Local Foods, Healthy Schools: Schoharie & Otsego Counties

Local Foods, Healthy Schools: Schoharie & Otsego Counties Farm to School helps students gain access to healthy, local foods and education opportunities.

Today we wrapped up our October Harvest of the Month tastings with Cooperstown Central School District! 🍏Thanks to Middl...
10/28/2025

Today we wrapped up our October Harvest of the Month tastings with Cooperstown Central School District! 🍏

Thanks to Middlefield Orchard, we had 3 different apple varieties for the elementary students to try. We had Cortland, Fuji, and Pink Lady, and the Pink Lady was pretty popular with this group! 🍎

Make sure you enjoy some apples this week before the month is over, because next week we'll have a new Harvest to feature! Like and follow if you don't want to miss what we have next time!

Happy Friday! It's been another busy week for the Farm to School Program, and we finished it off with another tasting wi...
10/24/2025

Happy Friday! It's been another busy week for the Farm to School Program, and we finished it off with another tasting with Sharon Springs Central School!

Students got to try 4 different varieties of apples: Macintosh, Granny Smith, Cortland, and Fuji. Everyone loved the apples, but I think Granny Smith came out in the lead for being the favorite! 🍏

During a tasting I generally have a sticker for the kids who tried it to take home, and today I also had some Farm to School Month bookmarks. And to my surprise I ran out of bookmarks today! It seemed just about everyone wanted the bookmark over the sticker. So make sure you ask your kids to see which one they picked!

Don't forget to share and follow to see more Farm to School content!

🍎 We had another successful Harvest of the Month tasting today. Featuring NY apples and a homemade caramel sauce that wa...
10/24/2025

🍎 We had another successful Harvest of the Month tasting today. Featuring NY apples and a homemade caramel sauce that was made from apple cider!

The students of Worcester Central School loved it, and I think that caramel will be coming back soon!

And thank you to my helper, Tyler, today I really needed a second pair of hands! It was great to have a New Visions Program student shadow me for the day to learn more about Farm to School!

🍎Harvest of the Month Recipe! 🍏Now, I'm sure you've enjoyed the delicious treat of apples and caramel before, but have y...
10/22/2025

🍎Harvest of the Month Recipe! 🍏

Now, I'm sure you've enjoyed the delicious treat of apples and caramel before, but have you ever had caramel that was made from apples?

That's right, you can make caramel sauce using apple cider! I was intrigued when I came across the idea a few weeks ago and found a recipe. Of course, there are several different versions out there, this is just the one I wanted to try! And with the addition of some cinnamon and nutmeg.... mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Use the link below to find the full Apple Cider Caramel recipe from Buttermilk by Sam. (That's also where I got this photo, doesn't it look good?)
https://buttermilkbysam.com/apple-cider-caramel/

So go grab yourself some local apple cider and try out this tasty treat! Use it as a dip for apples or drizzle it over pie and ice cream. You could even use it in a latte!

Come back and tell us what you think of this recipe and share with your friends! And follow along for more!

10/21/2025

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schoharie and Otsego’s (CCESO) 2025 Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 6 PM, in Upper Champlin Hall at SUNY Cobleskill. The Annual Meeting will begin with the Association’s annual business meeting. This year we will be voting to adop...

Friday was another busy day of taste testing! The students at Edmeston Central School had a great time today trying out ...
10/20/2025

Friday was another busy day of taste testing! The students at Edmeston Central School had a great time today trying out a homemade apple crisp!

While there were a few students who were not big fans of the crisp, I was still glad that they were willing to try it! And out of all the kids that did enjoy it, you can bet there were some that were hoping for seconds.

Sliced apples with cinnamon and sugar topped with a crumb topping, makes for a delicious fall treat! A big thanks to Ron and his kitchen staff for their help to make it happen. And thank you to the third-grade class who were having a blast posing for a mini photo shoot (go ahead and scroll to see the pictures). I can’t wait to come back and do it again soon!

Don’t forget to share and follow so you don’t miss what’s happening in our Farm to School Program!

We’ve had another tasting! Yesterday, the students of Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School got to try 3 different va...
10/17/2025

We’ve had another tasting! Yesterday, the students of Cherry Valley-Springfield Central School got to try 3 different varieties of apples.

Since our Harvest of the Month is Apples, we bet the kids would like trying fresh apples and we were right! We had Honeycrisp, Mutzu and Cortland apples from Middlefield Orchard that were of course hand picked by our wonderful food service staff who we can’t thank enough! The kids LOVED the apples, as you can tell from the votes. And just about every student who tried them came back wanting seconds (or thirds) and I couldn’t blame them! These apples really were delicious.

It was a little chaotic at times during today’s lunch, but it was also a lot of fun! I’m glad the kids enjoyed it!

Thank you, Middlefield Orchard!

Make sure you like and follow to see what we try next! Hint: November’s Harvest of the Month is Winter Squash.

Like the picture says, it's National Farm to School Month! A celebration that is thanks to the work of the National Farm...
10/10/2025

Like the picture says, it's National Farm to School Month! A celebration that is thanks to the work of the National Farm to School Network!

The National Farm to School Network is dedicated to supporting Farm to School Programs. They are an advocate and networking hub for those wanting to bring agricultural education to schools and early childcare environments.

So, visit their website https://www.farmtoschool.org/our-work/farm-to-school-month to learn more on how you can celebrate! You'll also find free resources like this poster along with other materials like bookmarks and stickers!

Leave a comment to tell us how you are going to celebrate Farm to School this October!

10/08/2025

Cornell Cooperative Extension of Schoharie and Otsego’s (CCESO) 2025 Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 6 PM, in Upper Champlin Hall at SUNY Cobleskill.The Annual Meeting will begin with the Association’s annual business meeting. This year we will be voting to adopt a .....

Did you know that the inside of an apple could be a different color?🍏 Harvest of the Month FUN FACTS! 🍎Not only can the ...
10/07/2025

Did you know that the inside of an apple could be a different color?

🍏 Harvest of the Month FUN FACTS! 🍎

Not only can the outside of an apple be a wide variety of colors, but so can the inside! The inside, or flesh of an apple can be white, red, green, yellow or even pink!

The apple you see here is called a Pink Pearl. While the skin is a yellowish brown and slightly translucent, the flesh is bright pink and sometimes mixed with white. It may not be a very common apple, but it is delicious! It is small in size, maxing out at about 2 inches wide, but it has a crisp, juicy texture and a very bright, sweet flavor like I've never had before! I highly recommend you try one if you get the chance!

If you want to learn more fun facts about apples, make sure to like and follow for more!

It's October! Do you know what that means?It means it's time for a new Harvest of the Month! This month we're featuring ...
10/02/2025

It's October! Do you know what that means?

It means it's time for a new Harvest of the Month! This month we're featuring apples! 🍎🍏🍎🍏

Some of you don't know what that means yet, allow me to explain. Harvest of the Month is a way to feature a food that is grown, harvested or produced in New York State every month. Participating schools then include this food item on their menu throughout the month in various ways.

The goal is to educate students on all the different foods that are produced locally in NYS and to encourage healthy eating by getting them to try these local foods in their school meals. It also encourages schools to buy more local farm fresh products to serve in their cafeterias. I mean, who doesn't love a fresh crisp apple in the fall?!

So, where do you get your apples? And what is your favorite way to eat them? Comment below with your favorite place to pick/buy apples or your favorite dish! And don't forget to like and follow for fun facts and recipes!

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123 Lake Street
Cobleskill, NY
13326

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