10/09/2026
I could cry. Actually, I am crying. 🥹🌽❤️
These might just look like pictures of kids eating corn at school.
But to me? They mean absolutely everything.
For YEARS, I’ve wanted to see food grown right here at Dalkena Highlands served in our local schools. We started small but corn has always been a WANT from the school. I’ve asked. I’ve pushed. I’ve been told it will never work.
But this year? It happened.
That corn on those lunch trays? WE GREW IT. Right here on our family farm in Newport, Washington.
And you know what makes these pictures even sweeter?
These are kids we KNOW. Children of our friends. Families we love. Good people who make up this incredible little community we’re lucky enough to call home. (And yes, all shared with permission! ❤️)
There’s something about seeing children you know, sitting in their school cafeteria, eating something you planted, tended, harvested, and poured your heart into growing.
I can’t quite explain it. But goodness, it means a lot.
Because this was never just about corn.
It’s about knowing your farmer. Knowing where your food comes from. It’s about our kids growing up understanding that food doesn’t just magically appear on grocery store shelves or cafeteria trays.
Sometimes it comes from a family they know. A farm they’ve visited for field trips. People they see at the grocery store, at school, or around town.
That’s what local food is supposed to look like. 🫶
And after a year that has been incredibly hard on our farm and our family, seeing these pictures reminds me why we keep showing up. Why we keep planting. Why we keep trying, even when the answer has been no.
To everyone who helped make this happen - our school food service team, the staff, and everyone who opened the door to bringing locally grown food into our schools - THANK YOU.
Truly. From the bottom of my heart.
From our fields to their lunch trays. From our family to yours. ❤️
And to these sweet kiddos and their families, thank you for sharing these moments with us. You have absolutely made my year.