July 14, 2022

This Week in Farm to School 

Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, families, and communities.

Abolitionist Teaching in the Garden Workshop

July 18, 2022 // 9 am - 4 pm // Burlington, NC

This in-person workshop, hosted by the NC School Garden Network, is about the intersection between abolitionist teaching and garden-based learning. All levels of experience (in education and gardening) are encouraged to register. Both CEU credit and EE credit are available. 

Register here.

Racial Equity in Farm to School (Virtual)

July 19, 2022 // 3 - 5 pm ET (postponed - originally scheduled for June 21)

The Farm to School Coalition of NC and CEFS Farm to School Initiative are hosting a FREE five-session training series on Racial Equity in Farm to School. These trainings will be filled with important information, compelling discussions, and accessible action items. The first session will cover implicit bias and will contribute to achieving the overall objectives of understanding how biases contribute to systemic harm, making connections between language and power and applying a racial equity lens to farm to school practices.

Register here.

Women for the Land - Farm Bill Advocacy 

July 19, 2022 // 7 pm - 8pm ET

Women for the Land is hosting a coffee to learn more about how organizations are gearing up to advocate for the Farm Bill which is updated every five years. Hear from various organizations that can speak to the Farm Bill on the Federal level (American Farmland Trust & North Carolina Food Advocacy Coalition), State Level in Kentucky (Community Farm Alliance), North Carolina, and Virginia (Black Family Land Trust). You will walk away with knowledge of how YOU can be an advocate in your local community as well. 

Register here.

Recorded: Market Readiness: Working With Schools And Institutions

Rural Advancement Foundation International USA held a free webinar about selling to school districts. This webinar focused on what farmers need to know to sell farm products to schools and featured experts on selling to school districts as well as farmers who will share their experiences with institutional selling.

Watch here.

2022 Food Youth Initiative Mural Project

The Center For Environmental Farming Systems’ Food Youth Initiative (FYI) launched a youth-led public art initiative to bring attention to the effect of climate change in North Carolina and beyond. The FYI Mural Project activated youth groups, local artists and organizers by merging education, reflection, community building and arts. Participating youth came together to learn about opportunities to shift food systems in response to climate change and frameworks for making change in their communities. Muralists Claire Alexandre and Eliza May led several workshops with the youth to develop the concept for the mural and art galleries.

Learn more here.

Watercolors from the Garden 

The earliest paints were crafted from natural materials such as roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and seeds that could be ground down into a medium used for expression. Inspire young gardeners’ creativity by making your own watercolor paints from plant parts harvested from the garden.

Learn more here.

Tasting History: Family Stories and Recipes From Students of Lowell High Schools 

Each year US History teacher, Jessica Lander, has students write a cookbook of family recipes passed down through generations and share their reflections on their migration journeys— memories of far away homelands and dreams of American futures.

Learn more here.  

Little Seeds Pollinator Pals Grant

Tomorrow! Deadline: July 15, 2022

Little Seeds and KidsGardening are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 Little Seeds Pollinator Pals Grant. This grant will award a total of 20 programs $500 in funding to develop new or expand existing pollinator gardens. Any nonprofit organization, school district, university, government entity, or tax-exempt organization, like religious organizations and Tribal governments, in the United States and US Territories serving at least 15 youth is eligible to apply. Programs must be planning a new or expanding an existing youth garden designed to teach about the importance of pollinators. Previous winners of the Little Seeds Pollinator Pals Grant are not eligible. 

Learn more and apply here.

WNC Farm to School Jumpstart Grant

Tomorrow! Deadline: July 15, 2022

The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s Growing Minds Jumpstart Grant is now open! Eligible schools and organizations can apply for funding in the amount of $500 to $1,000 to support their farm to school projects. 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 (see below for more details). 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. Applications are due on the 15th of each month through August 2022.

Learn more here.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant

Deadline: July 28, 2022

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Sustainable Agricultural Systems supports approaches that promote transformational changes in the US food and agriculture system. NIFA seeks creative and visionary applications that take a systems approach for projects that are expected to significantly improve the supply of affordable, safe, nutritious, and accessible agricultural products while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America. 

Learn more here.

Nominations Now Open for the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee

Tomorrow! Deadline for Submissions: July 15

The US Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture (USDA) announced the public call for nominations to the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory (DGA) Committee. This committee will review the scientific body of evidence to update the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2025-2030. The DGA are especially important for all Child Nutrition stakeholders, because Child Nutrition programs are required to align with the DGA recommendations on the meal patterns, food groups, and nutrients that make up a healthy diet -- in other words, they set the goals for what is served in school meals and CACFP. The DGA review also reflects a broader consensus around what constitutes a "healthy diet" across all federal programs that promote nutrition and health. The announcement notes that the departments will seek to appoint a committee that is balanced in expertise, experience, and education, and is reflective of the racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic diversity within the United States.

Learn more here.

Sign On: It's Time for Food Education

For the first time in 50 years, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health is convening in September 2022. This conference has the potential to influence food policy for decades to come, which makes now a critical time to elevate nutrition issues that matter most. You can help make sure food education has a seat at the table. Food education is key in nourishing every child’s health, education, and sense of belonging at school, especially for children of color, who face health and education inequities. Join FoodCorps and other partners in urging the White House to support placing a food educator in every school.

Sign the petition here. 

USDA Funding Input

On June 30, USDA announced that it would award $934 million in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to school meal programs in the 2022-23 school year. This funding will likely have similar guidelines to the Supply Chain Assistance Funds distributed to school food authorities earlier in 2022. In order to provide feedback to USDA on how we would like to see these programs implemented the most beneficially, the National Farm to School Network is interested in hearing from you:

• Farm to School State Formula Grants
• Healthy Food Incentive Fund
• Usefulness of other funding sources – Organic Transition Initiative or Food Safety Certification for Specialty Crops

Please contact Karen Spangler (karen@farmtoschool.org) to share your input!

Voices of the Food Chain

The Voices of the Food Chain is a project from the Food Chain Workers Alliance and Real Food Media to capture and share stories of the country’s 20 million food workers in their own words. The project includes voices from farmworkers, warehouse workers, meatpackers, line cooks, restaurant servers and more. 

Learn more here.

Anti-Bias Education in the Early Years

The film focuses on teachers in diverse early childhood classrooms who are committed to equity - in terms of race, gender, disability, language, class and other identities of the students and families they serve - on a daily basis. During the film, teachers use anti-bias strategies in early childhood classrooms and also see them reflecting on their practices.

Watch here.