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The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network serves as a catalyst for a thriving and equitable local food system that is accessible to ALL.
Celebrating #National Farm to School Month
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LAST CALL FOR ARTWORK SUBMISSIONS | |
Student Artists: download the REGISTRATION PACKET Contest closes 10/31/22. | |
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Student artists, K-12th grades, are encouraged to submit Harvest of the Month poster entries during Farm to School Month from October 1st through October 31st. All students in the following school districts are eligible to participate: all 5 Gibson County School Districts, Obion County, Weakley County, and Cheatham County Schools. Entries must be postmarked by November 1, 2022. All winners will receive a local food prize and have their posters hung on school district cafeterias walls!
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We are seeking volunteer judges to review Harvest of the Month Poster Entries during the 2nd week of November. Contact Sam at nwtnfoodguide at gmail.com
or call (731) 332-9071.
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Know Your Farmer. Know Your Gourd.
Celebrate #National Farm to School month
at a local pumpkin patch near you.
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#Grow Cheatham Kick-Off &
Community Local Food Taste Test
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The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network is proud to partner with the Cheatham County School District to support their USDA Farm to School Planning Project. | |
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When: Thursday, October 27
Time: 2-4pm CT / 3-5pm ET
Where: Virtual on Zoom
Admission: FREE!
This year's Movement Meeting will focus on how communities have built power in their farm to school and ECE food systems work, and how we can build power together. We will discuss what it means to hold power and the mechanisms at our disposal to shift power, hear from farm to school and ECE partners who have built power within their own communities, and take time to reflect on what it means to build power within our own communities.
Whether you've been doing farm to school for years or are new to it, join the Movement Meeting to learn about how farm to school is growing from the ground up and how YOU can be an advocate to make real change happen.
LEARN MORE AND REGISTER HERE
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Participate in Apple Crunch Day
with Trenton Special School District
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Grab an apple and crunch with us on Friday, October 28th at 12 Noon Central in celebration of #National Farm to School Month with healthy food in our schools. Take a picture and post it on social media with hashtag #NWTNFarmtoSchool | |
The 95th National FFA Convention & Expo is Oct. 26-29, 2022 | |
Many Tennessee Future Farmers of America student groups will be attending the National Convention in Indianapolis at the end of this week. #FFA2022
Will we have winning FFA students from our region? We should! Stay posted to find out!
convention.ffa.org
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FREE Virtual Meet-Up to Examine Factors Influencing Food Purchases 11.4 @ 12 Noon (CT)
Consumers are known to signal social status through their purchasing behaviors. As the food industry continually expands its use of strategic marketing to reach customers, understanding food’s connection to this kind of status signaling may open the door to explore new markets for farmers. This study explored the influence of social status, physical activity, and socio-demographics on an individual’s willingness to pay for a basket of high-quality foods.
Guest speakers will share their research findings geared towards farmers, Farmers Market vendors and consumers.
Register today for your seat at the table.
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~ Featured Story ~
Obion County Farm Day Paves the Way Towards the Future of Farming
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(Left to right) FFA 9th graders Kodie Robbins, Mattie Kate Cheatham and Isabella Baker hold sheep raised at their Farm on Obion County Central High School’s campus | Will you help Obion County Central High School build a NEW greenhouse? These dedicated students want to be able to expand hydroponic growing operations in order to feed a consistent supply of Rebel Grown greens to all of the schools in the school district. Obion County is seeking matching funds to support this project – can you help? Contact Stuart Watson at swatson@ocboe.com. | |
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On Friday, October 21, 2022, the Obion County School District celebrated FARM DAY at Obion County Central High School. The High School’s Future Farmers of America student group hosted close to 200 fourth graders who rotated through agricultural learning stations including chicks from Tyson Foods out of Union City, TN Corn, TN Soybean Council, NWTN Beekeepers Association, Nutrien Ag Solutions, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, Beef Cattle and OCCHS FFA raised lambs.
All Obion County School District Elementary School fourth graders participated including students from Lakeview, South Fulton, Black Oak, Hillcrest, and Ridgemont Elementary Schools.
During the 2021-2022 school year, the Obion County School District, in partnership with the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network, participated in a year-long Farm to School Planning project resulting in the publication of the Obion County Farm to School Action Plan.
Read More on our Blog
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ADVOCATE for Free School Meals for ALL | |
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During the Pandemic, Congress granted the USDA the authority to grant waivers allowing all students to eat for free. In June, those waivers expired. The NWTN Local Food Network and TN School Nutrition Directors are passionate about feeding all students free of charge, but we need your help.
On September 15, 2022, a letter was drafted to go to Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy, and Leader McConnell urging them to continue to feed all students free fo charge. 48 members of Congress signed the letter calling for an extension of this critical program. Currently, our TN-elected members of Congress in Washington have not signed on to this proposed legislation.
We are asking you to please take a moment to contact your elected members of Congress to urge them to include funding for school meals in the upcoming budget vote.
Representative David Kustoff
Senator Marsha Blackburn
Thank you for investing in our children!
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The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) serves nearly 30 million children every school day. Tennessee schools serve over 109 million lunches, 49 million breakfasts and 3.75 million after school snacks during a school year. They spend tens of millions of dollars on food purchases. These dollars can be channeled back into the local communities by helping growers access new school markets.
President John F. Kennedy created National School Lunch Week (NSLW) in 1962 to promote the importance of a healthy school lunch in a child’s life and the impact it has inside and outside of the classroom. The 2022 theme is “NSLW 2022: Peace, Love & School Lunch. Look at what our Tennessee School Lunch Programs are serving our children - local and deeee-licious!
Learn how you can support our school nutrition programs by understanding the Free and Reduced Lunch Program
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Chef Hal Holden-Bach, right, worked with Cheatham County School Nutrition Staff to create and prepare Farm to School dishes featuring locally grown meats, vegetables and fruits. A farm to school community taste-testing will be held 10.27 5-7pm at Ashland City Elementary School to kick off the #GrowCheatham initiative.
Read more
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Weakley County School District's Westview High School food service staff serves nutritious and delicious options to growing teenagers and school staff members. Their milk is sourced locally from Prairie Farms. | | |
Farm to Early Childcare
This week, the Local Food Network delivered Nourishing Connection Fall Grow Kits to 6 early childcare centers in Weakley County.
The goal of the Nourishing Connection program is to nourish the connections children have with healthy produce, gardens and farms by providing hands-on agricultural and nutrition education experiences through hanging and onsite gardens, training teachers to access and implement Farm to Early Childhood Education curricula (including Ag in the Classroom & Growing Minds) and conducting educational outreach to parents and educators in pre-schools.
Nourishing Connection Webpage (we have FREE educational resources!)
Sneak Peak! Check out our NC November Parent Newsletter
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Are you from a school district that is ready to cultivate and coordinate Farm to School activities in your schools? USDA Farm to School Grants are OPEN! By building connections among classrooms, cafeterias, and communities, we increase student knowledge, improve attitudes toward healthy and local food, and become an important catalyst for rebuilding a more sustainable food system. It takes the support of an entire community to effect change, and with your help we can grow Farm to School across the region. Through strategic partnerships, the Local Food Network wants to help facilitate your efforts! Contact us to get started! | | |
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Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network
113 Elm Street, Martin, TN 38237
(731) 332-9071
nwtnfoodguide@gmai.com
www.NWTNLFN.org
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