Local Foods, Healthy Schools: Schoharie & Otsego Counties

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Local Foods, Healthy Schools: Schoharie & Otsego Counties

Farm to School helps students gain access to healthy, local foods and education opportunities.

05/01/2026

We finished out April with our last dairy tasting yesterday at Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School. And when I tell the kids were excited, that is an understatement. They went a little crazy for the chocolate milkshakes we gave them!

This sweet treat was probably their favorite taste test so far. And the very few students that did not like it, was because they don't like chocolate.

But for those that do like chocolate and ice cream, this milkshake was made by blending just 2 ingredients, vanilla ice cream and chocolate milk! This might not have been the exact combo you were expecting but it still works! Just another example of how you can make the same kind of food with different recipes.

So, who's having a milkshake or ice cream this weekend?!

04/24/2026

It's been a busy week! We rounded out this week with a tasting at Sharon Springs Central School where the kids tried Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese!

We did wait to tell the kids that there was butternut squash in the mac and cheese until after they tried it and decided if they liked it, and some of them even admitted that if we had told them ahead of time, they would not have tried it. But they loved it! This recipe will definitely be making it to the lunch menu in the future!

Ingredients:
2 lbs butternut squash base
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp of garlic powder
3/4 lb white American cheese
3/4 lb cheddar cheese
1/4 lb parmesan cheese
1 tsp onion powder
pinch of nutmeg
2 lbs of pasta

This is a 3-step recipe. First, you'll need to prep, roast, and mash/puree the squash. Second you make the cheese sauce and add in the squash mixture. Then thirdly, you'll cook the pasta, drain it, mix it with the butternut cheese sauce and bake it in the oven. For the full instructions visit the links below!

If you are in the mood for something new, give it a try! Even those that don't care for squash thought it was pretty good!

This recipe came from the NY School Food Cookbook https://airtable.com/appBueNVEVyvcSgVj/shrErdSlmSp8TxmWR/tblyGcKFWW9qLtssY/viwaBkfVeb5QDh16q?blocks=bipJ6sduqKnwGXKpm that was put together by NY Agriculture & Markets, Brigaid, and Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY. And feel free to check out more of their recipes that focus on NY foods!

This dish uses the Butternut Squash Base, Butternut Squash Cheese Sauce, and the Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese recipes which can all be found through this link https://airtable.com/appBueNVEVyvcSgVj/shrErdSlmSp8TxmWR/tblyGcKFWW9qLtssY/viwaBkfVeb5QDh16q/rec3M0WE3DC3zMi2E?blocks=bipJ6sduqKnwGXKpm

Happy cooking, and we'll see you next time!

04/23/2026

It was an exciting day at Worcester Central School! Today's tasting was strawberry overnight oats, and they absolutely loved it! I even heard a student say that they thought it was better than ice cream!

I have to agree it was delicious, and it's super easy to make! Make a batch on Sunday and you have ready, grab and go breakfast for the whole week!

Strawberry Overnight Oats - makes 6 1 cup servings
Ingredients:
3 cups of low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 1/2 cups of rolled oats (whole grain, quick cooking)
3 cups (1 lb) of strawberries
3 tbsp of maple syrup
1 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar
3/4 tsp of cinnamon

Instructions:
1. Combine yogurt, oats, milk, maple syrup, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.
2. Wash, drain, and stem the strawberries. Cut up strawberries into 1/2 inch dice. *If you want to garnish your oats with strawberries, set aside 3/4 cup of diced strawberries.
3. Fold the remaining strawberries into the yogurt mixture with the rubber spatula. *If not adding garnish, add all strawberries into mixture.
4. Portion mixture evenly (1 cup or 10 oz by weight each) into 6 jars/containers. If adding garnish, top each dish with the reserved strawberries.
5. Place lids on jars/containers and chill in the fridge overnight.

If you want to have a variety of flavors, you can swap out the strawberries for another fruit like blueberries or even peaches!

So, what do you think, would you make this at home? Let us know in the comments and be sure to follow and like our page to see more Farm to School content like this!

This recipe was adapted from one available through the USDA Child Nutrition Recipe Box. If you want to check out the original you can find it here https://theicn.org/cnrb/recipes-for-schools/rise-n-shine-strawberry-oats-state-virginia-child-nutrition-agency-developed-recipe/

04/22/2026

Today's tasting at Edmeston Central School featured caprese salad! and for those wondering what that is, its mozzarella cheese, tomato, basil, mixed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

The kids were a little split on this dish, but most of them liked it! We also had some local Chobani Super Milk (1%) that the high school students tried. This milk has a long shelf life and can be stored in the pantry until it's opened. It also has a higher amount of protein per serving than regular milk. Most of the kids liked it, but some were not convinced.

Either way it was a great day for dairy products in school!

04/20/2026

Happy Monday! It was a tasting day for students at Gilboa-Conesville Central School using our harvest of the month - Dairy!

Today we tried vanilla yogurt topped with granola, and the kids loved it. It might be a simple snack, but it's tasty and nutritious, making it an easy choice that adds protein and calcium to your diet!

04/15/2026

Spring break is over, but that means more taste testing! Students at Schenevus Central School District tried out a yogurt parfait with peaches and granola! A great snack that is super easy to make and that almost everybody loved.

Dairy is such a big part of most people's diets, and it comes in so many forms! Today we tried just one of them, but dairy products are often high in calcium and provide good servings of protein and vitamin D!

04/02/2026

Happy April! This month our featured harvest is Dairy and we had a strong start today at Gilbertsville - Mount Upton Central School District! Today's taste test was fresh mozzarella cheese pearls mixed with balsamic vinaigrette and parsley!

I thought that this taste test would be a favorite for sure, but the kids surprised me with a 50/50 split of liking and not liking the mozzarella. The reasons for not liking it varied, some didn't like the vinaigrette, while others didn't like the texture of the cheese. But the kids who liked it really liked it! Either way, they got to try something new, and for some, this was their first time having fresh mozzarella!

03/31/2026

We had our last tasting for this month today, but it was also our first tasting in the Cooperstown Central School District Jr High building! The kids were great and they were ready to try the maple glazed carrots that we had for them today. And even better, they loved them! Out of everyone who tried them, we had less than 10 kids say they didn't care for them, making these maple carrots a success!

The carrots were partially cooked before being topped with a glaze made with maple syrup, butter, black pepper, and parsley and put in the oven. If you make them at home, be sure to not overcook them, you want them to hold their structure and not get mushy.

Now that the weather is warming up, maple season is coming to an end. But lucky for us there are many maple producers in the area that make it possible for us to enjoy maple all year long! So, thank you to Ben and Judy's Sugarhouse for making the maple syrup used in today's tasting, and thanks to all of our local maple producers for your hard work this season! 🍁

Come back to see what we try next month or follow us to make sure you don't miss out on all the fun things we do with Farm to School!

03/30/2026

Today was our first Harvest of the Month tasting at Gilboa-Conesville Central School! Students were introduced to our monthly tastings with a bite of French toast dipped in locally made maple syrup!

I think the kids (and the staff) were happy to participate and are excited for my next visit! As part of the tasting students can vote if they think the dish "tastes great" or if they are "not a fan". The votes say that they thought it tasted pretty great, with many requests for seconds! Thanks, Danielle for making today's dish and shout out to Bearkill Road Maple Products for providing locally made syrup!

If you want to know more about Farm to School, you can follow us to stay up to date on our activities or visit our website to learn more! https://cceschoharie-otsego.org/farm-to-school See you next time!

03/26/2026

Another taste test in the books for March! Worcester Central School students got to double up this month with two dips, a maple and sweet potato cream cheese dip and a honey ricotta dip served along with some honey grahams!

Both of these dips were sweet and delicious, the kids loved them! Everyone tried both, but the maple and sweet potato was favored a bit more than the honey ricotta.

For those who wanted to know how they could make this at home, the maple & sweet potato dip was adapted from the sweet potato frosting in this recipe, it doesn't even use powdered sugar! https://airtable.com/appBueNVEVyvcSgVj/shrErdSlmSp8TxmWR/tblyGcKFWW9qLtssY/viwaBkfVeb5QDh16q/recshZZIwU5gNTajm/fldmlAicjQQlL7wVT/atto58ltp7Mf9ge5T?blocks=bipJ6sduqKnwGXKpm
Today's dip version included cinnamon, and a little less cream cheese. So, try it out and see what kind of spin you would put on it!

03/20/2026

What a "sweet" way to end the week, taste testing some locally made maple and honey! Students at Sharon Springs Central School got to try maple cotton candy and honey sticks! Thanks to Stone House Farm - Maple, Dairy, & Crops for bringing in your cotton candy machine and making fresh maple cotton candy for the kids! And thanks to Shorty's Enterprises LLC for providing the locally made honey sticks!

Everybody loved this month's harvest, but students preferred the maple just a little more than the honey. Although many did enjoy both options! 🍁🍯

Have a great weekend, we'll see you next time!

03/19/2026

It was another winning taste test at Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School featuring one of our featured harvests this month, HONEY! Today students tried a honey & peanut butter yogurt and used it as a dip for some NY apple slices!

The kids thought it was great and I have to agree. Even on its own it was a great snack! It's supper easy to make if you want to try it at home!
6 oz vanilla yogurt
3 tsp peanut butter
3 tsp of raw honey
a dash of cinnamon

Mix it together and you've got a tasty treat! This would also be a great recipe to make some homemade frozen yogurt cups/popsicles in the summer!

🐝 What's your favorite way to use honey? 🍯

Address

123 Lake Street
Cobleskill, NY
13326

Telephone

+15182344303

Website

https://cceschoharie-otsego.org/farm-to-school

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