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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Countdown to the 2023 NC Crunch!
We are quickly approaching National Farm to School and Early Care and Education Month! One of the ways we celebrate is by participating in the NC Crunch. Annual NC Crunch events offer kids and adults an opportunity to taste and learn about locally-grown NC produce as well as honor those who contribute to feeding our kids and communities. Register for the NC Crunch to receive a free guide with tips and resources to help you plan for the NC Crunch. In addition to the guide, a new NC Crunch logo, flyer, “I crunch” sticker template, and social media graphics are available. More resources are in the works.
Help us achieve our goal of reaching 500,000 participants across all 100 NC counties!
Learn more and register.
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Racial Equity in Food Systems Workshop
September 12 - 13, 2023 // 9:30 am to 3:30 pm
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems' Committee on Racial Equity will be hosting the third and final round of the Level 1 - Racial Equity in Food Systems Workshop for 2023. They strongly encourage attendance to both workshop days as each session is structured from a different perspective. The purpose of the Level 1 workshop is to build a shared language, a shared analysis, and a shared vision on how we can embody and apply equitable practices into our lives and institutions. Registration closes tomorrow, September 8th.
Learn more and register.
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Food Hub Feasibility Study Webinar Series
The Saratoga Cornell Cooperative Extension USDA Food Hub Feasibility Study webinar series will be of interest to all who are in any way connected to our food supply - farmers, farmers' markets, supermarkets, food banks, etc. The Food Hub Feasibility Study webinar series explores the findings of a study conducted by Saratoga CCE, which was funded by the USDA’s 2021 Local Food Promotion Program grant. Through research, analysis, and on-the-ground work, this study details available and potential markets for local foods. They offer recommendations to best service local food system that consider distribution, infrastructure, farm to institution, food access, the emergency food system, and climate change. Each webinar is designed to stand alone, but the full interdisciplinary picture of the food system is best seen through the full series.
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Food Access - September 13, 2023 // 12 pm ET
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Distribution, Markets, Emissions - September 20, 2023 // 12 pm ET
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Infrastructure Expansion - September 27, 2023 // 12 pm ET
Learn more and register.
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Being Who We Say We Are - Negotiating Power and Building Relationships in Food Systems Research
September 11, 2023 // 1:00 to 2:30 pm ET
When conducting research, a relationship with the community in which we work is vital to success. In this webinar, panelists from Durham, NC will discuss the challenges and successes experienced in re-envisioning relationships between institutions and communities, local issues impacting Durham’s food systems, opportunities for changing health and other disparities, and more. This webinar is hosted by Healthy Eating Research.
Learn more and register.
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Culturally Relevant Farm to School Workshops
The Center for Ecoliteracy invites educators to join Eating, Learning, Growing, a virtual professional development workshop on culturally relevant farm to school education. Join this workshop to learn how to improve student outcomes by welcoming diverse student voices, histories, learning styles, and values into your classroom. There is no cost to participate. Educators will receive a $100 stipend and the Center for Ecoliteracy’s new framework for culturally relevant farm to school education. Educators can attend one of three available sessions:
- September 14, 2023 // 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm ET
- September 28, 2023 // 9 pm - 10 pm ET
- October 7, 2023 // 12 pm - 2 pm ET
Learn more and register.
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Cultivate Resilience: A Triad Food System Symposium
September 26, 2023 // 9 am to 4 pm // NCA&T University Farm Pavilion
The Piedmont Triad Regional Food Council (PTRFC), with support from the City of Winston-Salem, Urban Food Policy Council, is hosting Cultivate Resilience: A Triad Food System Symposium in Greensboro, NC. This gathering will honor and celebrate regional food, share resources, and provide connection and collaboration to strengthen our regional food system. They will bring together folks working across the food system to engage in facilitated conversations focused on (1) Building Equitable Farmer Support and (2) Creating Resilient Food Hubs in the Triad. Please register by September 15th.
Learn more and register.
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Teens Talk Wellness - Bonus Food Inclusivity Episode
For this bonus episode, one of our Teen anchors chats with Isabel Lu, an artist and public health researcher. Isabel discusses their food experiences growing up and how food inclusivity impacts public health research today!
Learn more and listen.
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2023 Farm to School Census Resources
In fall 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service will field the 2023 Farm to School Census to request information from school food authorities (SFAs) regarding their use of local food in school meals and other participation in farm to school activities in school year 2022-23. This page offers resources to help state agencies, SFAs, and their partners prepare for and complete the 2023 Census.
Learn more.
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FoodCorps Lesson Plans
Back to school means more opportunities for hands-on lessons in the garden and classroom! FoodCorps Lessons include hands-on experiential activities to engage kids in learning about healthy food. These 96 lessons are for grades K-5, and are organized by grade, season, and theme. The lessons are tied to national academic standards and were developed following Culturally Responsive Teaching, Place-Based Learning, and Social and Emotional Learning best practices and frameworks.
Learn more.
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Celebrating Diversity in the Garden
In this KidsGardening lesson, students will explore the benefits of biodiversity and how it makes the garden ecosystem stronger by learning about a technique known as companion planting. They can extend the lesson by discussing how diversity is also beneficial in other settings like in their classroom and community.
Learn more.
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Equity, Inclusion, & Anti-Bias Resources
Systemic barriers that perpetuate the long-standing opportunity and achievement gaps between white and Black students – which start in early childhood – must be addressed in programs that serve young children. ASAP’s Growing Minds program has created equity, inclusion, and anti-bias resources for farm to school programs.
Learn more.
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2024 CHS Foundation Classroom Grant Application
Deadline: September 15, 2023
CHS Foundation provides $500 grants each year to pre-kindergarten to 12th-grade teachers who have classroom projects that use agricultural concepts to teach reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and more. Eligible projects include classroom and schoolyard gardens, embryology projects, aquaculture projects, and agricultural literacy reading programs to name a few. Teachers have until June 1 the following year to complete the project and submit a final report. Only-state certified classroom teachers employed by a school district or private school teachers are eligible to apply.
Learn more and apply.
Farm to School Technical Assistance-Cooperative Agreement
Deadline: October 10, 2023
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service has released the request for application for their Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement. The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to support nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations to implement national and/or regional-level farm to school activities. Awardees under this cooperative agreement will undertake projects supporting USDA’s priorities of Food System Transformation, Improving Child Health through Nutritious School Meals, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Eligible applicants are national and/or regional level nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations with a history of meaningful engagement with the target audience for this cooperative agreement.
Learn more and apply.
NC Farm Bureau Going Local Grants
Deadline: November 15, 2023
North Carolina Farm Bureau is happy to provide agricultural outreach grants to NC teachers through their Ag in the Classroom Going Local program. These grants value up to $500. Going Local Grants help educators provide Pre-K through collegiate-level students with valuable, real-world education and experiences directly related to the agricultural industry and the NC Standard Course of Study. Teachers practicing in private and public North Carolina schools, colleges, and universities are encouraged to apply.
Learn more.
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Farm to School and Universal Meals in Colorado: A Case Study of Proposition FF
This third case study, conducted by the National Farm to School Network, presents a deep dive into Colorado’s Proposition FF, and how the campaign effectively built community power through an explicit intention to bring together a diverse, equitable coalition.
Learn more.
Strategies for Equitable Policy Making
This concise guide from ChangeLab Solutions expands on the equitable policymaking frameworks and concepts presented in A Blueprint for Changemakers – including the drivers of health inequity, community engagement, equitable enforcement, and preemption – and grounds for those frameworks in real-world examples and next steps. Changemakers can use this guide to think through, develop, and implement their own legal and policy approaches to improving health equity.
Learn more.
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