New York Farm Bureau News Bytes – Episode #5
Interview with Rebekka Henriksen on Farm to School Program
Date: September 10, 2025
Location: Zoller Elementary School, Schenectady, NY
Episode Overview
This episode highlights the impact and workings of the Farm to School movement in Schenectady, NY, focusing on efforts led by Rebekka Henriksen, Farm to School Manager for the school district. Rebekka discusses her unconventional path to agricultural education, the vital role of school gardens, food accessibility, and the wide-reaching benefits for both students and local farmers. The conversation covers program logistics, student engagement, and the community-centric approach that distinguishes their initiatives.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Rebekka Henriksen’s Background and Path to Farm to School
[00:28–03:08]
- Rebekka has led the district’s Farm to School effort for six years, originating as a garden educator.
- Holds non-agriculture academic degrees (Theater and Italian) but extensive practical experience in nutrition, garden/nature education, and family roots in farming.
- Started the Zoller garden revitalization after noticing its neglect when walking her children to school, transforming it into a robust edible garden.
Notable Quote:
"My degree is actually in theater and Italian. Very useful degrees, right? And somehow I ended up here... But I have, I do have a background in nutrition and especially in childhood nutrition issues."
— Rebekka Henriksen [00:44]
2. Understanding “Farm to School”
[03:08–05:01]
- Farm to School is a national movement (over 40 years old) centered around three “C”s: Cafeteria, Classroom, Community.
- Focuses on local food procurement, agricultural curriculum, and community engagement.
- Examples include edible schoolyards, local partnerships, public events like the “pickle party.”
Notable Quote:
"We talk about the three Cs of farm to school... getting local produce, meat and dairy into our school lunch menus... agricultural connected lessons... and then community."
— Rebekka Henriksen [03:32]
3. The Edible and Educational Gardens at Zoller and Across the District
[05:03–07:24]
- Gardens feature diverse crops: pizza garden (tomatoes, basil, oregano), three sisters (corn, beans, squash), strawberries, salad greens, root vegetables, cucumbers, okra, culinary and medicinal herbs.
- Additional features: 30-tree apple orchard, maple sugar bush, monarch butterfly waystation.
- 16 gardens district-wide, 3 fruit orchards, 5 campuses with maple sugaring.
Memorable Moment:
"We have some heirloom squash in that. We have a ginormous squash. It's like, I wish there was a county fair right now because we would win a prize for the squash."
— Rebekka Henriksen [06:11]
4. Food Accessibility and Equity
[07:24–09:37]
- Over 79% of district students qualify for free/reduced lunch.
- City has only one full-service grocery store, with many neighborhoods facing physical and transportation barriers to access.
- Gardens serve as direct sources of produce for students, families, and the community; initiatives like “Farm to Family on Wheels” truck deliver local food twice weekly.
Notable Quote:
"Food access is a daily, very alive issue for the majority of our students and their families... it gave me a sense of dignity and self-respect. And it was really important for me that our students and their families also have that."
— Rebekka Henriksen [08:19]
5. The Role of Nutrition & Changing School Food Culture
[09:37–13:07]
- Critiques historical shift to ultra-processed, heat-and-serve school meals after removal of kitchens; Farm to School and partners (like Chef Ann Foundation) are reversing this, emphasizing scratch cooking and culinary skill-building.
- School gardens and local procurement fundamentally shift kids’ relationships to food—leading to genuine excitement about healthy eating.
Memorable Moment:
"There's nothing like it... a child picks like a cherry tomato that they've grown or pulls that carrot out of the ground and... it just changes their entire relationship to food."
— Rebekka Henriksen [11:34]
On impact:
"I get kids to eat kale, like raw kale... This is the magic of farm to school."
— Rebekka Henriksen [12:36]
6. Teaching About Food Origins and Inspiring Future Farmers
[13:13–15:48]
- Every lesson emphasizes “where does your food come from?”—from growing, harvesting, preparing.
- “Farmer in the Classroom” initiative brings local farmers into schools to connect students directly to agriculture and inspire future careers in farming—crucial as the average age of farmers rises and fewer young people enter the field.
Notable Quote:
"As soon as I teach a kid how to tap a tree, I say, you're a maple farmer now. They're like, we're maple farmers!"
— Rebekka Henriksen [14:02]
7. The Broader Food Security Issue: Building Resilient Local Systems
[15:48–18:07]
- Real food security comes from resilient, locally-rooted food systems; local procurement supports both families and local farms.
- COVID-19 exposed weaknesses in national food supply chains. Farm to School fosters local relationships and skills—providing stability and a safety net.
- Initiatives grow skills as well as food: distributing seedlings, running workshops, passing along agricultural wisdom from many student family backgrounds.
Notable Quote:
"Real food security means resilient local food system... the more local procurement we can do from New York state farms, the more resilient our food system."
— Rebekka Henriksen [16:01]
8. Farm to School in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Settings
[18:07–19:58]
- The program bridges urban and rural food needs.
- In highly urban neighborhoods with minimal green space, the school garden may be the only growing space and serves as a de facto community garden.
- Partnerships with rural farmers broaden the market and support local agriculture.
Notable Quote:
"Many of our school gardens are kind of de facto community gardens as well... not just school families who show up... it's also neighbors and community members who come."
— Rebekka Henriksen [18:40]
9. Celebrating Farm to School Month and Community Engagement
[20:01–21:53]
- October is National Farm to School Month—features include:
- "Harvest of the Month" taste tests with New York State seasonal produce.
- The “Big Apple Crunch” event: every child bites into a local apple simultaneously.
- Farmer pop-up markets at schools, distributing hundreds of pounds of food each month with student assistance.
- Kids and families take immense pride in the gardens and in sharing their harvest.
Notable Quote:
"We don't use any negative language around food... we tell, talk to the kids about where those apples came from, who grew it."
— Rebekka Henriksen [20:26]
On student pride:
"These gardens really are their spaces and their work... it's a powerful, powerful experience for them."
— Rebekka Henriksen [21:57]
Notable Quotes Summary
- Personal Journey: "My degree is actually in theater and Italian. Very useful degrees, right? And somehow I ended up here..." [00:44]
- On Food Access: "Food access is a daily, very alive issue for the majority of our students and their families." [08:19]
- On Changing Eating Habits: "There's nothing like it... it just changes their entire relationship to food." [11:34]
- On Building Local Food Systems: "Real food security means resilient local food system." [16:01]
- On Expanding Farmer Connections: "As soon as I teach a kid how to tap a tree, I say, you're a maple farmer now. They're like, we're maple farmers!" [14:02]
- On Community Gardens: "Many of our school gardens are kind of de facto community gardens as well." [18:40]
- On Student Ownership: "These gardens really are their spaces and their work." [21:57]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:28–03:08: Rebekka’s background and entry into farm to school
- 03:08–05:01: Explanation of the Farm to School movement
- 05:09–07:24: Garden contents and experiential learning details
- 07:36–09:37: Addressing food access and distribution programs
- 09:54–13:07: Impact on nutrition, scratch cooking, and student food relationships
- 13:24–15:48: Food origins education and inspiring future farmers
- 16:01–18:07: Food security, resilience, and local food systems
- 18:20–19:58: Urban-rural connections and community gardening
- 20:11–21:53: National Farm to School Month activities, student involvement, and community pride
Episode Tone and Final Thoughts
Rebekka Henriksen speaks with passion, warmth, and humor, grounding big-picture agricultural reforms in personal experience and daily moments in the garden. Throughout the discussion, she centers both the practical (food distribution, cooking skills) and the transformative (agency, pride, and wonder) aspects of Farm to School. The conversation underscores the intertwined destinies of schools, families, and New York’s farmers—and the power of growing, cooking, and sharing food together.