State boosts farm-to-school effort with $250K

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is giving 15 school districts around the state $250,000 in grants to add new cafeteria equipment as part of the Farm to School effort, which works to put more locally produced products in school kitchens.

The program is run in cooperation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, and expects to hand out about $500,000 in grants next year.

Minnesota's agriculture commissioner, Dave Frederickson, says the districts will use the money to buy equipment, like juicers and slicers, to prepare fresh fruits and vegetables for students.

"It's just a good opportunity for us to assist local districts to stretch their limited resources as much as possible," he said.

Some districts will also use the grants to fund studies on how best to get local products into school cafeterias.