Oxford School District

Students throughout the Oxford School District are enjoying a new local product that is now featured weekly on school lunch menus.

Locally grown cucumbers from St. Bethany Fresh — a farm in Pontotoc — are available to Oxford students who are enjoying the fresh produce on a daily basis in school cafeterias. The local cucumbers are available in every school cafeteria, thanks to Good Food for Oxford Schools and the school district’s Child Nutrition Department.

Beginning in March, students taste tested the raw cucumber slices, and the overall student reaction was an overwhelmingly positive response. Students at Oxford Elementary School students recently taste tested the cucumbers, and Bramlett Elementary School students are next in line to try the new produce on Wednesday.

“We want our students to get excited about trying new foods,” said Eleanor Green, program director for Good Food for Oxford Schools. “We also want to continue to work on sourcing local foods for Oxford students to enjoy.”

The cucumbers are now served raw on their own in all school cafeterias.  The produce is also available as a product for students to choose from when they eat from school salad bars this spring semester.

For more information on St. Bethany Fresh, visit www.stbethanyfresh.com. Visit www.oxfordsd.org/GFOS for more information on Good Food for Oxford Schools.