Bethany’s farm-to-table cafeteria just added another local contributor to the variety of produce integrated into school lunches here at BCS. Clay Bottom Farm, owned by alumni Rachel Hershberger (‘95) and Ben Hartman (‘97) recently began providing salad greens to the BCS cafeteria.
Tara Swartzendruber-Landis, Food Services Director at Bethany, talks about why this is important for the cafeteria this school year especially. “With COVID-19 affecting how we are serving our food this fall, and no regular salad bar, I still wanted to be able to have great salad greens for students and faculty/staff to have each week as a part of their meals.”
Working with the local, Bethany alumni-owned farm seemed like a good option. “I talked with Clay Bottom during the summer break and they were just getting ready to plant their fall greens. Starting in September, they have been supplying us with salad greens each week,” said Tara.
This is just one more example of the ways Tara has been developing and cultivating the local network of food providers as well as assisting with an on-campus garden that also provides produce for the cafeteria.
“It feels important to connect students to how our food is produced and the people behind what we eat. Using food from places like Clay Bottom and our school garden gives us a way to teach students about food choice and food justice,” she said. “Plus, local food is delicious!”