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Spring 2015 - Highlights In This Issue:
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Ten Recipes for Farm to School Success
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Need some ideas to spark success in your Farm to School program? Look no further! We're thrilled to share 10 creative and replicable projects from around the Northeast in the new online Recipes for Success "Cookbook"! These ideas include projects, lessons, activities and strategies to build healthy classrooms, cafeterias and communities. The projects were selected from 30 entrants in the Farm to School Recipes for Success contest, organized by the Northeast Regional Steering Committee of the National Farm to School Network, which VT FEED coordinates. Photo: Somerville Farm to School Project
The top three winners were:
- Grand Prize: Iron Chef: Salad Challenge (Liz Lichtenberg, Alton Central School, NH)
- Runner Up: Farm to Protein (Melissa Axelrod, Washington South Supervisory Union, VT)
- Runner Up: Pop-Up Food Literacy Workshop (Karin Novakowski, Somerville Farm to School Project, MA).
Learn More and Check Out the Recipes
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2015 Farm to School Institute Expands in the Northeast
From Accord, NY and Falmouth, ME to Milton, VT and Great Barrington, MA, this year's Farm to School Institute will draw thirteen schools from across the Northeast that are ready to take Farm to School to the next level.
Since 2010, VT FEED's Farm to School Institute has helped more than 47 schools and districts develop integrated Farm to School programs that connect classrooms, cafeterias and the community.
Learn More
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Missisquoi Valley Union High Beefs Up Farm to School through FTS Institute
How do you beef up your Farm to School connections?
Just ask Missisquoi Union Valley High in Swanton, VT. Thanks to their participation in the 2014 Farm to School Institute, MVUHS expanded and integrated its Farm to School program throughout the school: students raised beef cattle to supply the cafeteria, food service purchased 1,000 pounds of local beef, the school formed a winning Jr Iron Chef Vermont team, and celebrated it all with a community Farm to School beef burger lunch.
Learn More
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Youth Chefs Turn Up the Heat in 9th Annual Competition
In March, more than 300 middle and high school students sliced and diced, stirred and sautéed at the 9th annual Jr Iron Chef Vermont competition. Then, in April, six of the winning teams were invited to the Vermont State House to be recognized by legislators. After touring the State House and listening to the reading of a resolution honoring their work, they prepared their award-winning recipes in the cafeteria for legislators and visitors.
"I try new things since I've been cooking... [but] the best part of the Jr Iron Chef team is learning together," said Kale Termini, a 6th grader on the winning Boys & Girls Club of Burlington team.
Learn More
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Sharon Jr Iron Chefs Start Young
The small town of Sharon, VT is home to just under 2,000 people. And, of course, to the Sprouts & Sizzlers - the Jr Iron Chef VT teams from Sharon Elementary School. Food and nutrition education begins in preschool and kindergarten in Sharon and continues through elementary school. By the time students are old enough to compete in Jr Iron Chef VT, they do not need to learn cooking skills; they just hone their techniques. Sharon was not always a leader in farm, food and nutrition education. "I started watching students eat processed foods and I wanted to fix that," says 3rd grade teacher Keenan Haley.
Learn More
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FEED Teams up for Spring Workshops
We're on the road! FEED offers trainings and support to food service staff, teachers, administrators and community members who want to take their Farm to School programming to the next level. This spring we teamed up with organizations around the state to offer some exciting professional development courses. Here's a glimpse:
- Six culinary skills trainings around the state with SNA-VT
- A professional development course on curriculum and integrated FTS programs in Bellows Falls with Food Connects
- A 1-day curriculum connections workshop in Cornwall with ACORN
Learn More
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First Northeast Farm to Institution Summit Draws a Crowd
More than 600 people flocked to Amherst, MA in April for the first Northeast Farm to Institution Summit, supported in part by a USDA Farm to School grant.
The Summit brought together leaders who are working to increase the amount of local and regional food served in schools, colleges and health care facilities,
with the goal of strengthening collaboration and learning from each other.
Learn More
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Arugula Lemon Pesto Pasta Salad
April showers bring... spring greens! Here's a great recipe that highlights the bright, fresh tastes of spring and puts to use our first green shoots. Get this recipe and more in our New School Cuisine cookbook.
Learn More
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Mountain Days
Brought to you by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont
Many know Vermont as a winter wonderland, ideal for skiing and snowboarding and blanketed with snow. But after months of cold and often too much couch-sitting, summer is a gift to our spirits and to our health. What better way to get outside and enjoy the beginning of that summer than on one of Vermont's beautiful mountains? Join Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont for their 2nd annual Mountain Day at Mt. Philo on Saturday, June 13 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Free lunch, snacks, music and t-shirts for the first 100 hikers!
Learn More
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Get more upcoming events and post your own on www.vermontfarmtoschool.org
- BCBSVT's 2nd Annual Mountain Day at Mt. Philo, June 13, Charlotte
- UVM Food Systems Summit, June 16-17, UVM
- Northeast Farm to School Institute Kickoff Workshop, June 24-26, 2015, Shelburne Farms
Learn More
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LIKE OUR NEW LOOK?
Stay tuned!
FEED is getting a fresh look for summer and this newsletter is a sneak peek! We'll be relaunching our website soon with a new design and more great Farm to School stories and resources.
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STAY CONNECTED
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