Bartow County School Nutrition earns the Golden Radish Award for the ninth consecutive year!
“In order to win the Golden Radish Award, school districts must have locally grown items in school meals, facilitate farm-to-school promotions and marketing throughout the school year, plant edible gardens, and adopt farm-to-school language into policy or procedure,” said Bartow County School Nutrition Director Betsy Roam. “The Golden Radish Award recognizes districts that do an excellent job meeting each of the criteria listed above.”
Bartow County is one out of only 47 districts in Georgia to receive this award through the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Agriculture, University of Georgia Extension, and Georgia Department of Public Health.
“I attribute the success of winning the Golden Radish Award to working collaboratively with all Bartow County school staff and Bartow County's community leaders,” added Roam. “I view this award as a huge success for our district because it not only shows our farm-to-school efforts but also our ability to work as a team for the overarching goal of eliminating food insecurity and increasing sustainability in our district.”
Other recent notable achievements for the nutrition department include National recognition for hosting a weekly series called “Takeover Tuesday.” During the school events, they teach educational lessons and enhance the farm-to-school experience for all students. The school nutrition department works to engage students on everything from chicken coops to learning about pollinators and edible gardens.