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Enrichment Center opens doors June 6
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Beginning June 6, McMinnville Enrichment Center will be opening their doors on Tuesdays and Thursdays to special needs individuals and their caregivers from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. These time frames are for those who have special needs to come in and enjoy arts and crafts, games, movies and an assortment of other activities. This will continue for all of June and July. 

Holly McBride, co-founder and president of McMinnville Special Games, stated that she is very excited to open up the McMinnville Enrichment Center this summer. “Special needs individuals of all ages and their caregivers are encouraged to join us absolutely free of charge,” said McBride.

“We will be doing arts, crafts, playing games, indoor and outdoor activities, movies, story times, a little gardening and so many more activities on a daily basis,” she said. She also stated that snacks and drinks will be available. McBride also noted that donations are appreciated but not expected, and is more than happy to provide the service for free to the special needs community. 

Chasity Cooper has been hired as the activity director for the service, and will be at the center on the scheduled days. “We are very excited to have her on board. She has a background in special education and she has so many awesome ideas for activities that our special guys and gals can do,” said McBride. 

Registration is not necessary as it is a come-and-go as you please program. “We will not be accepting drop-offs, however,” stated McBride. “A guardian or caregiver must stay with the individual at all times, but there are plenty of activities to keep everyone busy for hours.” 

McBride said this is a soft-open for McMinnville Special Games, and hopes this program will lead to the center being open on a more consistent basis. “The special needs community needs these events and activities and we are thrilled to provide them,” McBride said. 

McMinnville Enrichment Center is located at 225 Garfield Street. 

Local farm partnership brings fresh beef to Warren County Schools
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Warren County Schools has beefed up lunch menus this school year through a new community partnership. Thanks to a collaboration between the district’s School Nutrition Department and Barton Creek Farms, students at Warren County High School, Warren County Middle School, West Elementary, Eastside Elementary, and Dibrell Elementary are enjoying locally sourced, farm-fresh beef in their lunches as part of a pilot program.

The initiative, spearheaded by Terri Mullican, Director of School Nutrition, has already shown great promise in its first few months. The partnership with Barton Creek Farms, located in Rock Island, Tennessee, ensures that the beef served is not only local to Warren County but of the highest quality. Barton Creek Farms specializes in farm-to-fork beef, with grass-fed and grain-finished cattle. Each calf is born and raised in Rock Island and goes through USDA-inspected processing, ensuring it meets the strictest safety and quality standards.

“When the opportunity arose to provide fresh, local beef, we knew it was a no-brainer,” Mullican said. “The fact that it’s a product from right here in our community makes it even more special. We can’t wait to implement it district-wide.”

Barton Creek Farms delivers fresh ground beef to the district monthly, and the nutrition

department incorporates it into homemade recipes such as lasagna, meatloaf, chili, and tacos.

As of now, the beef is being served at five schools, but the ultimate goal is to expand the program to all ten lunch-serving schools in the district.

The pilot program originated from a conversation between Mary Roller of Barton Creek Farms and Mullican. Roller, recognizing the farm’s potential to support local schools, reached out to gauge the district’s interest in serving local beef to students. Around the same time, a Warren County school board member contacted Mullican to share information about a similar partnership in neighboring Dekalb County, which helped push the initiative forward.

The timing worked in the district’s favor, as the nutrition department was able to fund the purchase of the beef using existing resources, eliminating the need for additional funding. Now that the pilot program is enjoying a successful run, the department has budgeted to extend the partnership district-wide for the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Grant Swallows, Director of Schools, praised the program’s economic approach to student nutrition.

“This pilot is a perfect example of how we can use local resources to continue providing nutritious, healthy meals for our students,” he said. “We are grateful for partnerships like this one that benefit both our students and our local community. We always strive to support our local businesses when we can because our community is so good to us.”

In addition to working with Warren County Schools, Barton Creek Farms also partners with local restaurants to offer farm-fresh beef on their menus. The farm’s offerings include ground beef, steaks, roasts, and custom cuts by the quarter, half, or whole cow, meeting diverse consumer needs.

As the program continues to grow, the district hopes to expand its focus on farm-to-school meals, benefiting students’ health and connecting them to the agricultural roots of the community