This Week in Farm to School 

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

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National Farm to School Network and Teens Talk Wellness Live Coffee Chat

May 29, 2024 // 4 pm ET // LinkedIn Live

Join the National Farm to School Network for an inspiring LinkedIn Live conversation with the voices behind the Teens Talk Wellness podcast! Meet three passionate North Carolina high school student activists discussing food justice, food inclusivity, and how adults can support student advocacy. Don’t miss this chance to learn and engage! Tune in live at National Farm to School Network’s LinkedIn on the day of the conversation. 

Tune into NFSN’s LinkedIn.

Civic Engagement in the Workplace

June 4, 2024 // 3 pm ET

Join Anti-Racism Daily for a free, one-hour virtual workshop designed to help you encourage civic engagement in the workplace, even in polarized times. This session will prepare you to foster healthy and productive dialogues among colleagues. 

Learn more and register.

Incorporating Agroforestry and Food Forests into your Landscape or Farm

June 18, 2024 // 12 pm 

Join Melissa Bell from the Center for Environmental Farming Systems and John Lyttle, Agriculture Agent (Small Farms and Local Foods) for Durham County’s NC Cooperative for the next installment of their Lunch and Learn webinar series.

Learn more and register.

we are 2024 Educator Summer Institute 

June 25 - 27, 2024 // 8:30 am - 4 pm // W.G. Pearson Center Durham, NC

Join we are for their 2024 Educator Summer Institute at the W.G. Pearson Center in Durham, NC. Attendees will walk away with a plan to address a systemic racial equity issue within their own school, district, or organization. Participating K-12 teachers will earn Continuing Education Units (CEUs). 

Learn more and register.

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Farm to Summer Factsheet

This factsheet, created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, discusses the benefits of farm to summer activities. Summer is a time of agricultural abundance! This factsheet will review how to integrate local food into summer meals

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An NC State Extension Agent Promotes Nature as a Healer

Heather Kelejian is NC State University’s therapeutic horticulture agent at N.C. Cooperative Extension’s New Hanover County Center. She designs garden-based programs for people with behavioral issues, cognitive challenges, emotional trauma, or other disabilities, helping them improve mobility, motor skills, cognitive functions, and physical and mental health.

Learn more.

Edible Flowers Growing Guide

Some plants bear edible blossoms that can add color and zing to dishes and drinks as well as beauty to the garden. KidsGardening has created a guide to share how to grow (and eat!) edible flowers. 

Learn more.

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Right to Food and Nutrition Watch

First published in 2008, the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch is an annual publication that monitors policy processes and key issues related to the right to adequate food and nutrition at global, regional, national, and local levels. In doing so, it gives visibility to people's struggles and their efforts on the ground. As a monitoring tool, its objective is to contribute to strengthening accountability and advancing the realization of the right to adequate food and nutrition for all. This report is published by the Global Network for the Right to Food and Nutrition.

Learn more.

What is Nutrition Equity?

In this episode of Ask a Nutritionist, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Kristal Shelden answers the question, "What is nutrition equity and how do we achieve it?” Kristal discusses how nutrition equity means more than just ensuring children and families have enough food to eat but also means guaranteeing the food they are able to secure is nutritious, high-quality, and culturally familiar, which will help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, close nutrient gaps and promote the development of healthy eating patterns.

Learn more.

Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation Announces Two Grant Opportunities Supporting School Gardening and Wildlife Habitat Programs

Deadline: May 31, 2024

The Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation is excited to launch two new grant applications. These grants, announced at the Growing School Gardens Summit this past March, will support the buildout and/or expansion of school gardening programs and wildlife habitats on school campuses. Eligible organizations include schools, school districts, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits that run programming in states where Sprouts operates stores.

  • Sprouting School Gardens Grant

The Sprouting School Gardens Grant is designed to help schools create or expand their garden programs on school campuses with an emphasis on nutrition education. Grants range in size from $5,000 to $10,000 and may be used to support program operations, program supplies, learning tools, and educator stipends.

  • Lundberg Family Farms Sprouting Habitats Grant

In honor of Earth Month, Lundberg Family Farms has teamed up with the Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation to bring wildlife habitats to school campuses. With a shared commitment to creating healthier green spaces and expanding outdoor education, fifteen schools will be awarded $1,000 to build the wildlife habitat of their dreams.

Learn more and apply.


Beginning Farmers Stipend

Deadline: May 31, 2024

RAFI is accepting applications for the 2024 Beginning Farmers Stipend. Stipends support the success of Historically Underserved Farmers and Ranchers by helping to reduce financial barriers. Stipends may be used to cover farming start-up and/or production costs. Individual applicants may request between $3,000 – $5,000 in funding. Applications are available in English and Spanish. 

Learn more and apply.


Food Justice for Kids Prize by Newman’s Own Foundation

Deadline: June 11, 2024

Is your organization working towards food justice for kids in the United States? If so, this is your chance to receive up to $100,000 in grant funding over the next 2 years and deepen your impact! Apply by June 11, 2024, at one of the links below. They welcome applications from all eligible organizations, and in particular seek to be inclusive of organizations led by and/or representing historically marginalized and under-represented groups, including Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The Newman’s Own Foundation is seeking applications from organizations working in two priority program areas: 


(1) Indigenous Food Justice (Apply here) and

(2) Nutrition Education and School Food (Apply here)


Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) Grant

Deadline: Jun 15, 2024

Using the RFSI funding, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) will fund projects that expand on-farm cold storage and packaging capacity, implement post-harvest handling, provide refrigerated trucks, and expand aggregator facilities." There is $6.2 million in funding available, and there are two application categories: equipment only ($10,000 - $100,000) and infrastructure ($100,000 - $2,000,000).

Learn more.


Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) 2024 Planning Grant Program

Deadline: June 17, 2024

The Reinvestment Fund is inviting applications for grant awards through the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Planning Grant Program. $6 million is available through this program for grant awards between $10,000 - $150,000. The HFFI Planning Grant Program supports innovative fresh food retail and food retail supply chain projects that seek to improve access to healthy food in underserved areas. Grants will be awarded to support early-stage planning and predevelopment activities of new or expanded food retail or food supply chain projects that seek to process, distribute, aggregate, market, and sell healthy, fresh, and affordable foods to underserved communities and markets. Eligible applicants include for-profit, nonprofit, and cooperatively owned businesses, institutions of higher education, state and local governments, and tribal governments. All applicants must be working towards improving food access for underserved communities through food retail.

Learn more and apply.

2024 Updates to the School Nutrition Standards – Overview

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) published the final rule titled, Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is the next step in continuing the science-based improvement of school meals and other USDA child nutrition programs (CNP), as well as advancing USDA’s commitment to nutrition security. The changes are based on a comprehensive review of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025, robust stakeholder input on the CNP meal patterns, and lessons learned from prior rulemaking.

Learn more.

Farm to School Coalition of NC | www.farmtoschoolcoalitionnc.org
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