Submitted by Marc Drumwright, Food Child and Nutrition Services
Many students do not get their fair share of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout the day. These foods can be hard to find, expensive, and difficult to prepare for families who are on a tight budget or just don’t have enough time.
To give students greater access to a wide variety of fresh seasonal produce, Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services features a special fruit or vegetable on campuses every month as part of the Harvest of the Month Program. All Harvest of the Month produce is locally grown, and this initiative helps support Texas farms and farmers.
Throughout October, Dallas ISD is offering mushrooms from Kitchen Pride Farms in all school cafeterias. Kitchen Pride is the premier supplier of fresh Texas mushrooms and has been producing locally grown, premium-quality mushrooms in Gonzales, Texas, since 1988.
Kitchen Pride’s CEO, Tony Stachurski describes Kitchen Pride as a mushroom-growing pioneer in the Southwest. In 1988, no one was growing mushrooms commercially in Texas, and Kitchen Pride founder, Darrell McLain began implementing a series of techniques associated with Dutch-style farming to increase efficiency and productivity and to cut down on waste.
Mushrooms grow best in compost beds that require a specific mix of ingredients, and Kitchen Pride makes its own compost by working with other local farms to source the ingredients for their compost mix. This is how they create what Stachurski calls “mushroom heaven,” the perfect environmental conditions where mushrooms can thrive and grow. This attention to detail, agricultural innovation, and commitment to local partners have given Kitchen Pride a reputation for growing some of the best quality mushrooms around.
Overall, Kitchen Pride grows about 1.5 million pounds of mushrooms each month, and 99% of those mushrooms stay in Texas. They can be found at local grocery stores, or any other grocery store across the state.
To learn more about Kitchen Pride, mushrooms, or to get recipes for interesting ways to prepare mushrooms visit www.kitchenpride.com.
