Summer is officially here, bringing a vibrant shift from the classroom to the community. As the school year wraps up, we are filled with gratitude for the incredible food service heroes, educators, and regional farmers who worked tirelessly to bring fresh, local food to student trays this year. Your dedication has rooted our farm-to-school initiatives in true success. But the momentum doesn’t stop with the final school bell. Summer food service programs are stepping up, ensuring our kids stay nourished with the very best our region has to offer. June marks the arrival of peak harvest season, filling our communities with an abundance of fresh berries, crisp greens, and seasonal favorites. It’s the perfect time to celebrate our local growers and keep the farm-to-table connection strong. Thank you for growing with us this year—let’s dive into a bright, bountiful summer!

Bring the Summer Bounty to Your Trays with Region Roots!

Summer harvest is here, and this is what we have in store this month to help support your summer feeding needs.

Fresh & In Season: Local strawberries are in season right now, with blueberries and other delicious berries arriving soon!
Plan Ahead: This is also a perfect time to plan bulk purchases for freezing, processing, or incorporating into your current summer menus and future school-year meals.

If you're interested in learning more about current availability, pricing, or coordinating larger orders, please don't hesitate to reach out. We're happy to help connect you with local products that fit your program's needs!Thank you for your continued commitment to serving fresh, local foods to your students!If you have any questions about product availability, contact our Wholesale Partnerships Coordinator, Ashley Barry at ashley@nwifoodcouncil.org

June Harvest of the Month Recipe Highlight

Spinach and Romaine Strawberry Summer Salad

Fresh spinach and romaine lettuce are combined with fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, and tart cherries. Topped with a homemade strawberry vinaigrette, this is a delicious summer salad perfect on a hot day!

Components: Dark Green, Fruit, Vegetable
Source: Healthy School Recipe
Servings: 96
Crediting: 1 serving provides ½ cup serving of dark leafy vegetable and ¼ cup of fruit

Get the recipe

Monthly Highlight: East Porter Schools Rising to the Grain Challenge!

Big things are happening in the kitchens at Kouts Middle/High School!

Meet Mandee, an outstanding food service employee who is passionate about creating fresh, healthy, made-from-scratch items for her students. Mandee regularly experiments with new recipes, bringing creative salads, sandwiches, and dips directly to the cafeteria line.

Being a small rural school, Kouts students especially appreciate these fresh, "home-cooked" options. So, when the opportunity arose to distribute specialized grain sample boxes from Janie's Mill, Mandee was the very first person who came to mind. “We knew she would jump at the chance to try something new!” said Kimberly Nieves, director of food service.

Thanks to her enthusiasm, Kouts Middle/High School is diving into the grain box recipes. The school is already looking forward to introducing delicious new items—like a scratch-made jalapeño cornbread—into the regular lunch rotation.

Thank you, Mandee and the East Porter team, for your creativity and commitment to bringing fresh, wholesome flavors to your students!

The jalapeño cornbread taste test:

What a way to wrap up May! We took the local grain supply chain out of the box and into the field.

We were thrilled to host an educational tour at Janie’s Mill, bringing together a wonderful cohort of School Food Service Directors from across the Northwest Indiana region alongside our NWI Food Council and Region Roots team!

These dedicated school food leaders previously explored local grains through our Grain Sample Boxes, and this trip allowed them to see exactly how that local grain is grown, milled, and prepared for their school menus. Connecting the dots between local producers and school trays is how we build a more resilient food system.

A massive thank you to the Artisan Grain Collaborative for sponsoring this experience, and to the team at Janie’s Mill for the incredible hospitality and education!

Announcements

Save the Date for Our 5th Annual FarmHop

FarmHop is an immersive event that invites participants to experience the power of local food systems in action across Northwest Indiana. Designed to spotlight the intersection of farming, community health, and institutional partnerships, FarmHop offers two curated tour tracks that bring local food stories to life.

Food is Medicine Tour: Friday, June 26th 2026
Farm to School Tour: Friday, September 25th 2026

More info coming soon!

Get Ready for Indiana Food Day: Let’s Talk Tomatoes!

The Indiana Department of Education and Indiana Grown for Schools have officially announced the featured crop for Indiana Food Day 2026: Tomatoes! While the big celebration takes place this October during National Farm to School Month, summer is the vital time for us to plan ahead.

We are exploring some exciting procurement options to bring the tomato harvest to your cafeterias. Specifically, we are looking into sourcing locally grown tomato products—such as pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, or other tomato items—that can be sent for processing to fit right into your menus.

Before we move forward, we want to hear from you! Your feedback is essential to ensure we secure products that work beautifully for your specific program needs and lunch rotations.

Please take two minutes to share your thoughts, preferences, and potential volume interest in our quick survey.

Complete the Indiana Food Day Tomato Survey

Farm to School: June 2026 Newsletter