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North Carolina Media Coverage

 Farm To School by SUNUPTV. You Tube; Farm to School. Published 08/19/2011.
Peach Crest Farms near Stratford to learn about the Farm to School program with owner Susan Bergen. In addition, Jason Young discusses how the Robert M. Kerr Food & Agricultural Products Center helped establish food safety and management practices at Peach Crest. Read the entire article.

Growing minds, growing kids. Mountain Xpress. Published 08/09/2011.
Ready to go back to school? So is Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. During the previous school year, ASAP's Growing Minds Farm to School Cooking Program reached nearly 1,400 area students with the help of educators, chefs and community volunteers. Growing Minds works to connect farms and schools and give children positive experiences with healthy foods. Experiences include farm field trips, nutrition education, school gardens, and local food in cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Growing minds, growing kids by Webmaster. Mountain Express . Published 08/09/2011.
Ready to go back to school? So is Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. During the previous school year, ASAP's Growing Minds Farm to School Cooking Program reached nearly 1,400 area students with the help of educators, chefs and community volunteers. Growing Minds works to connect farms and schools and give children positive experiences with healthy foods. Read the entire article.

Farm to School movement takes off in Jackson County by Admin. Smoky Mountain News. Published 08/03/2011.
A Farm to School movement, an effort to get fresh, healthy foods in front of school kids, has taken off in the region, witnessed by more than 100 participants in a recent Farm To School Cooking conference in Asheville where chefs from the Biltmore Estate and Asheville restaurants Cúrate and Red Stag Grill, led workshops aimed at preparing teachers to cook fresh local foods with students this school year. Read the entire article.

In Mecklenburg, the classroom can also be a veggie patch by Karen Sullivan. The Charlotte Observer . Published 07/29/2011.
At least 31 school gardens are expected to be in production this year, a success story for parents, teachers and local groups pushing to give students hands-on learning in their schoolyard Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/07/29/2489766/in-mecklenburg-the-classroom-can.html#ixzz1TqQNY8XE Read the entire article.

Asheville's Emily Jackson connects farmers to schoolkids, consumers by Barbara Blake. Citizen-times. Published 07/16/2011.
In Emily Jackson's colorful life, one of the threads has been homegrown tomatoes. Today, as program director for Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project's Growing Minds program, Jackson's world revolves around homegrown tomatoes and other produce grown on farms and in backyards and schoolyards right here in the mountains. “Our mission is to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food,” Jackson said. “We want to keep farmers farming and to connect children and their families to where their food comes from.” Read the entire article.

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Merrigan Brings USDA's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' College To. USDA. Published 02/09/2011.
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today provided highlights of how North Carolina can tap into USDA's 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, which promotes local and regional food systems by stimulating community economic development and ensuring equitable access to affordable fresh and local food. One example of how farmers can get involved, Merrigan said, is to participate in local farm to school programs that enable schools to feature healthy, locally-sourced products in their cafeterias. Read the entire article.

New guidelines would make lunches healthier in Asheville-area schools by Nanci Bompey. Citizen Times. Published 01/16/2011.
New guidelines released by the federal government last week stand to offer the first major nutritional overhaul of school lunches in 15 years. Schools getting federal reimbursements for free and reduced-price meals would have to follow the dietary guidelines if they win approval following a public comment period. In Buncombe County, 28 percent of kindergartners are overweight and that number increases up to 39 percent for fifth-graders. Read the entire article.

Some Piedmont School Lunches Coming Fresh from the Farm by MyFox8.com. myfoz8.com. Published 00/01/2011.
Some students in North Carolina's public schools are getting fed the freshest lunches possible thanks to a state program. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture's "Farm to School" program is a partnership with local farmers and schools. During the 2010-2011 school year, almost $1 million in state produce was delivered to the state's schools. The farmers harvest the produce and then deliver it to students within 48 hours. Read the entire article.

Fresh from the farm by Morgan Wall. The Mount Airy News. Published 09/02/2010.
In order to accomplish their goals, child nutrition departments rely on a variety of different programs from the federal and state governments to function on a day-to-day basis. One such program, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Farm to School program, helps not only school systems across the state but farmers as well. Since its inception in the 1990s, the Farm to School program has collected produce from North Carolina farmers and delivered it to school systems in a timely manner. Read the entire article.

New school year sees new paths for learning, health. Citizen Times. Published 08/16/2010.
Some Asheville schoolchildren will be experimenting with uniforms and single-gender classes this year. Meanwhile, a concerted effort is under way to get all students to eat more healthily. The battle against childhood obesity will be joined this fall on more than one front. Local chefs will work with every elementary school in Buncombe County as part of Michele Obama's Chefs Move to Schools program. Western Carolina University students will help implement farm-to-school programs in Jackson County. Read the entire article.

8 Asheville, Buncombe County schools revamping school lunches. Citizen Times. Published 08/11/2010.
Henderson County apples. Hydroponic lettuce from Madison County. North Carolina-grown sweet potatoes. These aren't menu items at a downtown restaurant. They're some of the fresh, locally grown produce gracing school lunch menus this year. Read the entire article.

Field trips, programs teach Asheville-area students about eating healthy outside the school cafeteri by Nanci Bompey. Asheville Times. Published 08/11/2010.
The best lessons about healthy eating can't always be taught in the school cafeteria. Five years ago, Isaac Dickson teacher Susan Shillcock took her class on a field trip to Flying Cloud Farm in Fairview, and the kindergarten and first- and second-grade classes wandered into the okra. The students were soon eating the green vegetables raw. The next day, the class eagerly chowed down on pickled, steamed and fried okra prepared by local chef Laurey Masterton. Read the entire article.

The Chef Goes Back To School by Marlisa Mills. Western North Carolina Woman . Published 08/10/2010.
See pages 6 through 9 to read about Chef Laurey Masterton and her involvement in healthy food initiatives for schools. Read the entire article.

SENCFS Receives $400,000 in Funding for Processing and Distribution Center. Tidal Creek. Published 08/01/2010.
The Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems Program (SENCFS) is the recipient of two new grants to support a processing and distribution center for limited resource farmers in the region Read the entire article.

Campaign encourages putting 10% of food spending toward local foods by Stacie Greene Hidek. Star News. Published 07/26/2010.
The Southeastern North Carolina Food Systems Program joins the Center for Environmental Farming Systems for the 10% Campaign, which encourages consumers to spend 10 percent of their food spending on foods produced in North Carolina. The campaign aims to create jobs, boost the viability of North Carolina farms and fisheries, and promote healthy communities. Read the entire article.

Today’s Topic: Farm to School Program. In The Field. Published 06/15/2010.
School is out across North Carolina, and it ended on a high note for the N.C. Farm to School Program. School systems purchased a record $800,000 worth of North Carolina commodities during the 2009-2010 school year. That’s $100,000 more than 2008-2009. Listen in as Agricultural Commissioner Steve Troxler and the Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison talk about the success of this program. Read the entire article.

Farm to School program posts a record-setting year. North Carolina Agricultural Review. Published 06/14/2010.
With increased orders for North Carolina strawberries and blueberries, the N.C. Farm to School Program will end the year with a new record for school sales of North Carolina commodities.

“It is great to end the year not only with record sales of strawberries and blueberries, but also the yearly record sales for the Farm to School program. In the end, our students and our farmers are the big winners,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “Each year the program grows as word spreads about the healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables being offered." Read the entire article.

Farm to School builds gardens for Charlotte preschoolers by Lynn Wise. Charlotte Preschool Examiner. Published 04/25/2010.
On Friday, April 23, 2010, CharMeck Farm to School had a donation of compost delivered by Mecklenburg County to St. John’s Baptist Church, which houses their weekday preschool and 4 Bethlehem Center Head Start classes. Read the entire article.

It Takes You "Eat Local" Produce Campaign Raised Awareness and nearly $3 million in Sales by N/A. COMPASS GROUP NORTH AMERICA. Published 11/09/2009.
The week of September 21, 2009, Compass' clients and customers enjoyed the flavors of the seasonal harvest as thousands of locations across the country implemented the company-wide It Takes You "Eat Local" campaign. Read the entire article.

Henderson County Children Eat Local Apples. WLOS. Published 10/18/2009.
Elementary students in Henderson County eat and learn about local food. Apples in coleslaw! Read the entire article.

Exporting Asheville's know-how by Hannah Rachel Raskin. Mountain X Press. Published 10/14/2009.
To achieve the goal of eating closer to home, last month some food activists took a trip to a very faraway place. Asheville's Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project this fall hosted its first-ever Local Food Institute, designed to familiarize local-food-market developers from Tennessee to Toledo with ways to energize their economies. For three days, participants tromped around downtown Asheville, eating lunch in the Isaac Dickson cafeteria, touring Greenlife Grocery and confabbing with the tourism officials who've crafted the Foodtopian Society initiative, helping to thrust edible experiences to the top of many Asheville visitors' itineraries. Read the entire article.

Failing the fruit test by Suzanne Havala Hobbs. News and observer. Published 10/07/2009.
North Carolina teens are failing the fruit and vegetable test. They're not alone. No state meets national recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption, according to a report issued late last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On average, fewer than 10 percent of U.S. high school students get the recommended three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruits each day. North Carolina falls well below that average, with only 6 percent of teens getting enough fruits and vegetables. Read the entire article.

CDC to NC residents: Eat your fruits and veggies. WRAL.com. Published 10/07/2009.
A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report shows that North Carolinians aren't eating enough fruits and vegetables. According to the State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 25 percent of North Carolina adults meet the recommendation of at least two servings of fruit a day, compared with 33 percent nationwide. Thirty percent of adults statewide meet the vegetable recommendation of at least three servings daily, compared with 27 percent in the U.S. Read the entire article.

Activist: School Lunch Can Be Fresh and Tasty by Morgan Josey Glover. News and Record: Greensboro-North Carolina. Published 09/27/2009.
When Alice Waters visited the city last week, she did more than help raise money for the new Edible Schoolyard at the Greensboro Children's Museum. She also advanced a national campaign to add vegetable gardens and serve healthier, locally produced meals in all public schools. Read the entire article.

Elected leaders touch on issues by Philip D. Brown. Richard County Daily Journal. Published 08/19/2009.
The emerging green economy, school nutrition and healthcare were just some of the subjects discussed at a meeting that followed the White House's Rural Tour event at Cole Auditorium Monday. The Farm to School Network was brought up twice during the hour and a half forum. Read the entire article.

Rural Tour takes Obama officials to rural N.C. by Caitlin Cissne. News 14. Published 08/17/2009.
The Obama administration brought its "Rural Tour" to North Carolina Monday. Questions from the audience were about everything from school lunches to support for local farmers. Read the entire article.

U.S. education, agriculture secretaries visit Richmond County by Bryan Mims. WRAL.com. Published 08/17/2009.
Vilsack said farmers markets support local growers, who in-turn can enhance nutrition in local schools. "(For) many of our students these are the only meals they get," Duncan said. "I see too many of these meals thrown away. They're not nutritious. They're not healthy. We're wasting money." Read the entire article.

Civility and respect rule at bipartisan town hall meeting by Jim Morrill. CharlotteObserver.com. Published 08/17/2009.
Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr and Democratic U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell joined two Cabinet secretaries in fielding questions from an overflow audience at Richmond Community College. One man asked Duncan about school vouchers, or public subsidies for private schools, saying they would give more families more choices. Read the entire article.

Farm to School benefits counties like Macon. The Franklin Press. Published 08/01/2009.
Congress will consider funding for the Farm to School program on Sept. 30. We support mandatory funding for Farm to School for several important reasons. Read the entire article.

Today's Topic: Farm to School Program. In the Field. Published 06/10/2009.
North Carolina farmers provided nearly $700,000 worth of fresh produce to local school systems through the N.C. Farm to School program, which connects local farms with local schools. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler explains to Rhonda Garrison why this is a win-win situation for farmers and for students. Read the entire article.

NCDA&CS Farm to School program has record year by Gary Gay, director of the NCDA&CS Food Distribution Division. . Published 06/04/2009.
When teachers and school lunchroom staff encouraged students to eat their fruits and veggies this year, it is a good bet they were fresh from a North Carolina farm. More than $685,000 worth of food made its way onto school trays during the 2008-2009 school year, the most for the 12-year-old Farm to School program managed by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Read the entire article.

N.C. blueberries burst into schools as Farm to School Program posts record year by Andrea Ashby. In the Field. Published 06/02/2009.
Overall, it has been a great year for the department's Farm to School Program. Nearly $700,000 worth of North Carolina commodities have moved into the school systems this year, more than ever in the 12-year history of the program. Read the entire article.

Obesity grant plan trims local tummies by Scott Nicholson. The Watauga Democrat. Published 05/27/2009.
The N.C. Cooperative Extension Service coordinated efforts to promote a Farm to School program. Healthy cooking classes were held in all afterschool programs in Watauga County and local produce taste tests occurred at Mabel and Bethel Elementary School. Read the entire article.

Strawberry Day To Be Held At The NC Farmers Market. NBC 17. Published 04/29/2009.
Fresh North Carolina strawberries will soon be on the menu in 47 school districts across the state, when the first flats shipped through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Farm to School program are delivered April 27. Read the entire article.

Schools cut budget by $600K by Hannah Guzik. Ashland Daily Tidings. Published 04/14/2009.
Ashland school board members slashed $600,000 from the district's budget for next year but voted to preserve popular sports programs and an auto shop class at their Monday night meeting. The board also decided not to outsource all cafeteria operations next year, and instead chose to keep the existing structure, which uses outside managers and district workers. Board members hope that by the fall of 2010, the district can completely run its own food service program. If the district were to run its own food service program, it would likely be able to make better use of Ashland's Farm to School Program, she said. The state-sponsored program allows students to eat locally grown food in district cafeterias. Read the entire article.

Schools give N.C. sweet potato sticks a try. In the Field. Published 03/10/2009.
Sweet potato sticks, a new item offered to schools through our Farm to School program, recently debuted in 27 school systems across the state. Wayne E. Bailey Produce in Chadbourn supplies the sweet potato sticks, which can be eaten raw with dip or prepared like French fries. Read the entire article.

Former HCC café manager to represent school at conference. Haywood County News. Published 02/27/2009.
The conference, "Going the Distance and Shortening it, From Farm to Cafeteria," will explore the challenges and opportunities that come with the success of the movement and explore growers' efforts to increase the supply of farm products to meet increasing demand. Farm to Cafeteria has gone the distance in the last decade, with the number of farm to school programs exploding from a handful of programs in the late 1990s to more than 2,000 today. There are 40 states with operational programs. Read the entire article.

ASAP plans to launch kid-friendly version of local food guide and more by Jason Sanford. Mountain Xpress. Published 01/28/2009.
In spring 2010, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) will launch new kid’s versions of its popular materials: the Local Food Guide and Local Food -Thousands of Miles Fresher bumper sticker. The sticker will be scaled down for a bike, and the kid sized guide will feature special contents and activities. “We want to give kids positive experiences with local food so they’ll form healthy eating habits,” says Emily Jackson of ASAP. “These fun materials—designed just for kids—make good choices appealing.” Publication of the local food bumper sticker and Local Food Guide for kids is made possible by funding from the Community Benefits Program of Mission Hospital. Read the entire article.

Expanding local agriculture for health, healthy economy by Eva Clayton. Winston-Salem Journal. Published 01/25/2009.
I write to ask Gov.-elect Bev Purdue and the General Assembly to take note. Building a local sustainable food economy in North Carolina can yield statewide economic development, create jobs and stop money from leaking out of the state in this time of recession. Read the entire article.

From Farm to Fork: Building a sustainable food economy in North Carolina by Eva Clayton. The Outer Banks Sentinel. Published 01/23/2009.
Farm-to-school programming and urban gardening is one approach to addressing obesity in children while simultaneously building a community-oriented food system. These programs utilize a wide variety of strategies geared toward increasing children's consumption of fresh, local foods while expanding market opportunities for local farmers. Win:Win. Read the entire article.

Obesity Prevention Proposals Outlined. The Pilot. Published 01/22/2009.
FirstHealth of the Carolinas has teamed up with community leaders, school personnel and medical professionals to make a difference for children in the mid-Carolinas. A Moore County proposal to pilot a farm-to-school fresh produce program to provide produce purchased directly from local farmers for three targeted schools and a day care center. Through the program, children will have access to fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. Project planners hope that the project will highlight the value of providing locally grown foods in school cafeterias and encourage additional farm-to-school efforts. Read the entire article.

From Farm-to-Fork: Building a sustainable food economy in N.C. by Eva Clayton. Virgina/North Carolina News. Published 01/19/2009.
I write to ask Governor Purdue and the General Assembly to take note: Building a local sustainable food economy in North Carolina can yield statewide economic development, create jobs and stop money from leaking out of the state in this time of recession. And it comes with many additional benefits as well. Read the entire article.

Nourishing N.C.'s economy by Eva Clayton. The News & Observer. Published 01/05/2009.
overnor-elect Beverly Purdue and the General Assembly take note: Building a local sustainable food economy in North Carolina can yield statewide economic development, create jobs and stop money from leaking out of the state in this time of recession. And it comes with many additional benefits as well. Read the entire article.

Farm to School Project. High Country Press. Published 12/25/2008.
The goal is for the community and school personnel to enthusiastically support continuing to purchase the high quality produce from local growers, and for children to enjoy produce that they may not otherwise have a chance to. Read the entire article.

Locavore: A Word to Live By by Gwen Roland. Mother Earth News. Published 12/18/2008.
I don't know what the word of the year will be for 2008, but for those of us who know the satisfaction of eating food grown within hollering distance of our kitchens, locavore is good enough to live by for another year. Read the entire article.

Haywood Community College Serves Student-Grown Produce by Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. Haywood. Published 12/10/2008.
This spring, the greens served in Haywood Community College's cafeteria couldn't have been more local-they were grown at the college. Read the entire article.

Area project kicks off anti-obesity push by Scott Nicholson. The Watauga Democrat. Published 11/04/2008.
The Watauga County Childhood Obesity Prevention Project officially launched Oct. 29 at Watauga Medical Center, with planning already under way for a sustained program to promote healthy behaviors among the young and enhance physical fitness and nutrition. Farm-to-school programs will help children understand the connection between meals and local produce, and high school students will be surveyed about their health behaviors. Read the entire article.

Schools cafeterias opt for local produce by Ashley Wilson. Citizen-Times. Published 11/03/2008.
The local food movement has made its way into school cafeterias across Western North Carolina. With an increased emphasis on healthier cafeteria food and changes to the farm bill, more area school districts, including Buncombe County and Asheville City, are turning to local farms to get fresh produce for school lunches. Read the entire article.

Food safety symposium set for Aug. 19. Bladen Journal. Published 08/04/2008.
Dr. David Acheson, a central figure in the federal government's investigation of the recent national salmonella outbreak, will speak to more than 200 representatives of the agriculture and food industries at the fourth annual AgFIRST symposium Tuesday, Aug. 19, at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is host of the event, which has the theme "Providing Safe Food for Healthy Families in a Global Economy." It will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Kerr Scott Building. Admission is free, and lunch will be provided, but registration is required. Read the entire article.

Farm to School. ABC 13 WLOS. Published 07/23/2008.
Great coverage of the Southeast Regional Meeting highlighting farmers, chefs, students and the community coming together to work as one. Read the entire article.

Educators gather to study food initiative by Ashley Wilson. Asheville Citizan Times. Published 07/18/2008.
Local newspaper covers the Southeast Regional Farm to School meeting in Asheville, NC Read the entire article.

Catawba Valley schools. Charlotte Observer. Published 06/29/2008.
Catawba Elementary School's Child Nutrition division won second place in the national "Farm to School Fruits and Vegetables" contest sponsored by the USDA. Read the entire article.

Farm to School program educates kids about local and healthy foods by Beth Beasley. Blue Ridge Now. Published 06/11/2008.
'Thousands of Miles Fresher'- the local food slogan familiar to many in our area, now applies to food served in Henderson County schools. Growing Minds, the program that makes it possible, is a Farm to School Program of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), a non-profit organization based in Asheville. Cafeterias in all Henderson County Public Schools now receive foods such as apples, lettuce, spinach, watermelon, potatoes and tomatoes from as many as a dozen local and regional farms. Read the entire article.

Grants available to state farmers. Bladen Journal. Published 06/09/2008.
Farm to school grants available. Read the entire article.

NCDA&CS secures U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to support four programs for N.C. farmers. The Leland Tribune. Published 06/02/2008.
The Farm to School initiative serves to increase the number of North Carolina schools purchasing locally grown produce. A new program will be implemented with the grant money to supply schools with N.C. food products. Read the entire article.

Schools struggle to feed children by Ashley Wilson. Citizen Times. Published 05/19/2008.
With drastic increases in food, gas and labor costs and little or no financial support from the state or their local school districts, child nutrition programs across Western North Carolina and the state are finding it harder to feed their students. Read the entire article.

Emily Jackson convinces tough critics to eat healthy and locally. New Life Journal. Published 03/19/2008.
Moms and dads know it can be quite difficult to get children excited about eating even an average vegetable, not to mention the weird looking ones, like heirloom varieties. But, Emily Jackson is up for the challenge and gets area children engaged with fresh, local food daily as program director for Growing Minds (GM), a farm to school initiative though Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Program (ASAP). Read the entire article.

Local ag organization snags award by John Boyle. Asheville Citizen-Times. Published 11/15/2007.
The Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project was named nonprofit of the year, and in its press release, the association noted that "for a decade ASAP has been running one of the most successful local food campaigns in the Southeast, and has been a leader in the farm-to-school movement. This year ASAP published a groundbreaking study of the value of local food to the economy of Western North Carolina, showing the market in that region alone could be worth almost half a billion dollars." Read the entire article.

Deal on Fees Might Keep Local Produce at Schools by Michelle Jarboe. News & Record. Published 09/19/2007.
Schools will pay more in delivery fees this year to receive fresh fruit and vegetables from North Carolina growers.  Read the entire article.

Schools Get Deal on Fruits, Veggies by Jim Nesbitt. The News & Observer. Published 09/18/2007.
State agriculture officials announced a cost-saving compromise aimed at salvaging a popular program that purchases fresh, North Carolina-grown produce for school lunch programs from the mountains to the coast. Read the entire article.

Grant will help fund farm-to-school program by Staff Reporters. The News & Observer. Published 08/30/2007.
A $1 million federal grant will help 25 elementary schools receive fresh local produce through a popular "farm-to-school" program. Read the entire article.

Schools fight obesity with fresh produce by Sarah A. Reid. The Fayetteville Observer. Published 06/03/2007.

North Carolina schools have found another way to fight childhood obesity — fresh produce.

Read the entire article.

The Value of Fresh Produce by Angie Newsome. Citizen Times. Published 08/15/2006.
A group of women scooped slips of red and orange fruits from Vanessa Campbell’s cutting board last week, popping them into their mouths, humming “yums” and “ahs” that are music to a farmer’s ear. Read the entire article.

Kids Develop A Taste for Healthy Foods by Barbara Blake. WNC Parent. Published 02/01/2006.
Jordan Scheffer and Brian Word-Sims don’t care much about the science behind nutrition. But they know what tastes good. “I like potatoes and green beans, and I liked mashed bananas — usually just the mushy kind,’’ said Jordan, a kindergartner in Susan Shillcock’s K-2 class at Dickson Elementary School. Read the entire article.

Sustinence for Students Is Best Homegrown by Joy Franklin. Citizen Times. Published 08/07/2005.
A couple of years ago, Harold Davis heard from a neighbor that the schools in Yancey County couldn’t afford to buy lettuce because the price had gotten too high. Davis, a Yancey County farmer who was growing lettuce at the time, took enough samples of his crop to the school system’s central office for several people to take home and try. Read the entire article.

The Time Is Ripe to Support Local Food Production by Neal Peirce. Charlotte Observer. Published 05/21/2005.
Is America ready for a metropolitan agriculture policy? Is the time ripe to take some of the billions in subsidies now flowing to big commodity crop operators and focus instead on sustainable farm production in and around the citistate regions where 80 percent of us live? Read the entire article.

Orders for North Carolina Strawberries Jump 65 Percent. Bladen Journal. Published 05/03/2005.
Chalk it up to the irresistible sweetness of fresh, locally grown strawberries. A record number of North Carolina berries will find their way into school lunches this year through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services' Farm-to-School Program. Read the entire article.

WNC Leaders Trying to Reverse Obseity Trend in the Mountains by Michael Flynn. Citizen Times. Published 03/22/2005.
Peas like the cold weather,' said instructor Katherine Daven to a bundled-up group of Isaac Dickson Elementary School fifth-graders, who were wondering how anything planted on such a chilly day could possibly grow. Read the entire article.

Students digging into fresh, locally grown lettuce, fruit by Barbara Blake. Citizen Times. Published 02/04/2005.
The kids at Hall Fletcher Elementary School in West Asheville don’t much care that the lettuce in the salads they wolf down at lunchtime is grown just a few miles away on a farm in Madison County. Read the entire article.

Local Food to Local Sources: Farm to School in Western North Carolina by Emily Jackson. New Life Journal. Published 01/01/2004.
An article that highlights farm to school efforts in western North Carolina and describes how Growing Minds, a school garden program that helps teachers use the garden as an instructional tool, links local schools with fresh foods and farms in Western North Carolina. Read the entire article.

North Carolina School Districts for more nutritious cafeteria fare by Pam Kelley. The Charlotte Observer. Published 09/27/2003.
In the war against childhood obesity, the school lunchroom is Bonnie Parker's battleground. As child nutrition director for Union County Public Schools, Parker and her staff plot ways to get schoolkids to eat more fruits and vegetables, less fat and sugar. They serve restaurant-quality spinach salads and quietly replace hot dogs with turkey dogs. They search for kid-appealing products, such as fresh pineapple spears packaged like push-ups. Increasingly, school food service officials are trying to overhaul lunch programs, blamed as contributing to the nation's obesity epidemic. Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools recently rolled out "Munch Boxes," healthy grab-and-go boxed lunches designed to attract children who regard Lunchables as fine cuisine. And more than 40 N.C. school districts now buy fresh produce from the state's farmers. Read the entire article.

North Carolina Officials Try to Improve School Lunches for Kids, Farmers by Molly Hennessy-Fiske. Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News. Published 03/19/2003.
It was spaghetti versus chicken nuggets at Wilburn Elementary School's cafeteria, but this food fight proved no contest. Most students ignored a sign recommending the less salty, lower-fat spaghetti and heaped nuggets on their plastic foam trays. Ten year-old Mia McDougald bucked the trend, but not because she saw the sign. "The spaghetti is my favorite because of the cheese flavoring of it," said the third-grader at Wilburn, a Raleigh year-round school that last year served more lunches than any other elementary school in Wake County, where more school meals were served than any other Triangle county. March is National Nutrition Month, when politicians have lunch at local elementary schools and students such as Mia learn the basics of healthy eating. What they don't learn is where the food on their trays comes from -- and how those sources influence the nutritional value of their lunches. Read the entire article.

Region farms sell to schools by Paul Woolverton. Fayetteville Observer. Published 09/03/2000.
Some of the watermelon and cantaloupe slices nestled next to the meatloaf and beef-and-noodle dishes on North Carolina school children's lunch trays in the last two weeks came from Brent Jackson's farm about 30 minutes east of Fayetteville. Jackson, who has a 550-acre produce farm in the Clement area north of Autryville, sold the melons to the schools through the Farm-to-School program. Read the entire article.

Farm briefs. Fayetteville Observer. Published 09/12/1999.
North Carolina school children are eating locally grown seedless watermelons in their school lunches through a state program. A total 2,327 cases of watermelons are being served in 52 school systems under a Farm-to-School program that the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is operating. Read the entire article.

Funds help schools buy N.C. produce by Miriam Stawowy. The Herald-Sun. Published 01/07/1999.
For five years, spring has brought fresh, ripe strawberries to Person County school cafeterias. Sometimes, sweet potatoes too. Most of the produce doesn't come from far-away places like California and Florida, though, but from the nearby fields of Person County farmers who grow and deliver their crops for... Read the entire article.

NEVER STOP LEARNING by N/A. ABC 13. Published 00/01/0000.
Read the entire article.