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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Summer Meals for NC Kids!
Free nutritious meals are available from June through August at more than 2,500 locations in North Carolina. Summer meal sites are safe places for kids and teens to go, such as schools, faith-based facilities, camps, parks, libraries, and community centers.
Find free, nutritious summer meals for kids and teens:
- Text "Food" to 304-304 for information in English or “COMIDA” to 304-304 for information in Spanish.
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Use the N.C. Site Finder Map.
- Check your local school district website, social media, or other communications.
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Learn more at http://summermeals4nckids.org.
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Uniting for a Just Local Food System Through Healthy School Meals for All Policies | Part 2
June 29, 2023 // 3 pm ET
Join the National Farm to School Network for the second of their two-part webinar series highlighting Colorado’s successful passage of the healthy school meals for all policy. This webinar will feature members of Hunger Free Colorado, who will shed light on the intention behind developing and leading Colorado’s Healthy School Meals for All Coalition. They will discuss their strategies for organizing, collaborating with communities across the state, garnering support for the passage, and now implementing their values-aligned universal meals policy.
Learn more.
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How Unsettling Curriculum Supports Food (and other) Sovereignties
June 30, 2023 // 3 pm ET
Join the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy for the last session of their free, three-part series on bringing indigenous foodways into the classroom. This session will support creative thinking and learning with art about settler colonialism and impacts on how we live/learn on stolen Land/s.
Learn more.
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2023 Small Farm Unit Demonstration and Field Day
July 13th, 2023 // 8 am - 2 pm
Join the Center for Environmental Farming Systems for a demonstration and field day at the Small Farm Unit in Goldsboro, NC. You will learn about the Small Farm Unit’s work with specialty crops and experts will provide equipment demonstrations geared toward improving the efficiency of small farms.
Learn more.
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Conference for Farmers & Teachers
August 2 -4, 2023 // South Bend, Indiana
Hosted by Good Shepherd Montessori School (GSMS), this conference invites teachers and small farmers interested in developing farm to school, or school to farm partnerships to explore topics on sustainability, environmental stewardship, and restorative farming with a variety of experts from the field. Participants will learn a whole systems approach to sustainability education and take home a host of hands-on, cross-curriculum experiences that can be integrated into the classroom or on a farm. A whole system approach to farm education is mutually beneficial to students, teachers, and farmers while supporting public health and food security in the community.
Learn more.
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Teens Talk Wellness Podcast
The Farm to School Initiative at CEFS and the Farm to School Coalition of NC are excited to introduce Teens Talk Wellness! Learn more from our student anchors about school meal policies and its impact on students and communities. They also explore school meal history and conduct an insightful interview with Ruth McDowell, the Child Nutrition Director for Edgecombe County Public Schools.
Learn more.
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2023 Farm to School Census Resources
In fall 2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service will field the 2023 Farm to School Census to request information from school food authorities (SFAs) regarding their use of local food in school meals and other participation in farm to school activities in school year 2022-23. This page offers resources to help state agencies, SFAs, and their partners prepare for and complete the 2023 Census.
Learn more.
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Growing Peer Relationships in the Garden
The garden is a special place that can teach us to care about ourselves and others. Read this NC Cooperative Extension article that shows how the Cherokee Middle School garden became a space for social-emotional learning and healing.
Learn more.
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Racial Equity Learning Lab
The National Farm to School Network is excited to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to convene the Racial Equity Learning Lab. If you are interested in joining please fill out the interest form by June 30th.
Learn more.
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Knee High By the 4th of July: Planting King Philip Corn on Wampanoag Land
For the seeds of the King Philip Corn finding a land connection meant reaching back in history a bit further than most seeds and returning the corn to the land of the Wampanoag, where it is believed to have originated from and where it was stolen from generations ago. Danielle Hill, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has planted these seeds with the help of other members of the Tribe. The story of these seeds is about so much more than growing food.
Learn more.
Food Sovereignty Videos and Podcasts
La Via Campesina has compiled a list of videos and podcasts that help explain the importance of food sovereignty and what it looks like around the world.
Learn more.
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Bee Wild Contest
Tomorrow! Deadline: June 30, 2023
KidsGardening and Wyman's are teaming up to celebrate National Pollinator Month with the Bee Wild Contest! Thirty-five youth garden programs will win $200 to plant a pollinator garden.
Learn more.
National Garden Bureau: Therapeutic Garden Grant
Deadline: July 1, 2023
The National Garden Bureau promotes the health and healing powers of human interaction with plants through an annual grant program for therapeutic gardens. Three established therapeutic gardens will be selected to receive a grant to help expand or maintain the therapeutic garden. In addition to the grant funding, the selected gardens will also receive a set of Corona Gardening Tools. Schools, non-profits, hospitals, retirement centers, rehabilitation facilities, veteran’s facilities, community centers, day camps, treatment facilities, and inter-generational groups throughout the U.S. are eligible.
Learn more and apply.
Green Our Planet Grant Programs
Deadline: July 21, 2023
School gardens are some of the best tools for hands-on learning and engagement, and Green Our Planet is here to help by offering two programs, GardenConnect and HydroConnect, to provide schools and students more access to gardens and garden-based learning. The GardenConnect program is valued at $3,500 and Green Our Planet will cover the full cost of the program for up to 100 schools. The HydroConnect program is valued at $10,000 and Green Our Planet will cover 80% of the costs of the program for up to 300 schools. Schools are responsible for $2,000 in total.
Learn more.
Organic Market Development Grants
Deadline: August 8, 2023
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service has approximately $75 million available for FY 2023 for the Organic Market Development Grants program. This grant aims to boost the consumption of domestic organic agricultural commodities by developing new and expanded organic markets. Eligible applicants, including business entities, non-profit organizations, and government entities, can receive funding running from $10,000 to $3 million for projects focused on production, processing, distribution, and consumer market development.
Learn more and apply.
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School Meal Charge Policies in North Carolina
The School Meals for All NC Campaign has created a report that discusses school meal charge policies in North Carolina. School meal charge policies from 103 of the 115 public school districts in North Carolina were reviewed.
Learn more.
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Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Member Advocacy Program
Deadline: June 30
Do you often find yourself at the crossroads of food, farming, and red tape and wish you could make some changes? CFSA’s Member Advocacy Program will teach you the ways and means to create change for your peers, your community, and yourself. Join them for five workshops, one per month, to learn how to use your voice to change food and farming policy. Applications are due June 30.
Learn more.
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