December 14, 2023

This Week in Farm to School 

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

The Farm to School Coalition of North Carolina e-letter will resume in the New Year on January 11, 2024! We hope you have a safe and restful holiday season.

Happy Holidays and Stay Safe!

2023 Farm to School Census

Deadline: December 15, 2023

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service released the fourth Farm to School Census on October 2nd and your participation counts! The Census surveys all public, private, and charter School Food Authorities (SFAs) operating the National School Lunch Program about their farm to school relevant activities.

North Carolina has a 76.3 response rate and is second in the Southeast. Please encourage and work with local School Nutrition Programs to respond to the USDA Farm to School Census to help us reach #1 and a 100% response rate!

Learn more.

Farm to School Institute Impacts: Adapting the Shelburne Farms F2S Institute for K-12 & ECE 

Today! December 14, 2023// 12 pm ET

Join the National Farm to School Network and Betsy Rosenbluth, Jennifer Cirillo, and Qing Ren of Shelburne Farms in discussing the impacts of the Farm to School Institute, lessons learned, and recent state-led adaptations.

Learn more and register.

Introduction to Food Safety and USDA Harmonized GAP Certification Standard Series

Starting January 29, 2023 // 4 pm - 5:30 pm ET

Do you plan to get GAP (Good Agricultural Practices)-certified under the USDA Harmonized GAP Standard? This FREE five-part training series is for you! The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association will take each section of the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audit in 1.5-hour sessions and break down, step-by-step, what you need to do to get GAP certified. They will cover all updates to the certification and what they learned from helping farms get GAP certified throughout the year. CFSA loves discussion and welcome farmers to come to the webinars with questions.

Learn more and register.

Webinar Recording: Incorporating Greenhouses Into Your School Garden: Extending Your Garden-Based Learning and Growing Season 

The School Garden Support Organization Network hosted a webinar to share information and resources for establishing a new greenhouse project or activating an existing greenhouse or hoop house. City Blossom and Youth staff from Mighty Green shared their expertise and experiences growing and running their own programs in Washington, DC.

Learn more.

How Spork Food Hub is Connecting Local Farms and Schools

The Local Food Marketplace’s case study shares how Spork Food Hub connects local farms and schools. Learn why Spork Food Hub decided to enter into this market and how it has benefitted both schools and farmers alike. The case study explores the role technology and communication play in success. Spork Food Hub is an example of how food hubs are transforming the way farm to school programs are run.

Learn more.

FreshFarm FoodPrints Curriculum

The 63 interdisciplinary lessons in the FoodPrints curriculum are tied to academic and food education standards, sequenced according to seasonal topics, and adaptable for a range of uses from programming across the school year, supplementing classroom education, enrichment programming, to garden-based or culinary-based learning. All lessons are free with registration.

Learn more.

The Pilot Light K-12 Lesson Plan Library

The Pilot Light has free lesson plans for elementary-aged through high school students which include curricular information, background knowledge, recommended anchor texts, and supporting food experience instructions. Teachers will find the Lesson Plan Library is diverse and adaptable and can be integrated across a range of content areas.

Learn more.

10 Principles for Talking About Race in Schools

Creating space to talk about race can open powerful learning for you and your students. These tips can help you make race conversations normal, constructive, and successful.

Learn more.

Ourspace - Africultural Connections

This Teach22 Curriculum was made to bridge the gap between the farm and the classroom. This curriculum empowers Black students with ancestral knowledge of the land as well as the historical knowledge about those who came before us. In order to cover a wide range of topics, this curriculum is organized into three different modules, which build on each other. Ourspace hope that whether students are homeschooled, taught in a classroom, or exploring from their summer camp on a farm, they are able to engage with this curriculum in meaningful ways.​

Learn more.

2024 Youth Garden Grant

Tomorrow! Deadline: December 15, 2023

Since 1982, KidsGardening’s Youth Garden Grant has supported school and youth educational garden projects that enhance the quality of life for youth and their communities. In early 2024, fifty organizations will be awarded $500 in funding and a collection of gardening supplies for their youth garden program. Among the fifty winners, ten programs will also receive a specialty award package: five from their friends at Crescent Garden and five from their friends at Garden Tower. The selection of winners is prioritized based on demonstrated need and program impact.

Learn more and apply.

Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS)

Deadline: January 22, 2024

The Chef Ann Foundation is seeking proposals for projects led by groups of local partners with systemic and equity-driven approaches to transforming school food supply chains. Projects should seek to build and strengthen relationships among community-based food system stakeholders and School Food Authorities (SFAs) as well as expand scratch cooking in schools in order to build more nourishing school meal programs. This program is funded by the USDA, Food & Nutrition Service Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative and is administered by Chef Ann Foundation in partnership with Kitchen Sync Strategies Collaborative, Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, and the National Farm to School Network. 

Learn more and apply.

2024 Farm to School Grant

Deadline: January 24, 2024

The USDA Farm to School Program is excited to announce the official release of the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Farm to School Grant Program Request for Applications (RFA). USDA will award up to $12 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the grant program this fiscal year. Each grant will help implement farm to school programming that increases access to local food in eligible schools, connects children with agriculture for better health, and inspires youth to consider careers in agriculture. The RFA includes five tracks - Implementation, State Agency, and three Turnkey grants - to support a variety of projects and implementation stages. A wide variety of entities are eligible to compete for funding through this grant opportunity. Schools and other institutions operating the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and/or Summer Food Service Program; State agencies, local agencies, ITOs, small- to medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- to medium-sized agricultural producers, and non-profit organizations are eligible to apply for Farm to School Grants.

Learn more and apply.

Center for School and Community Partnerships at Boise State University

Deadline: January 26, 2024

The Center for School and Community Partnerships at Boise State University’s Request for Applications for the Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems Sub-Grants (SCALES) is now open. SCALES will award up to 35 rural School Food Authorities (SFA) across the nation. Grant awards will be up to $150,000. SCALES will work with SFA directors over a two-year period to build partnerships for innovative solutions to increase local procurement in school meal programs.

Learn more and apply.

CFSA’s Member Advocacy Program

Application deadline: December 18, 2023

The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association pushes for policies and programs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Washington, DC that benefit our farmers, farmworkers, communities, and planet. So can you! Are you passionate about sustainable food and agriculture? Do you want to enhance your ability to advocate for causes that are important to you and your community? The Member Advocacy Program is an opportunity for those interested in upping their advocacy game by studying with the CFSA policy team. Participants will grow their advocacy skills and network with fellow food and farming advocates across North Carolina and South Carolina. 

Learn more.

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Draft of the National Strategy to Reduce U.S. Food Loss and Waste

USDA, EPA, and FDA release draft strategy to prevent the loss and waste of food and increase the recycling of organics to support a circular economy for all, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save households and businesses money, and build cleaner communities.

Learn more.