we're a large buyer?" We really could, but we didn't have immediate use for it and we didn't have the resources to process it.

We put together a quick recipe for a nut-free pesto to use in schools, and we called Mary Hipp at Feed and Seed and said, "Hey, can you test this recipe?" They took the basil, processed it, and sold it back to our schools. We sold it to Pickens County Schools and menued it until it was gone. Now we can't wait to get more in schools.

Katy Smith: Amazing. What were some of the recipes that you put it in?

Ron Jones: Primarily pasta dishes, two separate pasta dishes, basically rigatoni and penne. One of the items that the kids really liked that we didn't menu across the district—we did a couple of limited time offerings—were basic grilled cheese sandwiches with mozzarella, fresh tomato, and pesto. They really liked that.

Katy Smith: What is so great about the story is we have a local farmer who we want to support. We want more local agriculture happening. They were in a moment of crisis having grown this produce that wasn't able to be put to work.

We've got a school district that's doing innovative stuff, wanting to source more local product, but needing it to be kitchen ready. Then we've got Feed and Seed that is there and does this all the time. They were ready to be deployed, but needed the funds to help them do it. Why is sourcing local food important?

Shortening the Food Chain for Safety and Quality

Ron Jones: Let me give you an example. Last year in Greenville County Schools, we had 34 food recalls, and not small ones. These food recalls were based on physical contaminants that were found in the food supply.

We buy the best quality foods that we can, but what we're seeing is pretty compelling evidence that the longer the food chain is, the more opportunity there is for contamination. So we're really focusing on shortening that food chain and going as locally as we can. It makes sense for us to use local farmers. It supports our economy and our local producers. We have a much better grasp of the food chain.

Katy Smith: What Ron just described ties exactly in to what Feed and Seed was designed to do. Tell us about the role of Feed and Seed and yourself.

Heidi Mills: I'm the operations manager at Feed and Seed. I think the opportunity was really wonderful for us because we have a great partnership with Ron and Greenville County Schools.

We were allowed to truly put forth the operation that we created. We have some government certifications that allow us to produce food for institutions and schools. It was just a really great opportunity for us.

Katy Smith: I love it. We have done an episode in the past on Feed and Seed, which is linked in the show notes. But could you elaborate for those who haven't heard it yet about the kinds of things you do at Feed and Seed?

Heidi Mills: Feed and Seed is a non-profit food hub. We really try to bridge the gap and support local agriculture and bring it into the school system and into the South Carolina community.

Expanding Opportunities with the SCALES Grant

Katy Smith: Wonderful. So you had this prelude in the wonderful endeavor that happened, the serendipitous thing that came out of the many tragedies of Helene, with pesto in schools. There was a governmental funding opportunity that made you go, "Huh, we could do more of this." Ron, could you talk about the SCALES grant?

Ron Jones: Sure. Just after Helene, the USDA released a Cohort 2 offering for the USDA SCALES grant. The USDA SCALES grant is a part of the USDA Healthy Meals Initiative.

The Healthy Meals Initiative focuses on creating healthy food products for schools and connecting schools to farmers. When we saw that, we thought, "Aha, this is perfect." We set off to put together a team to see if we couldn't bring the SCALES grant to South Carolina, and we brought it home.

Katy Smith: Not surprisingly, because you all were teed up for success. Can you elaborate on what the SCALES grant will allow you to do now that you've received it and what it consists of?

Ron Jones: One of the things that we had to do was put together a team. We could have up to five team members. To have success on such a large level, we need a large team. We went right back to Feed and Seed to say, "Hey, we can do this together."

We approached the South Carolina Department of Agriculture about being our fiscal agent because they are the ones who are going to pass the money through to pay the bills and to pay Feed and Seed. We needed somebody who's adept at that, and they do a lot of sub-granting across the state. It was a perfect fit.

We have Senn Brothers Produce out of Columbia. They have a state contract delivering Department of Defense produce to schools across the state, so they're already delivering to schools. They came on as our delivery partner and will deliver the product from Feed and Seed out to the schools across South Carolina. We also partnered with the Palmetto Purchasing Group, which is a consortium that purchases for a group of 24 school districts.

Processing Local Produce for Institutional Use

Katy Smith: Outstanding. This is really leveraging some great infrastructure and partnerships that we already had. Pesto is one very visible example people can imagine. Heidi, share some of the other produce that you all are working with and maybe some numbers to let people get their heads around this.

Heidi Mills: Absolutely. We have some wonderful farmers that we've been working with and partnering with. As of right now, we are making a sweet potato mash for the schools, and we have processed up to five tons already.

We roast them in-house and get them all nice in the recipe per Greenville County Schools and get it frozen so that they can take it and get it delivered. The team doesn't have to do as much in the schools, and it's already a ready-to-eat product.

We're also doing collards, and we have about 27,000 pounds of that that we have already processed, along with 600 pounds of prepared nut-free pesto. Some of the farmers that we're working with are Tyger River and Simply and Bradford Family Farm. It's farmers from the Upstate, the Midlands, and Lowcountry.

Integrating Agricultural Heritage into the Classroom

Katy Smith: How exciting. I'm sure listeners are getting that we're preparing healthier, well-sourced food for our kids. We're making it easier and less expensive for Greenville County schools because you have so many mouths to feed every day.

We're supporting our local farm economy. What I think is also interesting is that agriculture is so much a part of our state's history and culture. You all have another initiative underway to highlight an important agricultural product from our state and really lift it up in schools. Ron, can you tell us about it?

Ron Jones: Sure. You get the message here that we like to use grant funds. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture offered a grant called the Certified South Carolina Cafeteria. They awarded us $60,000.

We're choosing to spend that money to focus on Carolina gold rice in schools because of the historical significance of Carolina gold rice and what it meant to South Carolina and the nation—how it went away and the efforts to bring it back. We will be exclusively offering Carolina Gold Rice on the menus.

On January 29th at J.L. Mann High School, they'll be teaching across the American history curriculum a whole unit on the importance of Carolina gold rice to South Carolina historically. In the cafeteria that day, we're going to be making chicken bog, a classic South Carolina dish with Carolina gold rice. Commissioner Hugh Weathers from the Department of Agriculture will be with us for the day. Marsh Hen Mill, who's reestablishing Carolina gold rice across the South, will be on hand to share in the classrooms and in the cafeteria.

Katy Smith: That is so great. We heard from Heidi in just a quarter how much food has moved from farms to schools. What's projected over the course of this three-year grant, Ron?

Ron Jones: Yes, it's three years. The deliverables to USDA, we have forecasted about 80,000 pounds of sweet potatoes, 80,000 pounds of collard greens, 40,000 pounds of blueberries, and 40,000 pounds of strawberries. We've already talked about the basil. It's a lot of product and a lot of support for local farmers.

A History of Culinary Excellence in Greenville County Schools

Katy Smith: Ron, I know you must be extremely delighted by this because you and I have known each other a long time, working hard on school food for more than 15 years. Ron, listeners should know that Ron was a chef at A.J. Whittenberg Elementary, which was the first pilot offering scratch-made, locally sourced food in a school with some vegetarian offerings.

There were a lot of people who didn't believe any of that would be eaten by kids or was financially possible. Ron and lots of colleagues have proven them wrong. Reflect for folks who don't know that story about how it started and what your thoughts are now looking at how far the district has come.

Ron Jones: Thanks to community support, we recognized back then that we really needed to increase the quality of what we were serving in schools because it's so important to children's health and how they perform in the classroom.

We identified training as an initiative. With the help of folks like you and people in the community, we did some grant writing and ended up training 750 employees over at Greenville Tech. We brought them in the kitchens and taught them hands-on skills.

We not only talked about hands-on skills, we wanted to change their hearts and minds. We taught them about nutrition and safe food to change the food culture in Greenville County Schools. Subsequently, Greenville County Schools has become a nation's leader in school nutrition. Districts from around the country come to see what we're doing and learn how we're feeding kids in Greenville. It's been a wonderful ride and we're going to keep pushing.

Feed and Seed’s Infrastructure and Services

Katy Smith: Ron, it's just been amazing to watch the journey since you got started. You mentioned community partners and champions. Another huge partner along the way has been Mary Hipp, who is founder and executive director of Feed and Seed.

Mary really saw that to make this local food available to schools, there was some important community infrastructure needed. We're lucky to have something that is singular on the East Coast in Feed and Seed. Heidi, can you talk in more detail about the role that Feed and Seed plays in making all of that possible?

Heidi Mills: I think what's really important is what we offer at Feed and Seed and the facets that we can give to anybody in the community, whether it's institutions or just an individual.

We offer a wash and pack room so farmers can come in and get their produce cleaned and washed properly by government certifications to go out to the markets or into the institutions. We've got a processing facility where farmers can bring in their produce, just like our sweet potatoes. We can dice them, chop them, or grate them.

Then it can also go out to be sold in some market or an institution. We offer a cold room, cooler space, freezer space, and a dry storage space that is rented. We have a commissary kitchen for anybody that would like to try recipes. It's just a great one-stop shop. That's what we try to offer.

The Significance of Grant Funding

Katy Smith: I hope all of you are listening and thinking, "This makes so much sense." This is exactly the kind of thing I want to see happening. But it takes money to do that, especially if it's a new initiative to try out. Ron, talk about the role that these particular grants and grants in general play in helping our school food be the best it can be.

Ron Jones: Grants are wonderful. The money is nice, but more importantly, it's evidence that there are people in our community and in our government that trust us to get a job done and say, "Yes, this is a good idea, good thinking, and good planning." It's good to have that backing.

It's very important that we use that money frugally and deliver the deliverables that we promised. These deliverables in the SCALES grant are very, very large. We're talking 80,000 pounds of sweet potatoes, and that's a nice dent in the market. The affirmation provided by the grant was wonderful.

It's really important for us to establish these relationships with other grantees across the nation. The SCALES grant has people in California, Virginia, Vermont, Ohio, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, and Montana.

For the SCALES grant Cohort 2, there were 135 applications and nine of us were granted funds. These products will hit the menu in February and continue on for the next menu cycle. They will be in other school districts with the Palmetto Purchasing Group in the next calendar year, and then in the third calendar year up to 300 schools. Join us in public schools and enjoy some local produce.

Katy Smith: I am always grateful to Greenville County Schools for its innovation and for taking student health and its contribution to our local economy seriously. I'm always so impressed by Feed and Seed for the innovative and passionate way you all go about your work every day. I'm delighted to share this wonderful success with our listeners. Thanks for being here.

Heidi Mills: Thank you.

Ron Jones: Thank you.