NEWS
T his fall, over 3,000 pounds of Arkansas-grown sweet potatoes arrived on the doorsteps of Marion School District in Marion, Arkansas. The produce was harvested by approximately 30 inmates from the state’s Department of Corrections as part of a new farm-to-school pilot program announced by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year. The pilot was created in part due to “[Governor Sanders’] desire for all of state government to work together,” says Ar- kansas Secretary of Agriculture Wes Ward, and brings togeth- er the state’s Department of Agriculture, Department of Edu- cation, Department of Corrections and Sanders’ Faith-Based Initiatives Office to address food insecurity and increase stu - dents’ access to local food. The delivery of sweet potatoes to Marion School District marks what the state hopes will be the first of many local in - gredients delivered to the district for use in students’ meals FROM FARM TO CAFETERIA Marion School District was chosen for the pilot due to their close proximity to the Arkansas Department of Corrections
Arkansas launches farm-to-school pilot using Department of Corrections labor The pilot, which officially kicked off this fall, brings together the state’s Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, Department of Corrections and Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ Faith- Based Initiatives Office to address food insecurity and increase students’ access to local food.
BY BENITA GINGERELLA
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QUARTERLY | Q1
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARION SCHOOL DISTRICT
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