Our farm-to-school palate development program, Garden State on Your Plate, began in 2010 with a grant from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. That pilot, designed to bring chefs and farmers into school cafeterias during lunchtime where they served up sample sizes of simple recipes using seasonal and local produce, asked students to approach tastings and flavor as scientists, noting texture, temperature, consistency and other variables, and differences with salt, with lemon, with lemon and salt, and other condiments. Garden State on Your Plate now reaches all students at each of the four elementary schools, with two lunchtime tastings in the fall and two in the spring. Under the direction of Fran McManus, co-founder and former board member, the Garden State on Your Plate program has engaged Food Science students at the middle school, and, during the pandemic, also has reached the high school as a pilot showcasing local oats, local honey, local maple syrup and local fruit. Host a tasting at your school; click here for posters.