Ep 39: Championing Local Food and Public Health with Alysia Feuer of Farm to School Frederick
Meet Alysia Feuer, the organizer behind Frederick County's innovative Farm to School program.
We discuss the broader scope of the program, which aims to improve public health by promoting local food consumption and supporting local farmers. Addressing food insecurity and chronic diseases, Alysia shares the joys and challenges of her work, including collaborations with Spanish-speaking communities and organizing engaging hands-on learning experiences.
We also highlight an upcoming fundraiser—an online cooking class featuring Michelin-star experienced chef Drew Allen, set to help raise much-needed funds due to a hiccup with USDA grant reimbursement. Additionally, Alysia shares her background in food science, public health, and her deep-rooted passion for farming.
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Well, oh, happy day. I am so delighted to introduce you to somebody so incredible today.
Please say hello to my friend and the farm to school queen, Alysia Feuer.
Thank you for joining me today. Thank you. I appreciate this. This is going to be fun. This is fun. I'm so glad you feel that way. So Alicia and I have worked together with this amazing organization that she runs. Everybody You want to know everything you can about farm to school, Frederick. Alicia, tell them what's what.
Okay. So, farm to school sounds like we're just working in schools or just talking about school meals, but we have kind of broadened our understanding or our approach to farm to school and really looking at this as a public health initiative. that wants to bring greater attention to local food and farmers and the benefits of eating really nutritious food to prevent all those diet related chronic diseases.
Hello, raise a hand. We kind of go deeper and bigger in this work because it ties into So much about just being healthy people. It's so good. And you and I have actually worked together with the, like a family partnership. Exactly. That's a really good way to show that we, we are doing work in the schools and we love to focus on school campuses because we can reach children and the families and all the people that are around a school campus.
But we also partnered with Frederick County family partnership. So again, families and yeah, Christine, you have come in and offered some of our great and exciting hands on experiential learning, like cooking with people and making it real and understanding what to do with. Kale and brussel sprouts and things like that.
One of my most fun memories of all the classes we've done together was the brussel sprout picking contest. And these are these you guys have to know. And if you are one of the 80 percent of people who are outside of the local area, don't tune out. just because this is specific to Frederick because this program is so incredible.
And this is something that Alicia has been working so hard on. You may be interested in something like this for your neck of the woods because it's so neat. But when we go into the family partnership, it is young moms typically there are some maybe high school students in there as well, but typically the vast majority are younger moms with young kids and they're all the cutest darn things you've ever seen.
And our goal is to always bring in like good, fresh, local food and you spend your time driving your veggie van around picking things up from farmers and. I always like it because you send me a list and you say, this is what I have available from a local farmers and then as part of this, and this is what's so cool about it.
Every participant in the class gets to take home a bag that has the core. Ingredients that were using in the demonstration. That's right. And that that is the cool part is like people want to know where to buy local food, how to have more access to it and then how to prepare it and that it can be really tasty and really fun.
And the Brussels sprout thing that is worth talking about a little bit because we Help the farmers like cut down on labor. So we get these Brussels sprouts on there and on their stocks. Yeah, a lot of people haven't seen the Brussels sprouts growing on the stock. So that's one educational thing there.
And then I remember sliding over to you and going, say, You into like a little competition about husking or yeah, but yeah, taking the sprouts off the stock and you're like, heck yeah. So everybody lined up with their stock of Brussels sprouts. And then we started the clock and counted down and they were able to take them off the stock and we had a winner.
It was awesome. Well, and let me tell you, in every class since the winner is kind of like. Like, I love her. And to add an extra layer to this, just because it's not as simple as it seems. There's so much work that goes into this on the back end. But, it is primarily, not exclusively, but primarily a group of Spanish speakers.
Yeah. As well, and no habla espanol. So, it's always so funny. I mean, I, I'm You know, like a squirrel on crack, which is, you know, but to have a translator there. It's the coolest thing. It's so much fun. And I just feel so lucky to be part of it. It's just tremendous fun to work with them and well, to watch their eyes open up.
Yeah. And the energy you bring to it and our feedback from our cooking demonstrations and with you have been like, it's the most fun Like extra program that they're offered. They really enjoy it. And you know, that kind of takes us to like, you brought up the veggie van and you also brought up that, you know, the community was primarily Spanish speaking.
And what we're finding is, you know, there's a lot of people that just have a hard time accessing fresh food. So our veggie van goes into, takes the food directly from the farm. And then takes it straight into the community where they, where we know that they have a harder time accessing fresh food and often like they know exactly what to do with it sometimes of like, oh yeah, we have this squash, you know, where I grew up and, and we would prepare it this way and they exchange recipes and there's a lot of energy and excitement that comes with having access to fresh food and it.
It also provides, like, this, this value of, like, yeah, here's wonderful, nutritious, fresh food that's going to benefit me and my family. And it's just such a win win with everybody. It's really good work. It's really good work. And, you know, just on my end, when I get to work with you, it's so much fun. I have so much fun with it.
But I, I would define what you're doing as hyper local. Yes, because it's a really small radius. Now I've seen local defined in some places as 100 mile. Radius, which some of us are like 100 miles, but really when you look at us pulling food from South America and right, you know, California 100 or even 250 miles.
I have seen, you know, that all counts as local. So I'd say you are because you're really focused on where can you drive to easily? Well, and I'll tell you a little more about that. Why we're doing that. So there have been studies in Frederick County that say we have a lot of farmland that's not in production and farmers would grow more if they had a market for it.
And so we're really working with those farmers to create new market opportunities so that they can keep growing food and we can have this local resilient food system. We also in Frederick County. Well, Maryland is Frederick County is the agricultural leader in the state of Maryland. And in Frederick itself, we have the most or the highest percentage of young new farmers that want to grow and produce food.
And so if we can connect with all of them and connect with all the people that want access to food, it's a win win to keep them growing and keep people eating well. Yeah, that's exciting. I mean, listen, just about every week on this silly little podcast, I tell people if you are anywhere close or drivable to Frederick, Maryland, you should get your fanny over here because you know, I love it so, so much here.
But we are more than just like a downtown Frederick area. We have all this rich agriculture. And I mean, listen, do you want to go to the little vineyards and the little breweries where they're growing their own stuff too? I know you are not distributing those goods in the veggie van, but Alicia, what, what made you want to start this?
So it kind of goes back to, you know, those things that are formative for you and become your world. I grew up in Iowa, so I'm a Midwest farm girl and I lived there for 15 years and I spent a lot of time on my grandparents farm and they were farmers that farmed the land with corn and soybeans and raised beef cattle.
But of course they had this huge, wonderful garden and so I spent a lot of my days in the garden picking the food and then taking it into the kitchen and helping grandma and grandpa prepare whether that was canning or freezing or just making dinner. And It just, you know, it creates one of those things that it's part of you and so many people can connect to food and maybe have not had some of those experiences so we can open up the path to, to have those experiences.
But yeah, I love. Farmers and I just gravitate towards farmers, and I think it's because of my Iowa upbringing. So do you have your do you have your own garden? I do. And now that I'm partnering with more and more farmers last year, I actually didn't Plant a vegetable garden. I filled it with flowers, and I went to the farmers and bought their food because if you know anything about farming and gardening, it is a lot of work.
And that is one of the other reasons why I have so much respect for farmers. They are all passion driven people, and they all work incredibly hard. And so it's really fun to help them out and create markets for them and help people connect with such passionate people growing our food. Oh, that's so cool.
Yeah, it is really hard work. Yeah, it is really hard. And I am I'm good for herbs. I love to grow an herb garden because I feel like they're just not high maintenance. Yeah, I can do herbs. I can do tomatoes and We usually plant some zinnias, but this year we're going to do a cutting garden, which I'm excited about, but no vegetables.
I'm leaving that to the pros. I know. I know. I've kind of shifted to that too because it's so short. The other thing is, you know, you, you, a lot of it can be out of your control with the weather and the heat and the drought. And so, yeah, it's very hard and it's getting somewhat more challenging in some respects.
Yeah. Well, I mean, everything is, but that's why you say they're passion driven people. And I would say you are absolutely a passion driven person as well. What's your background? Well, I went to school for food and nutrition. I was a biology major and I was like, I don't think I really want to teach biology.
Like I couldn't figure out what I was going to do. do with biology and I ended up transitioning to food science and I've always liked science and so I did that and then I took a year off after undergrad and I went to the Dominican Republic actually and I was able to do. some public health work and nutrition and work with the doctors and some clinics and things.
And I was like, you know, I really like public health. And I came back and I went to graduate school in public health. So I looked at how food and, Nutrition impact chronic disease, so we see a direct correlation with the food that we eat and then our chronic disease rates of heart disease and diabetes.
And, yeah, so my schooling was driven from You know, some of my experiences growing up, but then it all just kind of came together. I was traveling all over the country for a job doing meeting facilitation and evaluation. And I said, I really just want to work closer to home if I can. And my kids were young then.
And there is a position with farm to school that opened up. They had just gotten the grant and they're like, we're not quite sure how we're going to do this. So I was a master gardener at the time. I'm a food and nutrition professional, and I have a passion for farming. So all the store, all the stars aligned.
And I became the farm to school girl in Frederick County for the past eight years, but I've always been in public health, my whole career, 20 some years there. That's so good. That's so good. And then do you have volunteers that work with your organization? Yeah, we have lots of volunteers, and they tend to come to us when they have an interest in the climate.
They have interest in food, they have experience farming or they're concerned about food waste, and so we have all ages that, you know, kind of partner with us to try to advance what we're doing. And hunger, hunger is a really big deal. And really that's what we're about is addressing hunger and providing good food rather than prepackaged convenience food.
So that we can decrease those rates of chronic disease and people can live well and be happy and productive. Yeah, we love that. And hunger is a really big thing. I had worked briefly with old chefs move to schools, or it was an Obama era thing. And I got to go to a big launch at the White House on the South Lawn.
Oh, nice. It was, well, it was wicked hot. And we all chef coats and, you know, but, but in theory. I look back on it and go, Oh, wasn't that cool that I did it? But at the end of the day, I had a gigantic blister and I was but it's, it's a real issue. Hunger is a real issue, and I think a lot of us think that it's not as big of an issue as it is.
And, you know, when you look at. You know, mental health is such a big issue as well. And the other day speaking at a meeting and I helped connect the dots that, you know, when our children are hungry, they're inattentive and they're having a hard time focusing and they may be struggling with attention deficit.
it and things, but it also could just be they're hungry. And so we're bringing much more attention to that. We know that there are more than 30 percent of our public school students are food insecure and need nutritious food. So, and then we see the rise with seniors and we know that when a senior is hungry, that they have higher rates.
of anxiety and depression as well as heart attacks. Like, there are these things that connect to hunger that you wouldn't really think about. Yes. You look at even diabetes and obesity and heart attacks. They link to hunger because of the stress that hunger causes. Yeah, I taught at a local high school for a year and I did the culinary program there and the kids were by far the best part of that job.
They were so incredible, but I would see that it was an issue with my own students. So I kind of went a little off of things and I really focused on doing a lot of cooking with them and making sure that they were getting something. Right. You know, because always trying to make sure that nobody's going hungry.
And it was a, it was a big free lunch school, you know, but still, and that's like what we do every time we go into a school and do a program, we always do a taste test or a sample or try it in food home as well. For that very reason of just like getting, making sure they have something. It's so important.
Yeah, it's so important. So not going into too political of a thing, but I know that you received some funding from USDA. Yep. Yeah. So tell me a little about that. Well, this is a really exciting initiative. And it's something that, again, like you wouldn't think Farm to School is doing, but we had decided we wanted to look at local farmers markets in Frederick that that could, One boost sales for farmers, like how can we help them do better at the markets?
And then two, how can we make sure everybody's shopping at the market? And so it was called a farmer's market promotion program, and it was Through the USDA funding, we were so excited that we had been selected to do this work and we got started in December and we it's a reimbursement thing. So we got reimbursed for all of our work in December.
We submit to get reimbursement in January, and lo and behold, we get crickets, and it was silent. And so our grant we're getting no response for the funding that we were awarded, and it was significant for our Small nonprofit. It was 99, 000 to do work for two years and we are, we don't have those funds now.
We don't know. There's been very little, there's been zero communication of whether or not we will get them or not. So it's really disheartening. And I, Christine, I never in a million years thought that me, us foreign to school talking about fruits and vegetables. would not have our funding. I was just blown away.
I was just sitting there looking around in disbelief. I was like, you got to be kidding me. We can't do fruits and vegetables right now and support our local farmers. So it's been hard. It's been a hard month for sure. Yeah, yeah, and everything's so divisive now. I mean, I just, I don't see how getting fruits and vegetables into kiddos and into people could ever be controversial.
I know, right? I just don't see it, but we are painting the sky blue. Right. Because you have an upcoming fundraiser that for everybody who's listening, even my friend in Germany, I don't know who you are, but you can do this too. And we have, I just want to tell you, because it's such a personal point of pride for me.
I have had folks listening in Israel, in Germany, in France. France. I have had all over the US. I mean. Texas, Ohio, California Colorado, all the eastern states, like it is, it is the most delightful thing, but I bring that up because you were doing something to reach a really wide audience that's going to be super fun, right?
So tell everyone what it is because I'm so excited for you. Thanks for some of your leadership with this too. We are going to do an online cooking class with a local chef named Drew Allen and he is going to teach us how to prepare some food that is going to Expand, reach, and we're hoping to really use this as a kickstarter for some online cooking classes so that we can reach more people, but he's going to do gnocchi.
And Christine, do you, did I say that right? Because I get made fun of with my, I think you said it right. But you know, my Pennsylvania roots come out and I'm always saying gnocchi. Because I know that's the Noki. And I give it the Noki. You're right, it's Noki. No, I think it sounds much closer to authentic when you are saying it.
Don't trust this accent. Oh well. My Midwest comes out in a lot of different ways too. But he's going to do that online with Homemade gnocchi and then a mushroom cream sauce and then we're going to talk about some spring vegetables like our fresh peas and our asparagus and like that, that could be served with it.
Fresh peas! Yeah, our kickoff to kind of explore doing some more online cooking so that we're really accessible to people and can share more of our programs. And this, this is going to be online cook along. Yeah. Right. This is cook along. Yep. And this is the most fun thing because I think when you're doing, okay, so you know, I'm a huge lover of the online classes.
Yeah. I, I can't, I always thought it would be stupid. And now I love it so much because you can get as much or as little attention as you want when you're doing the class. But You forgot to mention that drew has a couple of stars behind his experience, right? This is important. And for if you're listening, I'm hoping that you're kind of a food lover at the very least you'd like to eat.
But Michelin stars, right? And he was a head chef. But he has been in restaurants that have earned a couple of stars and he's a total dish. He's a total cutie. He's got kind of that starter of the silver fox thing starting. He's a cutie, right? Yes, he's so personable and so cute and so enthusiastic. He just Came to us and said, Hey, I'd like to get involved with farm to school.
So he's excited about this. He hasn't, he hasn't done these before and he's all in and getting his, you know, decks in a row and planning this out. And so on March 23rd at four o'clock, we're going to be live with chef Drew. Oh, I love it. I love it so much. And this is totally a fundraiser, right? Yeah, it is.
We actually and hopefully right after we finish this conversation, we'll get our platform and our registration and things up. So you will see links and things that you can register online and then participate much like this with a zoom platform or another platform. And I am going to have the links and all that good stuff in the show notes.
So if you don't know where the show notes are, everyone, you can just. Go to wherever you're downloading and just it'll give you a description and then just scroll down to the bottom Okay, and I always have where you can find me because I want to be found But I will have the links and everything for this and Alicia, you know what?
I think you should do Whatever the cost is, I think then you need another button on the side that says, you know, like, want to donate a little more? I don't think we can make up that 99, 000. But, you know, I just think these are so much fun. And you're cool if somebody registers. It's for the camera, right?
So they can have a friend in the kitchen with them. Oh, yeah. They can have their, just like us, our adult children. Hanging out adult ish. Yeah, anybody can listen in and join and that's going to make it really fun too. Yeah, family centered. You are very family centered. I love that and a friend too. And this is, it's just a Sunday evening.
Is that what it is? It's a Sunday. It's the 23rd. Yep. I have, I love doing the Sundays because then when you're done with class, what do you have? Yeah dinner. That's right. Dinner's ready. So you learn a skill. Yep. You get some eye candy. Yep. You have a delicious meal. Yep. And you're supporting an incredible cause.
Awesome. It's so good, right? Yes. It is. It is good. It is very very good work, and that's what keeps me going because it's It's, it's been a lot of hard work, but we're going to keep doing this because it's important and it is really a value for me that, that we do a better job with food. And like I said, so many people get, get behind it and understand that.
Yeah. Yeah. I love it. Alicia, look how easy that was. Yay. Yay. Yay. I think we covered everything. I think so, too. And I appreciate you. Thank you for bringing such energy and life to the topic of food and just the importance of, you know, all the different work that's being done out there. Oh, thank you so much.
I think it's really so, so important. And I have grown up, like, processed food, fast food. That was, like, my whole life. Right. And just in my late fifties now, am I really figuring it out and, you know, loving on the fresh local stuff. And I mean, it's, it's good stuff. And when there's somebody like you leading the charge, it makes it that much easier and really that much more fun.
Thank you. Thank you to say thank you. I'll stop. All right. So listen, like I said, everything is in the show notes. Just scroll on down. If you have questions, you can reach out to Alysia this is going to be on Sunday, March 23rd, 4 p. m. Eastern time. Now, if you're listening in Colorado, you can still sign up and it'll be a little late afternoon snack for you, but you're going to learn how to make the breakfast sandwich.
Nokia, whatever the pronunciation is. I don't have a drop of Italian blood in me. I've wished for it, but nothing. So you will be able to find everything. Sign up, tell a friend and let's keep farm to school rocking and rolling. Thank you, Alysia awesome. Thanks, Christine. All right, everyone. I will see you soon.
And if I'm lucky, 📍 I'll see you in the kitchen.
