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WESTMINSTER -- Hans Estrin wants to change the world, one head of lettuce at a time.
Just over a year ago, Estrin had a pretty good job teaching science at The Putney School.
While teaching agricultural ecology there, he would lead his students through an exercise researching how much local food was making its way into area schools.
Each semester he would get frustrated and depressed, learning how little local schools were accessing the produce that Vermont is famous for.
Schools were serving apples from Washington, frozen carrots from who-knows-where, and prepared lettuce from California, while local farmers harvested the same crops less than a mile up the road.
So Estrin decided to try to change that.
He quit his job at The Putney School and teamed up with an area farmer to try to get more local produce on to the plates of Windham County school children.
Now, heading into his second growing season, The Windham Farm and Food Network is growing.
Talking with area cafeteria managers Estrin learned that there were real barriers to introducing local produce into the day.
The food service managers said the local produce is usually more expensive, which it is.
And they said it often took more time to prepare and clean, which it does.
But they also said there was not enough time to talk to all of the different farmers, and it was hard to keep track of what was available.
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After talking with Paul Harlow, owner of Westminster Organics, Harlow said Estrin could use the farm's truck, which was heading into Brattleboro a few times a week anyway with produce from Harlow's Westminster farm.
Estrin also set up a Web site that had accurate information on what produce was available and what it cost.
Food service managers can look at what was available, place an order, and Estrin will deliver to the school.
In the fall of 2009, when he started, he was delivering about $200 of local food each week.
This spring he is moving between $500 and $1,000 weekly, and heading into the height of the growing season Estrin is expecting that number to grow even more.
"I'm committed to trying to improve the health of the community and see people make healthier food choices," Estrin said. "I'm trying to educate kids where their resources are coming from. More people are thinking the same thing. I don't have to convince a lot of people that this is a good idea."
John Kenyon, regional director of Cafe Services, agrees.
Cafe Services is the food service company with a contract to serve schools in Brattleboro, and other area towns.
Kenyon said the company is making an effort to get more local produce into the schools for the simple reason that his customers are demanding it.
Teachers, school board members and parents all want to see more local produce on the food trays in cafeterias.
Kenyon said Estrin's work has encouraged the company to invest in a processing center to prepare and freeze local produce to make it easier for cafeteria staff to work the local produce into the school day.
"We've been trying to get more fresh fruits and vegetables for a few years but there have been barriers," said Kenyon. "Hans is helping us get over those barriers. He is offering the distribution that is helping us connect with farmers, and that is helping us get the program to the next level."
Estrin's business model uses the Westminster Organics delivery truck to bring the produce into area schools.
There are no infrastructure or overhead costs.
All of the ordering is done online, so no one has to be paid to sit at a telephone and take orders.
And by moving the produce from the farm to the school in a matter of hours, there are no electricity from refrigeration bills
The farmers enter their information through the Web site, Estrin checks the orders in the morning and two days a week he delivers freshly harvested Vermont produce, that is often on the plates of school children the next day.
So far he has been delivering to schools in Brattleboro, Townshend, Saxtons River, Putney, Guilford and Hinsdale, as well as to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital and Grace Cottage Hospital.
Estrin's idea caught the attention of University of Vermont Extension Vegetable and Berry Specialist Vern Grubinger, who helped find some funding to support The Windham Farm and Food Network.
Estrin is now a UVM Extension employee, and the grant funds are helping pay for the Web page, and giving Estrin support to collect data and document his business as it grows.
Grubinger thinks the plan can grow to serve hospitals and senior centers, and he said Estrin has an opportunity to make a real impact on the local food economy, and that is what UVM Extension is all about.
In Eastern Windham County, more than 7,000 meals are served every school day in the approximately 40 cafeterias in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and senior centers.
Estrin estimates that about $3.6 million is spent every year on about 2 million institutional meals, and if he can capture even a small portion of that business, it could mean moving thousands of additional dollars away from large, corporate food service companies and into the pockets of area farmers.
"The way we see it, this has the potential of providing multiple benefits for the community," said Grubinger. "There is a chance to really make an improvement in human health, it benefits the rural economy, and it improves our food security. There are so many good reasons to try to have more fresh food in our schools."
Grubinger is seeing how Estrin can make real changes by talking with the farmers and cafeteria workers.
After learning that there was a call for sweet potato fries, Estrin talked a New Hampshire farmer into growing the crop and now the schools are planning to have the local vegetable on the menu when harvest time comes in the fall.
"This is a way to increase markets for farmers," Grubinger said. "Things are going in a very positive direction, and we are seeing multiple benefits coming from supporting the local food system."
Still, there are barriers to overcome.
Local food does usually cost more and schools do not have any extra money in their budgets to make up the difference
The food is often dirtier and takes longer to prepare, and there is a gap during Vermont's long winter.
And then there is the challenge of selling a rutabaga to a third grader.
Estrin is seeing more local food in supermarkets and restaurants highlight the choices on their menus.
More farmers' markets open every year as CSAs and farm stands see an increase in business every season.
Estrin sees his business as one more link in that chain
"There are a lot of folks trying to increase the amount local food we are consuming. If we can increase that even 5 percent, it is like a local stimulus package," said Estrin. "If that money is spent in the state it will create more jobs and bring more money to the farmers. If we can show that impact, then we have a chance to develop, and this can be a model across the state. This is not the only answer to our food system problem and to the obesity problem, but we do think it is one piece. When you consider the fuel it takes to bring food in, and the impact that has, the balance sheet will start to work in favor of local food systems. And people will see that washing lettuce is no big deal."
Howard Weiss-Tisman can be reached at hwtisman@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 279.
