Montana Media Coverage
Lions Club plants Farm-to-School garden by Matt Baldwin. Whitefish Pilot. Published 08/04/2010.
The Whitefish Lions Club launched an organic Farm-to-School garden this summer and come harvest time, they expect to have 15,000 pounds of fresh vegetables to donate to local school cafeterias. Read the entire article.
Summer Lunch Program Features Farm to School Activities by Aubree Durfey. Community Food Co-op. Published 07/15/2010.
Where does your food come from? Local school-aged kids participating in the Summer Lunch Program, sponsored by the Gallatin Valley Food Bank, will be exploring answers to this question in the upcoming weeks. Volunteers of Gallatin Valley Farm to School (GVF2S) will be leading the children in Farm to School activities such as making butter, planting a bucket garden and exploring the BOB (the Bozone Ozone Bus) – a mobile greenhouse bus created by the Bozeman Youth Initiative. Read the entire article.
Montana's Farm to School program in D.C. spotlight by Mark Holyoak. KPAX. Published 03/23/2010.
Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau is in Washington D.C. to voice support for a program popping up all over Montana. The Farm to School program educates students about how agriculture is connected to food and nutrition. It also encourages children to make healthier food choices by eating more fruits and vegetables. Read the entire article.
Tester and Vilsack discuss Farm to School program in Bozeman by Michael Gibney. The Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Published 03/07/2010.
"The farm-to-school movement offers new income opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers in addition to supporting off-farm jobs in rural America while giving children the opportunity to eat healthy, local fruits and vegetables and learn to be healthy eaters," according to USDA press release. Read the entire article.
Bozeman Schools Eat Local For Farm to School Program by Dan Boyce. Montana. Published 03/04/2010.
"Once a month Bozeman school children get something for lunch that's grown here in Montana. This week Hyalite Elementary was holding one of these Farm to School events. Americorps Vista volunteer Aubree Durfey helps coordinate the Gallatin Valley Farm to School program. She gets students excited for locally grown food by dressing like a vegetable..." Read the entire article.
Hawthorne Elementary, MSU Hold Local Food Events by Dan Boyce. Montana. Published 02/08/2010.
"Bozeman's Hawthorne Elementary provided the venue Monday for a roundtable discussion on the future of local food. It was a who's who of local, statewide and regional policy makers. The list included Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Montana State University President Waded Cruzado, farmers, educators and representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture..." Read the entire article.
No Farms, No Food: It by Elin Hert. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Published 12/01/2009.
"Public education is often framed as an investment in our society's future. But the return on our investment comes quickly in the Bozeman area because students give back to our valley and state well before they graduate high school..." Read the entire article.
Farm to School fundraiser "squashing" success. BoZone.com. Published 11/27/2009.
Gallatin Valley Farm to School administered the second annual offering of this "alternative school fundraising program" and, while doing so, addressed the Gallatin Valley's desire to support Montana farmers, help local schools, and purchase beautiful holiday gifts for friends and family. Students will be delivering early this month, just in time for holiday gift-giving. Read the entire article.
Ag Producers, Consumers pushing farm-to-table concept by Tom Lutey. Billings Gazette. Published 11/08/2009.
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Support fresh food for kids by Sara Flanery. Missoulian. Published 11/01/2009.
Children are hungry for foods that will nourish them. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, children born the year that my daughter was (2000) are the first to have a lower life expectancy than their parents, and have no doubts that this is in large part because of the food we are feeding them. Read the entire article.
Local schools join Farm to School program. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Published 10/17/2009.
Six Bozeman-area schools -- Whittier, Irving, Longfellow, Hawthorne, Morning Star and Gallatin Gateway -- have teamed up with Gallatin Valley Farm to School program to sell healthy, Montana-made foods and gifts as a fundraiser. Read the entire article.
Lolo company helping school kids eat healthy. KPAX News. Published 09/16/2009.
Missoula school kids can dip their bread sticks in marinara with confidence because the sauce is local, and the school district's efforts to serve locally grown food in school cafeterias has some other school districts hungry for more information. Read the entire article.
MCPS Farm-to-school program featured in national documentary. Missoula Foodie. Published 09/15/2009.
A clip from a new documentary featuring the MCPS Farm-to-school program! Read the entire article.
What's Up With That? by Rachel Hergett. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Published 09/13/2009.
So this Saturday, The Emerson Grill is inviting guests to bring their own cutting boards and knives to help process some of those ingredients under the guidance of Chef Donald MacArthur for its second annual Salsa Day. Cost is $15 per person and a portion of the proceeds goes to Farm to School, an organization that is working to bring local produce into the public school system. Read the entire article.
The Youth Shall Lead Us by Dean Williamson. New West. Published 05/27/2009.
More great news about the future of local farming. The New York Times reports on an optimistic (in my opinion) national trend more and more college students are seeking internships not on Wall Street, but on the farm. Read the entire article.
The "Process" of Rebuilding a Local Food Economy by Peter Metcalf. New West Missoula. Published 05/12/2009.
Despite soaring demand for locally grown food, it remains primarily available only fresh, raw and in season, such as the delicious piles of salad greens, snap peas and summer squash that will soon fill the stalls of the region's Farmer's Markets, or as baked goods and jams, products allowed under state regulations to be made without a certified commercial kitchen. But many people would also like to purchase salad dressings for those raw vegetables, sauerkraut to pile on their elk sausage, or frozen Bitterroot Macs to make an apple pie in the winter, all made from locally grown ingredients. Read the entire article.
Around the Valley. Montana's News Station. Published 05/08/2009.
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Local news in brief by Chronicle Staff. Bozeman Daily Chronicle. Published 02/08/2009.
Kyle Unland will talk about "Accessing Healthy Foods" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Bozeman Public Library's conference room.
Unland is director of Washington's nutrition, physical activity and obesity prevention program. His presentation will cover farm-to-school programs, restaurant nutrient labeling, bringing produce to rural areas, and food environments and how they impact community, school and worksite health.
The program is free and open to the public. For information call Ninia Baehr, director of Montana nutrition and physical activity program, at 994-5686. Read the entire article.
Program helps future farmers find land by Rob Chaney. Missoulian. Published 02/04/2009.
Think of it as an agricultural dating service. Still productive, older farm acreage seeks young, vigorous farmer for long- or short-term relationship. Must enjoy outdoors, dirty fingernails and fresh food. That's the hope for Land Link Montana, a new service connecting landowners seeking land workers and vice versa. Founder Paul Hubbard said the seven-county program may preserve western Montana's agricultural heritage while boosting its local food production. Read the entire article.
Montana Food Efforts a Good Model for Hard Times by Rose Hayden-Smith. Huffington Post. Published 01/06/2009.
Local food systems -- including farm-to-institution programs -- can mean real money for local farmers, local food processors and local/state economies. And the state of Montana has an excellent model for this. Read the entire article.
Schools take part in Farm to School fundraiser. Montana's News Station. Published 12/09/2008.
Rather than pedaling cookies and candy to friends and family, students from two area schools are trying to raise money by selling healthy, Montana-made food products. The Farm to School fundraiser is a pilot program sponsored by Montana Team Nutrition Program of MSU as a way to support schools in implementing their school wellness policy and support Farm to School Programs. Read the entire article.
A Threat to the Local Food Movement by Alan Merrill. West Yellowstone News. Published 07/21/2008.
According to numerous studies, these local food programs help improve children's nutrition while providing family farms with a reliable market. They also promote the local economy and environmentally sustainable agriculture as well as help children and parents re-connect with the providers of their food. Read the entire article.
Cow visits Bozeman school by Beth Saboe. Montana's News Station. Published 04/24/2008.
Milk is something that most kids drink on a regular basis, but these days many youngsters may not realize where that glass of milk comes from.
But one Bozeman school is working to educate students on the origin of their food, and on Wednesday students at Hawthorne Elementary school got a firsthand look at dairy cows and learned how to milk them. Read the entire article.
Ground Beef Recall a Serious Downer for Montana Schools by Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel. New West Living. Published 03/04/2008.
As the wasted pounds add up, many school employees, parents and students are questioning more than what's for lunch. They are questioning the very safety of our current food system. For Robin Vogler, the Somers Middle School Food-Service Director, the recall is, "more reason than ever to pursue local food." Read the entire article.
Alberton students enjoy eating fruits of labor by Vince Devlin and Kim Briggeman. Missoulian. Published 11/28/2007.
There was chili meat from Missoula, onions from the Bitterroot Valley and potatoes from Manhattan (the Montana one.)
But the students of Alberton School made their own salsa, out of tomatoes they grew in the local community garden. And they chowed down on apples picked in Norm Brovold's orchard.
The recent homegrown school lunch was the latest activity of Alberton's first fling with the Farm-to-School program, the Mineral Independent reports. And organizers say it's had all kinds of benefits already. Read the entire article.
Grow Montana Snags National Award by Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel. New West. Published 10/02/2007.
To strengthen local food systems, Grow Montana also created FoodCorps with four AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers who work to create Farm to Schoolinstitutional buying programs at schools and institutions around the state. This year, the coalition also worked with the Montana legislature to pass aprocurement bill that allows state institutions to more easily purchase Montana made food, opening a $33 million market to local farmers and ranchers. Read the entire article.
Food Bank Seeks Change to Farm Bill by Rob Chaney. The Missoulian. Published 09/21/2007.
The farm bill delivers the grant funding needed by Garden City Harvest, Farm to School and other local projects that produce locally grown food to Missoula residents and schools. Read the entire article.
Flash in the Pan: In Search of the Montana Taco by Chef Boy Ari. Missoula Independent. Published 05/04/2006.
In the cafeteria of Missoula’s Lewis and Clark primary school, hungry students file past a sign by the kitchen door announcing which components of the day’s meal are made from Montana ingredients: Soft-shell Montana tortillas filled with Montana beef, Montana cornbread, Montana honey sticks, Montana carrots and Montana huckleberry parfait. Read the entire article.
MCPS has chance to enhance health of students, local farms by Guest Columnist. Missoulian. Published 04/09/2006.
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