Harvest of the Month

What is the Harvest of the Month? 

Harvest of the Month (HOTM) is a nutrition education program that celebrates the bounty and diversity of fruits and vegetables grown in California. In OUSD, we use the HOTM program to provide education on fruits and vegetables, our food system, and California agriculture.

Nutrition Services plays a crucial role in the HOTM program by serving the HOTM every day on school produce bars. We also work closely with the Education and Community Programs team at the Center to source HOTM produce from Organic, BIPOC-Owned, Woman-Owned, Local, or Small-Scale farms in California.

March's Harvest of the Month: Spring Lettuce Mix!

This month our Harvest of the Month is a varietal mix. This includes Red Lettuces: ( Red Leaf, Red Oak, Lollorosa, Red Gem); Green Lettuces (Green Gem, Green Tango, Green Oak); Greens (Mizuna, Green Tatsoi, Red Chard, Red Mustard). 

The parts of the lettuce directly correlate to the type of nutrients you receive: eat the spine or ribs for fiber and the leaves for vitamins and minerals! Lettuce is diverse in its benefits. It is particularly high in vitamin A, folate, and potassium, which is essential for your skin, eyes, and immune system. Lettuce also contains many important compounds, such as caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid: all which have been pointed to reducing the risk of heart disease and particular cancers. Lettuce was recently a trend for their night time benefits: a cup of lettuce water can help you fall asleep faster! 

Lettuce falls into four major categories: crisphead, butterhead, romaine, and looseleaf. Crisphead is known for its tight spherical shape and crunchy texture. Butterhead has a similar shape, but is looser. Romaine differs in shape, it has long leaves with a white ribs down the center. Looseleaf is different from the other varieties, grows from the central stalk and resembles a beautiful bouquet, coming in a variety of colors including green and red. 

The lettuce we are familiar with today originated from wild plants from 6,000 year ago. Lettuce originated from Europe and Southwest Asia with the first records of cultivation by the Egyptians! Lettuce is extremely versatile, used in cultures across the world. You can enjoy lettuce in salads, as a wrap, in soup, and more! Try some lettuce on the Produce Bar this March!

To learn some more lettuce facts, visit the Center's Education and Community Program's web page.