This Week in Farm to School from NC

June 23, 2022

Find Free Summer Meals for Kids and Teens Near You!

The NC Department of Public Instruction works with schools and community organizations across the state to offer free, nutritious meals and educational enrichment to kids and teens when school is out. Find a site nearby:

• Use the NC Site Finder Map, https://bit.ly/3MhnX1S.
• Text FOOD or COMIDA to 304-304.
• Check your local school district website, social media, or other communications.

Learn more here.

Connecting Student Attendance and School Wellness Outcomes

June 28, 2022 // 3 pm 

Research shows that attendance is linked to whole child health – students’ physical, mental, and social-emotional well-being. By implementing an interdisciplinary approach, districts and schools can reduce chronic absenteeism and improve student academic achievement and health outcomes. During this webinar, Healthier Generation and Attendance Works will engage in a rich dialogue about school health promotion and chronic absenteeism and share tips and tools for participants to address the chronic absenteeism crisis. 

Register here.

Market Readiness: Farm to School Webinar 

June 28, 2022 6 - 7:30 pm ET

Join the Farmers of Color Network to learn about selling to school districts. This webinar will focus on what farmers need to know to sell farm products to schools.

Register here.

School Garden Support Organization Leadership Institute 

December 4-9, 2022 

Every year, the School Garden Support Organization Leadership Institute provides an opportunity for school garden professionals from across the county to collaborate, learn from one another, and develop resources to share with a national audience. In this way, participants will be able to better support school gardens in their regions, and also advance the national school garden movement. Apply by August 1st.

Learn more and apply here.

Recorded Webinar Series: Habitat Restoration and Management

View Pollinator Partnership’s Habitat Restoration and Management webinar series to learn more about monarch biology and ecology. The series covers how to practice monarch habitat planning, preparation, and management. Each video is only 20-30 minutes and will give you the tools and knowledge to enhance your habitat for this imperiled species.

Watch here.

Pollinator Partnership Learning Center

Looking for curriculum, educational tools, activities, and fun facts about monarchs, gardening, and other pollinators? The Pollinator Partnership has a whole list of resources to help you put together a fun day of learning for your students!

Learn more here.

Bee Smart School Garden Kit

Cultivate learning about monarchs and other pollinators by creating your own garden learning area! The Bee Smart School Garden Kit includes 10 lesson plans, worksheets, tests, and materials for the included activities. This kit is perfect for school administrators, educators, teachers, garden coordinators, and parents for use with students in grades 3 to 6. Kits options vary and cost for the kit can be found on the Pollinator Partnership website. 

Learn more here.  

Five Things Youth Can Do To Help Pollinators

No matter our age we can all help protect pollinators. The Pollinator Partnership created a guide to explain how youth can help pollinators. 

Learn more here.

Green Our Planet's Hydroponics STEM Program Grant Application

Tomorrow! Deadline: June 24, 2022

This is an application for Green Our Planet’s Hydroponics STEM Program. The full cost of this program is $10,000. If awarded a grant, Green Our Planet will cover $8,000 of the program cost and your school will be responsible for covering the additional $2,000 needed to fully fund the program. This grant opportunity is open to public and charter schools located in the United States.

Apply here.

Green Our Planet's GardenConnect STEM Program Grant Application

Tomorrow! Deadline: June 24, 2022

This is an application for Green Our Planet’s GardenConnect STEM Program. The full cost of this program is $3,500. If awarded a grant, Green Our Planet will cover $2,500 of the program cost and your school will be responsible for covering the additional $1,000 needed to fully fund the program. This grant opportunity is open to public and charter schools located in the United States.

Apply here.

Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program - Produce Prescription Program

Deadline: June 30, 2022

The National Institute for Food and Agriculture's (NIFA) Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program - Produce Prescription Program focuses on projects that improve dietary health through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, reduce individual and household food insecurity, and reduce healthcare use and associated costs. Submissions for grants have now opened. Applications may only be submitted by government agencies and non-profit organizations; however, award recipients may sub-award to organizations not eligible to apply provided such organizations are necessary for the conduct of the project.

Apply here.

Little Seeds Pollinator Pals Grant

Deadline: July 15, 2022

Little Seeds and KidsGardening are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 Little Seeds Pollinator Pals Grant. This grant will award a total of 20 programs $500 in funding to develop new or expand existing pollinator gardens. Any nonprofit organization, school district, university, government entity, or tax-exempt organization, like religious organizations and Tribal governments, in the United States and US Territories serving at least 15 youth is eligible to apply. Programs must be planning a new or expanding an existing youth garden designed to teach about the importance of pollinators. Previous winners of the Little Seeds Pollinator Pals Grant are not eligible. 

Learn more and apply here.

National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant

Deadline: July 28, 2022

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Sustainable Agricultural Systems supports approaches that promote transformational changes in the US food and agriculture system. NIFA seeks creative and visionary applications that take a systems approach for projects that are expected to significantly improve the supply of affordable, safe, nutritious, and accessible agricultural products while fostering economic development and rural prosperity in America. 

Learn more here.

Child Nutrition Waivers: Send a Message to Congress

Deadline: June 30

Early in the pandemic, Congress gave the United States Department of Agriculture the authority to issue child nutrition waivers so that schools and local organizations could adapt their meal programs and feed kids in ways that work best for their communities. But unless Congress takes immediate action, their ability to continue doing so is in danger; the waivers expire on June 30 even though the challenges school meal programs are facing won’t be over by then. Weigh in on the issue by sending a message to your Members of Congress with this template provided by No Kid Hungry.

Sign On: It's Time for Food Education

For the first time in 50 years, the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health is convening in September 2022. This conference has the potential to influence food policy for decades to come, which makes now a critical time to elevate nutrition issues that matter most. You can help make sure food education has a seat at the table. Food education is key in nourishing every child’s health, education, and sense of belonging at school, especially for children of color, who face health and education inequities. Join FoodCorps and other partners in urging the White House to support placing a food educator in every school.

Sign the petition here. 

North Carolina Alliance for Health (NCAH) Bill Tracker

The North Carolina Alliance for Health is tracking several bills filed at the NC General Assembly. You can view the status of bills S855 Free Breakfast for K-12 students and S856 Free Lunch for K-12 students in this tracker. 

View bills here.

Black Emancipation and the Legacy of Juneteenth

June 19 marks the 157th anniversary of Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. It commemorates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, and brought news that slavery had been abolished more than two years earlier.

Read more here. 

Seven Steps to Healing

This resource created by the Decolonizing Wealth Project maps how power and wealth can be shifted in our culture to promote healing from racial trauma. 

Read more here.