Theory Meets Practice

As the director at Bloomfield, Cipriano has been able to maximize the advantages of local sourcing while minimizing any disadvantages. Obviously, with Connecticut's short growing season, the bounty comes quickly and fades just as fast.

“When you buy in season the price is very competitive,” he says. “We can get pretty much anything until October and economically, we try to do as much as we can over this period. We'll blanch broccoli and freeze it for use later on, for example. Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of extra freezer space.” In the cold months, his local product supply is mostly limited to vegetables like winter squash, onions and potatoes.

He currently works with nine farms, four directly and the others through distributor Sardilli Produce & Dairy Co. The distributor consolidates and delivers the farmers' products to Bloomfield Schools' two kitchens: one at the high school and the other at the middle school that serves as a central kitchen supplying three elementary schools.

One advantage Bloomfield offers Cipriano is the student demographics. “Here, I'm lucky to have huge West Indian population, primarily Jamaicans whose families regularly use fresh vegetables and fruits, often out of their own gardens. So they saw the food I was serving as not too different from what they get at home. Cheshire was more of a challenge because it was a bedroom community where the kids were used to relying on Boston Market and McDonald's for lunch.”

As a gesture to the Jamaican community, Cipriano made a deal with a local farmer to grow callaloo, a Caribbean leafy green that is usually served braised. “We put it on menu and teachers of Jamaican descent were blown away. The feedback was great,” he says.

Another big hit — kale soup, and not just at the school but also at a special dinner at the state capitol for the Connecticut Working Lands Alliance annual meeting last year.

“There were state legislators, senators and Congressmen at the meeting, along with chefs from all over the state,” Cipriano recalls (the Alliance works to preserve Connecticut's farmlands). “Having our Bloomfield farm-to-school program product there was a pretty good thing. It got our name out there.”

Cipriano's latest project will bringing the local foods gospel to the other end of the age demographic. This summer, he plans to work with a local nonprofit, the Bridges Healthy Cooking School, to create pilot program for senior nutrition, which will bring farmers markets directly into senior centers once a week for several hours in the morning.

“They will take place in conjunction with senior education classes that will address ways seniors can increase their consumption of grains and of fruits and vegetables, Cipriano explains. “There will also be cooking demos and classes on how to select and prepare the different foods they can buy at the market. We want to form a better bond between the seniors and the farmers.”

Chef Tim's Squapple Crisp

YIELD: 24 servings

• 8 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1½ cups butter, divided
• 1½ cups brown sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 ⅓ tsp. cinnamon
• 2 qts. Corn Flakes cereal, crushed
• 6 lbs. apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1. Preheat convection oven to 350°F.
2. Steam squash until tender. Mash with ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup brown sugar and spices
3. For Topping. Melt 1¼ cup butter. Add Corn Flakes, 1¼ cup brown sugar. Toss until coated.
4. In a greased hotel pan, layer apples and squash. Top with Corn Flake mixture.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes in convection oven. Serve hot.
6. Optional serving suggestion: serve with local vanilla ice cream if available.