What's for lunch? Lamb from our  FFA programs!

Klamath County School District students on Thursday (Feb. 20) had a chance to eat locally raised lamb in a special shepherd’s pie thanks to the district’s robust Farm to School program.

KCSD’s Farm to School program procured 254 pounds of lamb raised by Lost River and Henley FFA programs and 658 pounds of grass-fed lamb from Anderson Ranches Oregon Lamb near Brownsville, Ore., to serve as February’s featured food.

For some students, it was their first time eating lamb. For Lost River and Henley FFA students, it was a chance to share the lamb they raised for food with their school communities.

Lost River and Henley FFA students visited the elementary schools to share with students about the lamb they were eating in their shepherd’s pie Thursday.
“Did you know Henley has a farm?” FFA member Brailey Golden asked Henley kindergarteners.

No, they didn’t. Brailey with the help of fellow FFA member Tailor Kabor explained that the meat in their lunches was lamb and that some of that lamb was raised by Henley High FFA students. “It’s nice to see that what we do benefits the community around us,” Brailey said as kindergartners finished their lunch and first-graders grabbed trays filled with the lamb shepherd’s pie.

At Merrill Elementary, most students chose lamb shepherd’s pie for their lunch, filling the rest of their tray with vegetables from the salad bar.

As they settled down to eat, Lost River FFA members Macey Thompson and Esperanza Rodriguez shared information about raising and producing lamb for food at their high school.

“I think the kids knowing where their food comes from is super cool,” Macey said. Esperanza agreed. “This is a way to broaden their horizons while eating. Some of them were surprised when they find out they are eating lamb.”

Over the past several years, the school district has wrapped an educational and nutritional component into its food services program, offering Oregon-grown and hyperlocal fresh fruits and vegetables, locally harvested beef, lamb, and eggs, and special Try-It Days and Tasting Tables, which encourage students to try foods such as cranberries, squash, and beets they may not otherwise eat. It’s all part of the Farm to School program, which now serves all hyperlocal beef from Flying T and 1875 ranches and potatoes from Cal-Ore and Circle C in school cafeterias.

Each month, new local or Oregon-grown foods are introduced and served. In March, marionberries from Stahlbush Farms in Corvallis will be featured. In April, Lost River FFA will provide enough sausage from the hogs they raised and processed to serve a pork sausage breakfast scramble to all students in the district. May is National Beef Month and students will receive beef jerky from Taylor Sausage in Cave Junction.

KCSD Farm to School Coordinator Kekoa Taipin and Nutrition Supervisor Jennifer Detwiler are passionate about bringing nutritionally rich, hyperlocal foods into school cafeterias to help support the Klamath Basin community and its farmers.

“Kekoa and I are both thankful for the community’s commitment and support to our Farm to School program,” Detwiler said.

KCSD's Farm to School program got off the ground in 2019 after the district was awarded funds to create a part-time Farm to School coordinator position with the goal of developing agreements with Klamath Basin farmers and ranchers to purchase produce and meat for the district’s 21 school buildings. After the grant concluded in 2022, the district permanently funded the coordinator position and added an educational component to the program.