Farm to School Profile: Aurora Public School

Small Towns

School Name:  Aurora Public School

School Address: 300 L St, Aurora, NE 68818

Who is on your school’s internal Farm to School team? Food Service Director, Denise Bone who is beginning to partner with the school’s FFA program during the 2015=2016 school year.

Number of Students: 1,200 students in the district / 1,000 main dishes estimated daily / 750 students served daily (estimate)

How many schools are in your district? Three: 1 Elementary, 1 Middle School and 1 High School

Size of cafeteria staff: 16
9 Full-Time Staff
7 Part-Time Staff

Equipment available to you in your kitchen(s):  We have what we consider a pretty standard kitchen, we also have a Sunkist Sectionizer.

Does your cafeteria offer a salad bar? Yes, one on each line. 2 open to elementary and 3 open to the the middle and high schools.

Please list food programs you participate in:  National School Lunch Program

Free-Reduced Lunch Rates:  We are less than 40%, but this school year’s number is not in yet.

Name of farm or business used for local purchases: Julie Dyer or Marylou Emanuel both of Aurora and connected to through the Aurora Farmer’s Market.  

Items/Foods regularly purchased: Tomatoes, bell peppers, beets, cabbage, cucumbers, green onions, yellow onions, red onions, cantaloupe, spaghetti squash, watermelon, and green/ yellow squash.

Is your school involved in growing food for the cafeteria? We are attempting to do grow food during the 2015-2016 school year.

Does your school have a garden or greenhouse used for Farm to School activities? Yes, we do, but it has not been utilized.

Share your biggest Farm to School success: Having the break though with FFA to start growing us items!

Share your biggest Farm to School challenge: Getting kids to try new foods.

Share your school’s best tip for fresh food procurement, processing and/or storage: Nothing is too small of a start! Even if it’s just cucumbers donated from a local garden, you are able to put something local on the menu and highlight it.

Where does your school tell its Farm to School story?  We tweet @AuroraLunchCrew on Twitter.