Food services director honored for expanding locally grown food in Greenfield schools

GREENFIELD — The Greenfield School Department’s Food Service Director Greta Shwachman received a kale bouquet and a certificate on Tuesday, recognizing her work to increase locally grown food used in school lunches.

Standing before Mayor Roxann Wedegartner, members of the Greenfield School Committee and a handful of Shwachman’s staff, Lisa Damon, co-director of the nonprofit Massachusetts Farm to School, presented Schwachman with one of three Kale Blazer Awards. The nonprofit annually honors an individual or group of individuals who have demonstrated excellence and leadership in farm-to-school activity in the state.

“Greta’s dedication to increasing locally grown food into school lunches, food justice and school garden growth ... are a few examples of why she was named one of (Massachusetts Farm to School’s) 2022 Kale Blazers,” Damon said.

Joining Damon in the cafeteria of Greenfield Middle School on Tuesday was state Sen. Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, who presented the certificate to Shwachman.

“The work happening in Massachusetts, led by people like you, is known in the State House and one of the reasons we’ve been able to grow the Farm to School program,” Comerford said. “There are so many stories of success.”

Damon said the nonprofit, which was founded in 2004 as a grassroots initiative to increase access to locally grown food in schools, is excited to share Shwachman’s work with the rest of the state. Other Kale Blazer Award recipients recognized this year include Jessica Lander, a history teacher at Lowell Public Schools, and Jorge Sosa and Michael Docter, co-owners of Mi Tierra Tortillas in Hadley.

“It feels great to be recognized in my work for Farm to School,” Shwachman said. “I’m still new to Greenfield, but I’ve been in the field of farm to school for the past … seven years, maybe more. It feels wonderful.”

Shwachman, who started in the role about a year ago, said her Food Service Department works with Joe Czajkowski Farm in Hadley, Marty’s Local in South Deerfield and Food Connects in Brattleboro, Vermont, among others, to access locally grown or made items. For example, Food Connects has supplied Greenfield’s public schools, which include six institutions, with ground beef from Big Picture Beef in Hardwick; bulk yogurt from Narragansett Creamery in Providence, Rhode Island; and granola from True North Granola Co. in Brattleboro, Vermont.

“It’s finding ways … to be creative,” she said, noting the department is tasked with working within a budget.

Though Shwachman also prioritizes these farm-to-school efforts for environmental benefits and to help support the local economy, the main reason is the students.

“First and foremost, (it’s about) the health of students,” she said, “fueling them to learn and making sure they’re eating nutritious.”

Reporter Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne.