Minnesota School Lunches Are More Locally Grown

ST. PAUL (AP) - Minnesota students are eating more fresh, locally grown produce in school lunches this year.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Health say it's a result of their Farm to School efforts.

The agriculture department's Minnesota Grown program has a new online directory that makes it easy for schools to find local farmers capable of supplying them. More than 65 farms are already listed in the database with more being added every week.

The health department says four out of five Minnesota sixth- and ninth-graders do not get their recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, increasing their risk of childhood obesity.

But it says students involved with Farm to School programs add a daily serving of produce to their diets and carry these habits home.