This Week in Farm to School
January 6, 2022

Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, families, and communities.
Call for Session Proposals: National Children & Youth Garden Symposium
Deadline: January 7, 2022
The American Horticultural Society is pleased to announce their 30th annual National Children & Youth Garden Symposium (NCYGS), the only national professional development event of its kind where they are cultivating tomorrow's gardeners by energizing, inspiring, and training today's garden educators. Now's your chance to share your expertise with garden educators by presenting a session! Session presenters receive a discounted registration rate to attend the symposium. Please reference these tips and guidelines and submit your session proposal online by January 7, 2022.

Growing School Food Gardens: Needs Assessment Report
January 11 // 4 pm EST
The KidsGardening team is thrilled to be a recipient of a 2021 USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant. Their Growing School Food Gardens project will leverage the brand new Kids Garden Community to form a vibrant network devoted to growing school food gardens, cultivating support, and sharing resources that respond to the needs of garden educators across the country. To kick off this work, they surveyed 542 school garden leaders in a preliminary needs assessment designed to gather ideas and feedback for expanding teaching tools and resources specifically for edible school garden leaders. They’ll be facilitating a lively discussion around the results of the needs assessment survey and sharing the resulting next steps. Join this free event for an opportunity to connect with other school food garden educators and share your thoughts on how we can better support your work.

Internship and Career Webinar with the USDA
January 12, 2022 // 4 pm EST
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service is hiring for internships and permanent positions across disciplines to carry out its mission of increasing food security and reducing hunger across the U.S. and tribal nations. Aimed at students at HBCUs and 1890’s colleges, this presentation will cover various USDA hiring programs, application timelines, qualifications, and tips for applying. All college majors are encouraged to attend. 

Conversations on Food Justice – Keeping Americans Fed: The Power and Exploitation of Immigrant and Migrant Farming Communities 
January 13, 2022 // 1:30 pm EST
In this session, the Aspen Institute will discuss the social, economic, and structural barriers that exploit immigrant and migrant farmworkers and push families to the margins. You'll also hear from the people and organizations who are forging a new vision for an agricultural industry that values the land, and the people who tend to it. Finally, the session will examine why improving the conditions of farmworkers should be a legal, economic, and moral imperative for all of us.

Local Food Systems Response to COVID Webinar Series
January 14, 2022 // 12 - 1:30 pm EST (ongoing monthly)
Join the USDA each month for a facilitated cross-sectoral discussion on topics including customer retention and engagement, emergency food, cooperative business models, state policies, and consumer behavior.

2022 NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference
February 17, 2022 // 9:30 am - 4 pm 
This year's conference is once again hosted by the Carolina Hunger Initiative, a part of the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. The conference was started by No Kid Hungry NC, which is a partnership between UNC and Share Our Strength supported by the same team as the Carolina Hunger Initiative. This conference will be a chance for North Carolinians to celebrate each other, share stories of their success and innovations, and look to what the future might be for Child Nutrition in our state.
Article: Food Shortage Strikes at Craven County Schools. What is Being Done to Feed Students?
Craven County Schools’ nutritional team plans their menu a year in advance of the following school year. Even with the proactive approach, the staff is dealing with an issue most around the country are also seeing – supply shortages in the country’s food chain.
N.C. Jr. Chef Competition
Watch this virtual interview with the Warrior Wafflers from Clyde A. Erwin HS - 2021 1st place #NCJrChef Competition and 2nd place Southeast Jr. Chef Competition winners! They shared their story and encouraged others to create a school lunch entree to compete. Team applications with recipes for the 2022 #NCJrChef Competition are due January 26.
National Food Hub Survey
The Center for Regional Food Systems at Michigan State University, the Wallace Center at Winrock International, and the University of Michigan Program Evaluation Group are excited to launch the 2021 National Food Hub Survey! Food hubs and other organizations that aggregate and distribute regional food products are encouraged to participate in the survey. 2020 was a year like no other, and food hubs across the country have faced new challenges and unprecedented demand for products and services. Taking the survey today will help the sector better understand how food hubs adapted and the impact of those changes.
Teaching in Nature’s Classroom: A Free Online Course for Educators
This free 15-week course designed by the Wisconsin School Garden Network was developed as a companion to the book Teaching in Nature’s Classroom: Principles of Garden-Based Education. This course is an opportunity for educators new to outdoor and garden-based learning, as well as educators who are experienced in the field, to consider best practices and reflect on their own teaching practice in outdoor learning environments, with a focus on school and community youth gardens. This course is online and offered from January 24 - May 9.
School Nutrition Association Awards
Recognize a School Nutrition colleague by nominating them for an SNA Award. Nominations are due by March 1, 2022! Review eligibility requirements, along with nomination criteria, via the link below. 
USDA Farm to School Grant Request for Application
Deadline: January 10, 2022
The United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) seeks to award up to $12 million this fiscal year. Eligible schools, institutions operating the Child and Adult Care Food Program and Summer Food Service Program, State and local agencies, Indian Tribal Organizations, small- to medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- to medium-sized agricultural producers, and non-profit organizations can apply for Farm to School grants. Priority scoring incentives return for applicants who meet certain criteria, including new priority consideration for organizations led by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and serving BIPOC communities, and organizations located in and serving rural areas. 

WNC Farm to School Jumpstart Grant
Deadline: January 15, 2022
The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s (ASAP) Growing Minds Jumpstart Grant is open! Eligible schools and organizations can apply for funding in the amount of $500 to $1,000 to support their farm to school project. Funding can be used to start new projects or to expand upon existing activities. Pre-k through 12 schools, homeschool groups, teacher and nutrition education programs, and community-based organizations serving children and families are eligible to apply. Schools/organizations must be located within the 23 westernmost counties of North Carolina (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey) or the Qualla Boundary.

School Nutrition Foundation Equipment Grants
Deadline: January 31, 2022
The School Nutrition Foundation is teaming up with industry partners to provide new kitchen equipment to deserving districts. Apply now for the 2022 SNF Equipment Grant Program, featuring applications for not one but FIVE grants! Eligible applicants have the opportunity to win equipment grants, each worth between $20,000 to $100,000 of equipment. Applications and photos must be submitted by a School Nutrition director. The recipients will be notified in late March. This year, only finalists will be asked to submit a 2-3-minute video.

Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program
Deadline: January 31, 2022
Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program (FASLP) is a farm-to-school program that supports projects that bring together school cafeterias and classrooms and fosters community engagement between local farms and schools. The goal of these efforts is to not only increase access to school meals for underserved children but also improve their quality. FASLP is focused on the development of leadership skills, knowledge, and qualities necessary to prepare students for food, agricultural, and related careers.
Recent Major Funding Announcements from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (2021)
  • Supply Chain Assistance Funds: $1 billion to states for cash payments – known as Supply Chain Assistance funds – that school districts can use to purchase foods for their school meal programs. These funds deliver direct relief from ongoing supply chain issues and improve the quality and consistency of school meals for children in communities experiencing disruptions, making it easier for schools to operate successful meal programs.

  • Local Food For Schools Cooperative Agreement: USDA will award up to $200 million to states for food assistance purchases of domestic local foods for distribution to schools. This program will strengthen the food system for schools by helping to build a fair, competitive, and resilient local food chain and expanding local and regional markets with an emphasis on purchasing from historically underserved producers and processors.

  • USDA Foods Purchases: USDA will also purchase about $300 million in 100% domestically grown and produced food products, known as USDA Foods, for states to distribute to schools to offset the impact of disruptions to their normal supply chains.

The bulk of this funding will offer flexibility in purchasing for School Nutrition programs and local and regional producers will have the opportunity to serve the school food market through state purchases. 
Year in Review: The Impact Food Has On Us Beyond Our Bodies (Anti-Racism Daily)
The saying goes, “we are what we eat,” but in truth, our relationship to food is much more complex.

Fighting Food Apartheid with Louisville’s Black Market Grocery Store (Civil Eats)
When the city’s West End neighborhood was cut off from its only grocery store, activist Shauntrice Martin galvanized her community and carved out a new market connecting low-income shoppers with Black farmers.
Farm to School Coalition of NC | www.farmtoschoolcoalitionnc.org