Farm to School: Chef Laura Makes Headlines with Sustainability Mission in Falmouth Public Schools
By Sarah E. Murphy
Falmouth Public Schools Community Chef Laura Higgins-Baltzley is introducing students across the district to nutritious new recipes featuring produce, dairy, and seafood from Falmouth farms, while also providing tangible lessons about the global impact of local farming. Those efforts are already earning accolades from the Mass Farm to School Institute and the Massachusetts Department of Secondary and Elementary Education (DESE).
For her premiere initiative as Community Chef, Laura is spearheading the district’s opportunity to work with Mass Farm to School by implementing the Harvest of the Month (HOTM) for the 2024-2025 school year. The goal is to showcase the importance of regenerative, equitable, and sustainable food systems.
“We are striving to do so by fostering students with a respect for and relationship with nature through education about land and sea-based agriculture. By exposing them to a diversity of fresh and nourishing local foods, we will inspire our students to be lifelong learners and environmental justice advocates,” Chef Laura said.
“With this vehicle, Harvest of the Month, we begin to pave new foodways that we haven’t previously committed ourselves to. We’ve begun building connections within Coonamessett Farm, Peachtree Circle Farm, and Pariah Dog Farm. Our ability as a district to nurture and flow back into the local commerce is vital in a town like Falmouth, and we hope these relationships will only continue to grow.”
The program kicked off in November with kale, utilized in two ways - a requirement for the HOTM program - including a kale sunflower seed white bean dip with baked pita chips for sampling, and a sauteed kale, sweet potato, and pinto bean tamale pie as the featured item on the hot lunch menu. Fifty pounds of local kale was harvested, including twenty-five from Coonamessett Farm, twenty from Peachtree Circle Farm, and an additional five from the gardens at Falmouth High School.
The star ingredient of the month for December was carrots, featuring 175 pounds from Pariah Dog Farm and twenty-five from Falmouth High School, which were served roasted. Students also had the chance to sample a five spice carrot-banana cake with orange-cream cheese frosting. The flavor resulted when Chef Laura had extra bananas to utilize, so in her mission to minimize food waste, she added them to the traditional carrot cake recipe, yielding a unique combination.
Chef Laura works with the kitchen staff at each school, which then prepares and plates her recipes. She also visits each school's cafeteria to educate students about what happens behind-the-scenes, underscoring the hyper-local nature of the HOTM program; the Falmouth farms participating are all located less than seven miles from any school in the district.
The cafeteria at Morse Pond School was bustling in early December as students lined up to try Chef Laura's carrot-banana cake followed by the opportunity to cast votes to offer their opinions and input, which is welcomed and valued by Chef Laura.
Principal Timothy Adams credited Chef Laura for implementing the HOTM program and her execution of details and logistics.
“Everything has been so well-planned, from the menu to the voting process, with great communication to all the principals. The students are really enjoying trying new recipes with ingredients that are grown practically in our own backyard,” he said.
“The adults are loving it too. The kale-based dip was a big hit with the staff. Everyone was asking for the recipe.”
Caitlin Martinez is a 1:1 aide at the school and also the mother of a student at Teaticket Elementary.
“My son and I get so excited to talk to each other and share our thoughts about what we tried at school. This is such a wonderful opportunity because it’s helping students get involved with textures and flavors that they might not be used to,” she said.
“The cake is such a healthy choice. Kids love sweets, so this is a great way to offer a dessert. It teaches them they don't have to be scared of carrots.”
At North Falmouth Elementary School, student volunteers for the school’s Green Team recycling/composting initiative assisted by overseeing the cake sampling and voting boxes, which Chef Laura believes is a vital part of the experience by welcoming student feedback so they feel they are part of the process.
Although third-grader Caroline Markwith has tried carrot cake before, she preferred Chef Laura’s version with the banana.
“I really like it because it doesn’t have too many carrots. I don’t like when there’s a lot of pieces,” she said.
“I love the frosting,” added kindergartener Soleil Lopes.
School Adjustment Counselor Angela LeBlanc was sitting with a group of students.
“They all loved the cake and wanted seconds,” she said.
Second-grader Melanie Moore enjoyed trying roasted carrots as a featured item in her hot lunch of Jamaican Jerk Chicken, rice and beans, and plantains.
“I like carrots but I like how these ones tasted, and I liked having them in a different way,” she said.
“They almost tasted like they were fried.”
Principal Rebecca Vieira has witnessed the enthusiastic response to Chef Laura’s offerings.
“The kids are really excited. Many of them said they never knew they loved kale until now, and they keep saying we need to add a 'Love' box for the voting,” she said.
Food Service Department Coordinator Magalie Chabarbi was also assisting at North Falmouth. She underscored the commitment and creativity Chef Laura has brought to the district.
“We love everything she does. She’s very detail-oriented, she knows how to communicate, and she’s a great instructor,” she said.
“It’s very time-consuming to do this for all seven schools in the district, but she makes the time.”
To illustrate her point, Mullen-Hall School, under the direction of Food Service Director Amy Keefe, recently earned the “Terrific Tray” award for January 2025 for their execution and plating of Chef Laura's tamale pie, garnished with a dollop of sour cream and complemented with apple sauce and a veggie spread paired with hummus. The achievement was announced across Massachusetts in DESE's Office For Food and Nutrition Programs' “Fueling the Commonwealth” School Meals newsletter, with photos by Chef Laura of the Mullen-Hall team and the award-winning tray, which was selected for taking "local to the next level.” Not only was it Chef Laura’s first featured recipe for the HOTM program, it was her first time entering the contest.
Chef Laura was appointed to the newly created position of Community chef in June 2024 by Superintendent of Schools Lori S. Duerr. A 2004 graduate of Falmouth High School, Laura is owner/operator of The Buffalo Jump, the on-site catering company at Coonamessett Farm, where she utilizes the farm’s bounty in her own culinary creations.
The role of Community Chef and the opportunity to share her passion with a broader audience caught Laura’s attention immediately.
“It felt to be everything I have set forth to do in my twenty-five years working in the food service industry. After graduating from Falmouth High School with continued work in local restaurants, including Moonakis Cafe, The Box Lunch, and Crabapples, I graduated from Bridgewater State College (now University) in 2008. I then took my culinary interest to California and furthered my education at the Culinary Institute of America’s Napa Valley campus. Through my working in farm-to-table restaurants over the West Coast and extensive international farming and food-work travel, I developed a deep respect and love for varied cultural cuisines and people. My travels always lead me back to Falmouth with intentions to share my learnings and food with my community,” she said.
“Accepting this role has given me the opportunity to dive into a facet of the food industry that is building the foundation of our community and future. Feeding our students their daily meal is the nucleus of impact on their health and ability to learn. Having an opportunity to help elevate this experience with all our food service staff’s hard work has been such a beautiful experience so far.”
It has also been rewarding for Laura personally, as the mother of Faunus, a third-grader at East Falmouth Elementary School.
“I am a visual person. I see food in pathways, chains, webs. When we make a choice to grow, purchase or eat a certain way, we are creating the next link in the chain and have a massive impact on its trajectory,” she said.
“As a member of this local community, steward of the Earth, and as a mother with an investment in our children’s future welfare, I have to consider the choice thoughtfully. To link our food chain in a way that will continue to give back and grow the spaces that care for and about us is ultimately an investment in securing our future. As I see it, our goal to focus on sustainability and support local farming, especially regenerative farming, is an existential necessity as we motion to support our children and community.”