Local grown dishes highlight Farm to School potluck

October is National Farm to School Month, and to celebrate, Talkeetna Elementary opened its doors on Tuesday night to invite the community to sample a variety of locally-grown healthy dishes prepared by the kindergarten-through-sixth grades of Talkeetna Elementary.

Several hundred hungry people filled their plates with potatoes, vegetable dishes, salmon spread, squash and bean dishes.

The Farm to School program has been in place at the school for a year already, and continues to expand, making local-grown food and healthy eating part of the schools curriculum. It also helps provide a salad bar to the students twice a week.

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources Agricultural Division has issued a challenge that will award several mini-grants through the month of October to further facilitate awareness of local Alaskan grown foods.