Carrot Coins in NY

Local Carrots with a Side of Red Tape - Kim Severson of the New York Times writes of how even the relatively experienced New York State Farm to School folks face challenges with each new addition to the program. Her article highlights the amount of creativity and commitment required for the seemingly simple task of buying carrots from local farms for local kids to eat. Testing product and adjusting expectations or redesigning "standard products" like baby carrots (into "carrot coins" in this case) takes time, energy, money and a strong will to make it work! Note also the discussion of risks to the farmers, who sometimes need to plant new varieties and invest in equipment in order to successfully reach the large school markets.