Farm to school is a program that brings together local schools, state agencies and organizations together with local farmers to supply healthy nutritious food to our childrens’ schools.
HEAL Food Alliance's School of Political Leadership
Deadline: November 15
Seeking self-motivated and committed teams of 2-4 individuals who want to enhance their advocacy, organizing and political leadership skills to champion food and farm systems that are healthy, accessible and affordable to all communities; fair and dignified for the hard working people across the food chain, and protect the air, water, and land which we all depend on. HEAL's expert trainers will teach the cohort strategies and skills to winning campaigns (policy advocacy, organizing and electoral) and will also include a community integration component driven by teams that are selected into the 2021 cohort. Learn more and apply.
Webinar: Economic Perspectives on Wildfire: Preparation, Property, and Health
November 16 // 12pm ET
The threat of wildfires has become an increasingly large challenge faced by many Americans and as of October 1, over 44,000 wildfires have burned nearly 7.7 million acres in the United States this year. This growing threat is in part due to increasing temperatures and changing weather conditions that are making the fires far more difficult to control and easier to spread. C-FARE Program Chair Sean Cash will host this webinar, and Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (AERE) President-elect and Resources for the Future Senior Fellow, Karen Palmer, will moderate the discussion. They will be joined by three expert panelists. Learn more and register.
Farm to Early Care and Education Programming: A Descriptive Study of Challenges and Opportunities to Promote Healthful Foods to Young Children
Interest in farm to early care and education (ECE) programming, which consists of gardening, nutrition education, and local food procurement, has been growing in the United States, as it may be a promising technique for promoting healthful foods to young children. An online survey was distributed to licensed Colorado ECE providers in two phases to understand current participation in the farm to ECE as well as provider perspectives on benefits and barriers to programming. A total of 250 surveys were completed. Approximately 60% of ECE facilities participated in gardening and nutrition education with providers almost unanimously agreeing on the child-centric benefits of programming. Fewer facilities (37%) participated in local food procurement likely due to significant time, cost, and knowledge barriers. To increase participation in farm to ECE as a technique for promoting healthful foods to young children, future efforts should focus on innovative solutions to reduce ECE-specific barriers. Read more.
Grant Opportunities
The 2021 Katie’s Krops Grower Search is Now Open!
Deadline: December 31
In the spirit of 2020, we are changing up the way we grow a healthy end to hunger to include even more children and families. Everything you need for your garden will be delivered to your doorstep in a Katie’s Krops Grower Box! This box will allow youth to start their own gardens and donate the produce to a family or organization in their community. This Grower Box is made possible with the help of National Geographic, Proven Winners, All American Selections and Corona Tools. Learn more and apply here.
Please send grant opportunities to Arneisha Smallwood, ansmallw@ncsu.edu, or Tessa Thraves, tes_thraves@ncsu.edu.
Racial Equity Resources
The Food and Beverage Investment Fund for Black and Indigenous Americans
In acknowledgement of the immeasurable contributions the Black and Indigenous communities have made to the modern American foodscape, the James Beard Foundation announced the James Beard Foundation Food and Beverage Investment Fund for Black and Indigenous Americans, a new grant initiative to provide financial resources for food or beverage businesses that are majority-owned by Black or Indigenous individuals. Learn more.
Additional Racial Equity Resources
The Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS), one of our Farm to School Coalition of NC partners, has created a document of current webinars as well as resources to facilitate engagement and learning around Racial Equity, both in general and especially as it relates to food systems and education. View webinars/ resourceshere.
National Farm to School Network
Meet the Community Food Champions
At the close of National Farm to School Month 2020, National Farm to School Network is excited to share the selection of 30 individuals to be recognized as 2020 Community Food Champions. These individuals – who represent nearly every role in the school food and farm to school ecosystem – were nominated by individuals in their communities. recognize their efforts to go above and beyond in keeping kids and their families connected to community food systems. Meet the Community Food Champions here.
