By Alicia Holloway
Alicia Holloway is a Farm to School Contractor at Georgia Organics.
Goat eating parsley at Cosmos Farms. Photos courtesy of the farm.
October Farm to School Month may be months away, but we are already planning this year’s celebration! Farm to School enthusiasts weighed in with just over 180 submissions to our annual campaign naming contest. Our favorites included “Power to the Parsley”, “Parsley in the USA”, “Come on Parsley, let’s go Party”, and even “Rockin’ the Garden with Elvis Parsley!”.
This year’s theme name is Par-SLAY the Day, and we know cafeterias and classrooms will be killing it with the bright, bold flavor of parsley. Herbs make fantastic complements to vegetables in seasoning blends, salad dressings, and other sauces, making it perfect to use lavishly on Georgia grown products throughout October Farm to School month. When famous foodie James Beard listed the herbs he couldn’t cook without, he said parsley is “so universal it goes without saying.”
Parsley is an easy-to-grow, cool-season herb, making it great for classrooms and school gardens as well as the cafeteria. In school gardens, parsley has the additional advantage of being a host plant for Black Swallowtail butterflies. It can be planted in early spring; no need to wait for October to start exploring all the possibilities parsley has to offer.
Organic parsley, fresh from Cosmos Farm of Carrollton, GA.
Keep an eye out for the Par-SLAY the Day campaign sign-up! In mid-May, you’ll be able to register and get access to lesson plans, recipes, and other parsley resources. Sign up for the eBite to stay up to date on October Farm to School Month happenings!
Together, let's sow the seeds of a brighter, more sustainable future for the health of our communities and the land.
To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn by searching the handle @GeorgiaOrganics or Georgia Organics.