This Week in Farm to School 

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

“School Food for Thought” Webinar Series

April 4, 2024 / 2 pm ET

Register now for “School Food for Thought”, a special three-part virtual webinar series hosted by the Chef Ann Foundation Founder Chef Ann Cooper and CEO Mara Fleishman. During each webinar, panelists will explore major topics in today’s school food landscape - nutrition policy, food waste, and local procurement - with expert guests from Harvard Law School Food Law & Policy Clinic, World Wildlife Fund, and Community Alliance with Family Farmers. 

Learn more and register.

National Gardening Day Celebration

April 14, 2024 // 12 pm to 4 pm ET // Statesville, NC

Celebrate the day with the Allison Woods Outdoor Learning Center by learning about gardening and planting some seeds including veggies and pollinator-friendly plants. 

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Self-Guided Climate Boot Camp for Extension Professionals

April 24, 2024 // 3 pm ET

The National Extension Climate Initiative (NECI) serves as an anchor for Extension professionals, researchers, and partners to collaborate on climate-related issues, share resources, discuss barriers and opportunities for advancing climate change programming in Extension, and engage in professional development opportunities. This hour-long boot camp, hosted by NECI, is tailored for Extension! Learn how to use a suite of climate resources designed for DIY-learners. 

Learn more and register.

Project Learning Tree K-12 Workshop

May 4, 2024 // 9 am to 4 pm // Asheville, NC

Join classroom and nonformal educators as you explore climate-related activities in Project Learning Tree’s Explore Your Environment K-8 Activity Guide and the secondary module Southeastern Forests and Climate Change. This workshop, hosted by Project Learning Tree, is geared towards educators working with middle and high school students but is open to anyone interested in the subject and materials. 

Learn more and register.

Column: Improve Education by Taking ‘Hangrry’ Out of Our Children’s School Day

A North Carolina educator shares how hunger impacts the academic and non-academic lives of students. 

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How School Meals for All Can Improve Meal Quality and Put Local Food on the Menu

Farm to school, values-aligned purchasing, and School Meals for All policies (a.k.a. universal meals) work together to transform school food. Notably, all states with permanent School Meals for All also have strong farm to school policies, with 88% implementing local food purchasing incentive policies. This 2-page resource from the National Farm to School Network demonstrates the short-, mid-, and long-term benefits of School Meals for All and shares perspectives from NFSN partners about how this policy alone can improve meal quality and put local food on the menu.

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Farm to School Planning Toolkit

Vermont FEED’s Farm to School Planning Toolkit has helpful resources for each stage of the Farm to School Action Planning Cycle, which they use with their Farm to School Institute. All resources are copyright of Vermont FEED and can be used and adapted with permission.

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Avoiding Racial Equity Detours Publications

Paul Gorski, who has decades of experience working for school-based equity, says most racial-equity efforts in schools are derailed by four "equity detours": pacing for privilege (the comfort of teachers threatened by equity issues is prioritized over progressing quickly); poverty of culture (racist actions and inequities connected to racism are talked about only as "cultural" issues); adopting a deficit ideology; and celebrating diversity (a focus on celebrations that help white or privileged students learn about other cultures and races without confronting racism). To avoid these detours, Gorski recommends school leaders adopt five general principles of "equity literacy."

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EmbraceRace Podcast Episode #6

In this episode, EmbracRace brings you Part 2 of countering the myth that kids learn problematic ideas about race exclusively from their parents and caregivers. In the last episode, they looked at what children's media teaches kids about race. For this episode, they look at another source of children's racial learning - systems of racial inequality that kids live within and perceive all around them.

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Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (USDA NIFA) 

Deadline: April 4, 2024

The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) supports projects that provide education, outreach, and technical assistance for beginning farmers and ranchers in the United States and its territories to enter and/or improve their success in farming, ranching, and management of nonindustrial private forest lands; and provide beginning farmers and ranchers the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to make informed decisions for their operations and enhance their sustainability.

Learn more.

Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs

Deadline: April 8, 2024

USDA has extended the deadline to apply for the Supporting the Use of Traditional Indigenous Foods in the Child Nutrition Programs Cooperative Agreement until April 8. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will award $2 million in total grant funding to up to four (4) organizations to provide regionally focused training and technical assistance (TA) to School Nutrition professionals on procurement, preparation, and crediting of traditional Indigenous foods, including the use of cooperator and FNS-developed resources and tools. The cooperators, with FNS guidance and approval, will also develop culturally relevant nutrition education materials for students to accompany the traditional Indigenous foods that are served, and the cooperators will train School Nutrition professionals and other school staff on providing nutrition education to students.

Learn more and apply.

Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG)

Deadline: April 11, 2024 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is currently accepting applications for grants under the Value-Added Producer Grants program. The grants help farmers and ranchers generate new products, create marketing opportunities, and increase their incomes through value-added activities. Eligible applicants include independent producers, agricultural producer groups, farmer or rancher cooperatives, and majority-controlled producer-based business ventures. The deadline for electronic applications is April 11 and April 16 for paper applications.

Learn more and apply. 

Braiding Seeds Fellowship

Deadline: May 1, 2024

Applications for the 2024 Braiding Seeds Fellowship are now open! This is an 18-month fellowship for BIPOC-beginning farmers and land stewards across the Northeast and Southeast United States. Each of the 10 selected fellows will receive a $50,000 stipend, mentorship, professional development workshops, in-person and virtual cohort gatherings, finance and business plan support, and one one-on-one coaching. They will also be awarding 12 mini-grants of $2,500 each to runners-up. 

Learn more and apply.

USDA's Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) Announces Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP)

Deadline: May 14, 2024

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service (USDA AMS) announced the availability of approximately $26 million for the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) to help local and regional food entities develop, coordinate, and expand producer-to-consumer marketing, local and regional food markets, and local food enterprises. Additionally, AMS has added to the suite of resources available to support communities and practitioners in local and regional food systems development.

Learn more and apply. 

Ben & Jerry's Foundation Grassroots Organization National Grants

Deadline: Grants are accepted on a rolling basis.

The Ben & Jerry's Foundation National Grassroots Organizing Program is dedicated to advancing racial equity, social justice, and environmental justice by providing grants of up to $30,000 per year to small grassroots organizations with budgets under $350,000. These grants support community-level efforts to dismantle discriminatory systems and promote inclusivity. Applications for 2024 are now open, offering a rolling process for submission throughout the grant year. To see examples from 2022 grantees, click here.

Learn more and apply.

The Farm Report Podcast

Join the Heritage Radio Network for a special series of The Farm Report in collaboration with the National Young Farmers Coalition that’s all about The Farm Bill. Tune in to hear from farmers, policymakers, organizers, and food advocates about all the ways the farm bill directly impacts our lives - whether we realize it or not. They’ll break down farm policy and talk to young farmers about what hangs in the balance for them as another Farm Bill gets made. 

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USDA Census of Agriculture

The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. The Census, taken only once every five years, looks at land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income, and expenditures. 

Learn more.