December 8, 2022

This Week in Farm to School 

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

Advocacy Series: Story of Self

December 15, 2022 // 6 pm - 8 pm ET

Join Toxic Free NC to learn more about the powerful advocacy tool of storytelling. Stories are a powerful advocacy tool. They can change people’s hearts and minds. It’s easy to talk about policies or laws in significant numbers, but personal stories make these policy implications not just about numbers but about real people.

Register here.

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.

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.

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.

Local Food Incentive Programs for K-12 School and ECE Settings: Stakeholder Needs and Values

Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems (CRFS) is pleased to share findings from a national survey exploring the interest and educational needs related to K–12 and ECE-based local food incentive programs.

Read more here.

From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals

Deadline: December 14, 2022

The primary goal of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s (NIFA) From Learning to Leading: Cultivating the Next Generation of Diverse Food and Agriculture Professionals Program (NEXTGEN) is to enable 1890 institutions, 1994 institutions, Alaska Native-serving institutions and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions (specifically, the certified Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities (HSACUs)), and insular area institutions of higher education located in the U.S. territories to build and sustain the next generation of the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) workforce primarily through student scholarship support, paid internships, fellowships, and job opportunity matching, and facilitating pathways to employment in the federal sector.

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.

2022 NC Legislative Session Recap

Community Food Strategies team members Jared Cates and Torie Keeton shared a recap of the 2022 North Carolina General Assembly Legislative Session. Hear what policies and legislation materialized that affect agriculture, food insecurity, public health, broadband, etc. Watch here.

School Meals for All Campaign

The North Carolina Alliance for Health, Carolina Hunger Initiative, Center for Black Health and Equity, A Better Chance A Better Community (ABC2), and other partners across North Carolina are launching a School Meals for All Campaign! This campaign will work to secure funding for school meals for all so that every child in every public school in North Carolina has access to breakfast and lunch at no cost to their families. Sign up to stay updated on the School Meals for All Campaign.

Learn more here.

Indigenous Seed Keepers Network

The mission of the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network is to nourish and assist the growing seed sovereignty movement across Turtle Island (North America). As a national network, they leverage resources and cultivate solidarity and communication within the matrix of regional grassroots tribal seed sovereignty projects. 

Learn more here.

A Reading List for Learning About Anti-Black Racism and Food

Epicurious has compiled a list of books that discusses racism in America as it relates to farming, cooking, grocery shopping, and beyond. 

Learn more here.