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This Week in Farm to School
March 3, 2022
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Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, families, and communities.
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Introducing Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina Working Groups
Are you interested in collaborating with other farm to school stakeholders in North Carolina? The Farm to School Coalition of NC is seeking individuals to join five Working Groups – education & engagement, systems change, impact & outreach, resiliency, and sustainability. If you’d like to learn more about these Working Groups and how you can get involved please complete our interest form below. We look forward to collaborating with you all!
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United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Team Nutrition Meal Talk Webinars
March 9, 2022 // 3 pm - 4 pm EST
Join the USDA’s Team Nutrition initiative for a new webinar series, Meal Talk Webinars. These webinars provide interactive trainings on hot topics related to school meals. The first webinar of this series will focus on school breakfast and will provide an overview of USDA’s School Breakfast Program, including the benefits of school breakfast, program requirements, and resources for navigating supply chain challenges. Food and Nutrition Service Offices, State agencies, School Food Authorities (SFAs), and others who may be interested are invited to participate.
A Principal's Perspective: How School Meals Can Support the Socio-Emotional Needs of Students
March 9, 2022 // 3 pm EST
Join No Kid Hungry for a robust discussion with North Carolina's Regional Principal of the year Michelle Baker, around addressing the social-emotional needs of children through school meals and other interventions. Attendees will have a chance to win a social and emotional learning (SEL) package for their school.
Recovery and Resilience Series
March 11, 2022 // 12 pm - 1:30 pm EST, & ongoing monthly
This month’s topic from the Local and Regional Food Systems Response to COVID is The Local Food Environment: Data Sharing Across Local Food Networks.
KidsGardening Teaching Webinar (Part 2)
March 23, 2022 // 7 pm EST
KidsGardening will be hosting Applying Antiracism and Abolitionist Teaching in Garden-based Learning, a 2-part interactive webinar series that will support educators in applying these principles within their teaching and student learning.
Build a Better District Wellness Policy
March 24, 2022 // 2 pm EST
Join an Alliance for a Healthier Generation as they guide participants through revising their district’s wellness policy. Participants in this 30-minute session will learn how to use Healthier Generation's one-of-a-kind digital policy builder tool to select evidence-based practices, add state or local policy requirements, along with USDA final rule language, and collaborate with district leadership to update your policy for school board approval.
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Inter-Faith Food Shuttle Q&A
We are excited to share our Q&A with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle on Facebook and Instagram. Inter-Faith Food Shuttle (IFFS) is a nonpartisan, 501c3 non-profit organization and a member of the Feeding America National Network of Food Banks. Their mission is to feed their neighbors, teach self-sufficiency, grow healthy food, and cultivate innovative approaches to end hunger. Connect with Inter-Faith Food Shuttle on social media (@foodshuttle)!
If you want help getting students, families, or teachers engaged in your school garden, try out their Growing School Gardens curriculum! You can click here to get started.
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Abolitionist Environmental and Place-Based Education
Researchers Scott Morrison and Daniu Toma-Harrold reconsider ways in which environmental and place-based education can be a form of what Bettina Love calls abolitionist teaching. This post explores how all educators – especially classroom teachers – can Rethink Outside in ways that dismantle harmful practices and offer healing and restoration. They plan to conduct a few visits with educators during antiracist and abolitionist environmental and place-based education to observe what they are doing, what is working well, and what others can learn from them. Please share this link with anyone who may be a good interviewee for their study.
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How to Make Friends With a Carrot: Celebrating Our Differences in the Garden
This book, created by FoodCorps Service Members, is offered as a tool to support educators and others in navigating body positivity conversations with students and in spreading the message of appreciating and loving all body types!
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Life Lab School Garden Educator Certification Program
Life Lab is offering an online series that will guide and support educators in becoming a Life Lab-Certified School Garden Educator. The full series lasts for 16 weeks and with live sessions running from March 9th to June 22nd.
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Climate Justice For All Project Grants
Monday! Deadline: March 7, 2022
The Climate Justice for All Grant Program (CJA grants) is an initiative that supports organizations or grassroots groups run by and primarily serving frontline communities in developing community solutions to environmental injustices in the US and Puerto Rico. Selected organizations receive a one-time grant of up to $20,000, access to a curated library of resources, and opportunities to help amplify and spread their message in partnership with Climate Reality and peer organizations.
Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grant Program
Deadline: March 11, 2022
At Whole Kids Foundation, they know that the more kids know and feel connected to their food, the more curious they become about how things grow or taste, and the more willing they are to try new foods. Their Garden Grant program provides a $3,000 monetary grant to support a new or existing edible educational garden located at either a K-12 school or a non-profit organization that serves children in the K-12 grade range.
WNC Farm to School Jumpstart Grant
Deadline: March 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 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 (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.
School Nutrition Foundation Equipment Grants
Deadline: March 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. This year, only finalists will be asked to submit a 2-3-minute video. They will announce the recipients in May of 2022.
Outdoor Classroom Challenge
Deadline: April 8, 2022
Project Green Schools is challenging schools across the country to develop and implement a meaningful outdoor classroom and learning space that awards one Grand Prize of $10,000 to further enhance an existing space or build a new space. Schools will submit a formal write-up, proposed budget, and design of their outdoor learning classroom/space. Project Green Schools will invite the top five designs to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges in Spring 2022 to determine the winner.
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North Carolina Alliance for Health (NCAH) Action Alert: Share Your School Meals Story
School Nutrition Programs (SNPs) are essential programs that provide nutritious, affordable meals to students during the school day. These programs promote students’ nutritional, physical, social, emotional, and mental health, in addition to academic success. The last two years have highlighted the tireless efforts of SNP staff, and the critical role these programs plan in ensuring all students have access to nutritious meals. The NCAH is working to highlight these efforts and secure increased support for SNPs from the State. Please take action to share your story about how School Nutrition Programs have impacted you.
Transitional Standards for Milk, Whole Grains, and Sodium - Final Rule
The USDA is finalizing its November 2020, proposed rulemaking regarding Child Nutrition meal pattern requirements. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service invites interested persons to submit written comments, before March 24, 2022, on the provisions of this final rule.
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Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Growing Mind's Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Bias Resources
Children begin to develop racial awareness and bias at a very young age. To create learning environments that are more diverse, inclusive, and reflective of our culturally diverse society, farm-to-school programs should follow equity-minded best practices. Visit the ASAP Growing Minds Farm to School website for our Equity, Inclusion, and Anti-Bias resources page, to find children’s books (including farm to school literature) that celebrate diverse voices, and access recommended external resources that can be used by both teachers and parents to teach children about race, diversity, and inclusion.
The Untold History of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
The dawn of Community Supported Agriculture in the United States is most commonly attributed to Indian Line CSA (South Egremont, MA) and Temple-Wilton Community Farm (Wilton, NH), both founded in 1986 by European men. While these two farms have played undeniably large roles in the popularization of CSA in America, they are not the first in our country to have thought of the economic model, nor is Europe the first place in the world to have established agricultural memberships.
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