July 2019 Newsletter
Dear Friends,

The summer is heating up and so are institutional kitchens across the country. Several states passed new legislation in 2019 that will strengthen local food purchasing, expand school garden efforts and further grow farm to school activities that benefit students, farmers and communities. Check out the State Farm to School Handbook from the National Farm to School Network to advance farm to school in your state.

Learn more about starting a farm to school program by following Beyond Green Partners as we document the year long efforts of Lincoln Elementary School District in Lincoln, Illinois. Details below!

Just like juicy summer tomatoes, the time is ripe for starting a farm to school program.
Farm fresh tomatoes!
Introducing Lincoln 27 and Beyond
Lincoln Elementary School District 27 Starts Farm to School Program
We're excited to be working with Lincoln Elementary School District 27 in Lincoln, Illinois to bring nutritious, scratch-cooked food to students in the district. The five school district includes four elementary schools and one middle school. Throughout the 2019-2020 school year we will document the transformation from processed to scratch-cooked local food.

Look for #lincoln27andbeyond and follow us on social media.
Locally grown produce will be featured on the new menus later this fall.
Recipe of the Month
Creamy Avocado Dressing on Vimeo
Creamy avocado dressing can be used as a dressing on salad greens, kale salad; as an accompaniment to raw fish such as ahi tuna; or as a dip for chips or raw veggies. Kids love dips! This is a great way to get them to eat healthy vegetables. It can also be made thicker and used as a spread on toast.

At Beyond Green Partners, we use the dressing to make a slaw for vegan BBQ.
The Cafeteria Staff Perspective
A Sustainable Kitchen: In Their Own Words
"The difference is the quality of food - it's excellent." says Amber Seltenrich, Cook II at Kona Community Hospital. Watch the video to hear more from Amber about the healthy dietary initiative at Kona Community Hospital. Beyond Green Partners spent six months guiding Kona Community Hospital cafeteria staff through a scratch cooking local food program. Now two months post-project the team's commitment to cooking from scratch and local food continues with 42% of purchases from Hawaiian farms.
Beyond Green Partners in the News
Beyond Green Partners featured in The Garden Island
The Garden Isle - Farm to Table Moves Forward

Beyond Green Partners has worked with the Hawaii Department of Education and three hospitals in the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation to build farm to institution models. Support for the program continues to grow statewide with leadership from Senator Ron Kouchi.

We're proud to be a part of this collective effort to feed nutritional meals to kids and seniors while creating a community based food system.
Beyond Green Partners featured in West Hawaii Today

The cafeteria staff at Kona Community Hospital are transforming the way people eat by making healthy food choices easy. Quinoa stir-fry, black bean burgers, and roasted cauliflower cooked from scratch are a few of the menu items available to hospital staff and patients.
Thanks again for the continued support. Drop us a line (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or the old fashioned way), we would love to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Greg Christian and the Beyond Green Sustainable Partners Team
312-275-6801