December 15, 2022

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 12, 2023! We hope you have a safe and restful holiday season.

Happy Holidays and Stay Safe!

Music in the Garden

January 18, 2022 // 2 pm ET

Join the next session of the Growing School Garden Summit Webinar Series hosted by the School Garden Support Organization Network. This session will demonstrate how to incorporate multi-sensory musical experiences into your school garden curriculum. Symon Hajjar of Hot Toast Music Co. will share songs and lesson ideas, lead activities, and facilitate discussion about how to take advantage of the integrated learning opportunities found in a garden. 

Register here.

Cooking Matters: Nutrition for the New Year

January 18 - February 22, 2023 // 7 pm ET

Join the Carolina Hunger Initiative for free, online nutrition and cooking education lessons. The Cooking Matters at Home program shares information about buying healthy, affordable foods that families can prepare and eat together at home. All lessons will be held via Zoom. The Zoom link will be sent to participants after completing the registration form.

Learn more and register here.

2023 NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference

February 22, 2023 // 8 am - 4 pm ET

Registration is now open for the 2023 NC Child Hunger Leaders Conference, an annual day of celebration and inspiration for anyone invested in making sure kids have access to healthy food. The one-day event is presented by the Carolina Hunger Initiative at UNC and will take place at The Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill. Attendees will have a chance to connect with other child hunger leaders from across the state, learn about new strategies and success stories, and leave reenergized to continue the fight against child hunger. 

More details on the agenda are forthcoming. Speakers in recent years have included State Superintendent Catherine Truitt, the NC Teacher and Principal of the Year, and special messages from Governor Roy Cooper. 

Register here.

Recorded webinar: Conversations on Food Justice: Growers Cooperatives and Collectives

Toxic Free NC held a conversation with Tahz Walker and Malik Yakini who, through collective work with their communities, are building a more just food system. To achieve food justice and a sustainable food system, we must shift away from narratives and practices that maintain our exploitative and extractive systems and dismantle inequities that disproportionately burden communities of color.

Watch here.

Get Ready for the 2023 NC Jr. Chef Competition

For the 2023 NC Jr. Chef Competition (NCJCC), teams of 2-4 high school students (grades 9-12) currently enrolled in a North Carolina public school that participates in the National School Lunch Program are encouraged to work with an Adult Team Supervisor (School Nutrition Administrator or Public School Educator - Ag, Family and Consumer Sciences, Math, Science, etc. Teacher) to create a school lunch entrée recipe that adheres to National School Lunch Program regulations, features at least two North Carolina grown ingredients and one USDA Foods item, and appeals to students. Student members of the top three teams will win scholarships to attend Sullivan University.

• February 3 - Teams must submit the online submission form with their application, recipe, recipe photo, cost and nutrient analysis, and permission forms.
• February 20 - Finalist teams will be notified.
• March 10 - Finalist teams must submit the online submission form including final applications with their recipe, recipe photo, cost and nutrient analysis, video of the team preparing and plating their recipe, and a work plan for completing the dish within the 90-minute time limit.
• March 28 or 29 - Finalist teams will participate in live interviews with a panel of evaluators.
• March 20 - Finalist teams will participate in a virtual ceremony. All finalist teams will be recognized, and the competition results will be announced.

Learn more here.

USDA Team Nutrition Whole Grains Quiz

Team Nutrition is excited to announce the newest addition to their web quiz collection on whole grains! The Whole Grains Quiz is comprised of 10 self-paced questions and provides feedback for correct and incorrect answer choices.

Take the quiz here.

Carolina Hunger Initiative, Blue Cross NC Award School Nutrition Programs with Funds for “Big Ideas”

The Carolina Hunger Initiative, based at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, is awarding grants to the nutrition teams in Craven County Schools and Wilson County Schools to kickstart new ideas that increase participation in school meal programs.

Learn more here.

12 Community Insights For A North Carolina That “Does Food Differently”

The current state of our agriculture and farming industries confirms that there is a serious, ongoing problem within our food system. The heart of this issue–that power is concentrated in the hands of a few–keeps many people, especially vulnerable and marginalized people, from gaining fair access to food. The Center for Environmental Farming Systems’ Community Food Strategy group and partners wanted to know what could be learned from people across communities in North Carolina with various lived experiences of the food system.

Learn more here.

USDA Farm to School Grant 

Deadline: January 6, 2023

The United States Department of Agriculture will award up to $12 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the Farm to School Grant Program in FY 2023. Each grant helps implement farm to school programs that increase access to local food in eligible schools, connect children with agriculture for better health, and inspire youth to consider careers in agriculture. The RFA includes three tracks - Implementation, State Agency, and Turnkey - to support a variety of projects and implementation stages. 

Learn more here.

Development and Implementation of Healthy Meals Incentives School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants

Letter of Intent Deadline: January 9, 2023

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will award up to four cooperative agreements for the administration and management of the Healthy Meals Incentives School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants. FNS expects to award $50 million in total funding through a competitive award process for use over the grant period through up to four cooperative agreements. 

Learn more here.

2023 Young Farmer Grants

Deadline: January 13, 2023

The National Young Farmers Coalition is partnering with Chipotle to offer $5,000 grants to 75 young farmers and ranchers to support them in building careers in agriculture. 

Learn more here.

Fund for Frontline Power Grant

Deadline: January 15, 2023

Fund for Frontline Power (F4FP) is launching a new funding opportunity to move resources to frontline communities that are implementing climate solutions that are inclusive, regenerative, replicable, and scalable. This fund has been designed and managed by a 13-member Grassroots Governance Body compromised of grassroots climate justice advocates from across the country. 

Learn more here.

School Nutrition Foundation Equipment Grants

Deadline: March 31, 2023

The School Nutrition Foundation is teaming up with industry partners to provide new kitchen equipment to deserving districts. Apply now for the 2023 SNF Equipment Grant Program, featuring applications for 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. There is a submission cap of 30 applications for each grant. 

Learn more here.

What is Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)

No Kid Hungry has created a resource explaining CEP, which is a school meal funding opportunity for districts. CEP enables eligible schools to serve free meals to all students, regardless of income. 

Learn more here.

School Meals for All Campaign Letters of Support

The North Carolina Alliance for Health, Carolina Hunger Initiative, the Center for Black Health and Equity, A Better Chance A Better Community (ABC2), and other partners across North Carolina have launched a School Meals for All Campaign! They are looking for organizations and individuals to sign a letter of support regarding the School Meals for All in North Carolina campaign. 

Learn more and sign up here.

Traditional Food Systems: The Changing Landscape of Native American Food Sources

This First Nations Development Institute video features insights from elders and others involved in food-systems work at three pueblos in New Mexico. In particular, it explores elders' descriptions of what the food systems were like in the pueblos back when they were younger.

Watch here.

Food Sovereignty Stories

The U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance has created a series of videos from social movements in the United States working towards a more just and sustainable food system. These films explore issues of farm justice, migrant rights, feminism, radical urban agriculture, fighting the extractive economy, Indigenous cosmovision, and farm justice, amongst other critical issues.

Learn more here.