This Week in Farm to School | |
Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, families, and communities. | |
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The Farm to School Coalition of NC (F2SCNC) Wants to Hear from You!
The Farm to School Coalition of NC is working with the NC Farm to Preschool Network to assess the pros and cons of potentially merging our two groups or working together in some ways. Please take five minutes to complete this short SURVEY - your input is anonymous and will help inform the future direction of our work. Thank you!
Take the survey here.
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Making Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) Work in Rural Areas
April 13, 2023 // 3 pm ET
Join FRAC and Save the Children as they discuss how to make community eligibility work in rural areas. Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) allows high-need schools to provide free meals to all their students without collecting school meal applications and can be a game-changer for School Nutrition operations. Rural schools sometimes face unique challenges in adopting CEP, but many have found that it is transformative for students, School Nutrition professionals, and communities.
Register here.
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District Organization and Management
April 19, 2023 // 2 pm ET
This is the first of a two-part webinar series, hosted by the School Garden Support Organization Network, that is focusing on school district-wide garden programs led by school district staff and the unique opportunities and challenges they face.
Register here.
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Celebrating National Garden Month with USDA
April 26, 2023 // 3 pm ET
Join the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service for the inaugural People’s Garden Initiative webinar to kick off National Garden Month. They will have a special message from Mrs. Christie Vilsack, learn about our country’s rich gardening history, and feature success stories from the Food and Nutrition Service Farm to School grantees.
Register here.
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Economic Impact Assessment of Public Incentives to Support Farm to School Food Purchases
May 18, 2023 // 1 pm - 2 pm ET
Farm to school projects have widely been supported by policymakers with funding provided at state and federal levels. Still, many of the economic outcomes of this inflow of policy and funding remain unclear. In 2018, New York State announced the 30% NY Initiative that substantially increases school lunch reimbursements if School Food Authorities purchase at least 30% of their lunch ingredients as New York food products. With detailed food purchasing data from Buffalo Public Schools, the second-largest school district in the state, and the largest School Food Authority to qualify for enhanced reimbursement, we estimate the gross and net economic impacts of the policy through a customized input-output model. Join the webinar to hear results from the study, which was led by Professor Todd Schmit, Cornell Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and supported by Shayna Krasnoff, MS, ’22, and Cheryl Bilinski, Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY.
Register here.
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NC Farm to School Toolkit
This toolkit, created by the NCDA Farm to School Program, highlights nine fruits and vegetables available through the NC Farm to School program. Each month focuses on a different crop and provides School Nutrition professionals with recipes, social media messages, and other information about the crop of the month.
Learn more here.
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Selling Local Foods to Schools: A Resource for Producers Fact Sheet
An increasing number of schools are sourcing locally grown foods for their school meals and snacks. Learn more about selling local foods to schools by reading USDA’s recently updated Selling Local Food to Schools Fact sheet!
Learn more here.
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USDA Local Food Directories
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s new and improved Local Food Directories are up and running. From customers looking to buy fresh local foods for their families to wholesale food buyers, you can quickly identify nearby suppliers of local food. By listing their business information in the directories, farmers, producers, and distributors of local foods can take advantage of opportunities in both direct-to-consumer and wholesale markets. If you are looking for local food, this is a great resource for you!
Learn more here.
USDA Database of GAP-Certified Farms and Companies
The United States Department of Agriculture has compiled a list of farms and companies that meet USDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP).
View list here.
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Landscape Design for Youth Gardens
This course is designed by KidsGardening. Learn the basic steps and elements of landscape design for an interactive, fun, and sustainable youth garden.
Learn more here.
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Black Farming Community Fights to Get Fair Deal as State Takes Land for Ford Plant Roadways
This Tennessee Lookout article spotlights the challenges Black farmers are facing in Tennessee. Farmers near the new BlueOval City campus are excited by the project but say the state is offering them a fraction of what their land is worth.
Learn more here.
The Four Levels of Racism
Anti-Racism Daily breaks down the four levels of racism–internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural. Learn more about how the four levels of racism persist in our society entirely.
Learn more here.
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NC Farm Bureau Ag in the Classroom Going Local Grant
Deadline: April 15, 2023
North Carolina Farm Bureau is happy to provide agricultural outreach grants to North Carolina teachers through their Ag in the Classroom Going Local program. These grants value up to $500. Going Local Grants help educators provide Pre-K through collegiate-level students with valuable, real-world education and experiences directly related to the agricultural industry and the NC Standard Course of Study. Teachers practicing in private and public North Carolina schools, colleges, and universities are encouraged to apply.
Learn more here.
USDA NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program RFA
Deadline: April 27, 2023
The primary goal of the BFRDP is to help beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States and its territories enter and/or improve their successes in farming, ranching, and management of nonindustrial private forest lands, through support for projects that provide education, mentoring, and technical assistance to give beginning farmers and ranchers the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed decisions for their operations and enhance their sustainability. Applications from partnerships and collaborations that are led by or include nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), and school-based agricultural education organizations (SAEOs) with expertise in agricultural training and outreach for beginning producers will be given priority in funding. Awards may range from $49,000 - $750,000.
Learn more and apply here.
School Nutrition Foundation Equipment Grants
Deadline: April 30, 2023
The School Nutrition Foundation is teaming up with industry partners to provide new kitchen equipment to 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.
Cooperative Agreements for School-Based Trauma-Informed Support Services and Mental Health Care for Children and Youth
Deadline: May 8, 2023
The purpose of this program is to increase student access to evidence-based and culturally relevant trauma support services and mental health care by developing innovative initiatives, activities, and programs to link local school systems with local trauma-informed support and mental health systems, including those under the Indian Health Service. With this program, SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) aims to further enhance and improve trauma-informed support and mental health services for children and youth. Eligibility is statutorily limited to State Education Agencies, Local Educational Agencies, and Indian Tribes (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act) or their Tribal Educational Agencies, a school operated by the Bureau of Indian Education, a Regional Corporation, or a Native Hawaiian Educational Organization.
Learn more here.
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How to Communicate the Benefits of Values-Aligned Universal Meals: Tested Narratives and Messaging from National Farm to School Network’s “Who’s At the Table?” Campaign
The National Farm to School Network conducted a series of message and narrative testing with various audiences–the results from this message testing were used to inform the strategy for our Who’s at the Table? school meals campaign, which provides tools to communicate how our shared community values have the potential to radically transform our food system for the better.
Learn more here.
Child Nutrition Programs: Revision to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans
USDA has extended the deadline to May 10, 2023 for public comment on the proposed rule, “Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans”. The proposed rule contains new Child Nutrition regulations regarding the School Breakfast Program, National School Lunch Program, Summer Food Service Program, and Child and Adult Care Food Program. USDA proposes allowing schools to include locally grown, raised, or caught as a requirement for vendors bidding to provide food for their school meal programs. In addition, USDA proposes updating the Buy American provision by setting a limit of 5% of total food costs on non-domestic food purchases. USDA is also proposing to make nutrition standards more stringent by reducing sodium, increasing whole grains, and decreasing added sugar (which will impact the ability of elementary and middle schools to offer flavored milk) among other suggested changes. School Nutrition professionals and other stakeholders are encouraged to review the proposed rule and related materials and submit comments regarding the impact of the proposed rule on students, School Nutrition Programs, schools, and districts.
Learn more here.
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