Farm to Breakfast
Breakfast can be a great opportunity to incorporate local and Washington grown foods. Common breakfast ingredients such as berries and fruit, eggs, milk, yogurt, dairy products, and grains grown in Washington. Serving local foods improves the quality of school breakfasts while helping support local farmers.
Check out some general resources below on school breakfast and Washington grown foods:
- Washington School Breakfast resources - United Way King County
- School Breakfast Program resources - OSPI Child Nutrition
- Start Strong with Breakfast Program - Washington State Dairy Council
- Bringing Farm to School into Breakfast - National Farm to School Network
- Discover School Breakfast materials - USDA Food & Nutrition Service
- School Breakfast: Making it Work in Large School Districts - Food Research & Action Center
- Agricultural commissions in Washington also have recipes, and can help find ingredients or suppliers for certain products.
Contact WSDA Farm to School for help using local foods in your breakfast program.
Incorporating local foods into breakfast
Whether or not you already do farm to school for lunch, using Washington grown ingredients for breakfast can be a big success with students after a little planning. Assess the number of breakfast servings, staff capacity, resources, and your current connections to local producers directly or through distributors. Ask these questions as you plan how Farm to Breakfast will look in your school:
- What does “local” mean for our district? You get to define “local” for your own program. It may mean products from your county, region, or Washington State. Use a seasonality chart from WSDA Farm to School or ask local farmers to know what products are grown in your region, and when they might be available.
- What ingredients should I start with? You may want to pick just one or two locally produced ingredients to feature on your breakfast menu. Craft your menu so you can use a couple products that are fresh and in-season and different times of year. Some of the school breakfast meal pattern components, like frozen fruits, grains, and dairy products, might be available locally year-round. You could even feature farm to breakfast occasionally throughout the school year, for National School Breakfast Week or Taste Washington Day.
- Where can I find local ingredients? Another way to develop your breakfast menu with local ingredients could be to ask farmers what products they will have during the school year. Alternately, ask your distributor what Washington grown ingredients they carry and identify what would be a good breakfast item. Some pre-made products, like baked goods or dairy, may already use Washington grown ingredients that you can highlight!
Scratch cooking for breakfast
Farm to breakfast can be easier with some scratch cooked items. However, making them portable enough for Breakfast In the Classroom or Grab and Go can be tricky. Here are a few ideas and resources for scratch cooking using local ingredients at breakfast.
Baked goods: Many schools using Washington grown grain to make their own baked goods. Some recipes can also be a great way to incorporate local fruits, or pair with a dairy product like yogurt for a portable menu item. See WSDA Farm to School’s scratch cooking equipment recommendations for mixer and oven options. Check out this presentation on in-house baking with tips, recipes, and cost analysis from Chicopee Public Schools in Massachusetts.
Shell eggs: School meal programs can use donated or purchased eggs in their school meals. For producer requirements and safe egg handling guidance, see the WSDA Small Farm Direct Marketing Handbook “Selling Eggs” Factsheet. Contact OSPI Child Nutrition and your local health department for questions and requirements for handling eggs in your school kitchen.
Local meat/meat alternates: Breakfast sausage, patties, ground beef and other meats from local producers can be used if they follow WSDA or USDA processing requirements for their products. Use meat alternates like yogurt, tofu, cheese, eggs, dry beans and peas from local producers. At breakfast, the meat/meat alternate component can count toward the grain requirement if at least one ounce of grain has been planned for the day.
Smoothies & parfaits: Some popular breakfast items are ready-made for portability and local ingredients. Use Washington milk, along with Washington grown fruits, yogurt, or granola, to meet two or three breakfast pattern components in a single recipe. The Washington State Dairy Council can be a great resource to help you get started with these meal items.
Recipes
Some great cookbooks, recipe databases and collections exist to help find breakfast-ready recipes: