By Mary Stein, Deputy Director

As we arrive at the eve of my favorite day of the year, I am feeling a deep sense of gratitude for the amazing network of people that has taken the farm to school movement from a few classrooms to all 50 states, reaching more than 23 million children across the nation. What may appear at first to be a simple act of serving local apples during National Farm to School Month in October, is part of a much more complex national effort impacting the health of our kids, the viability of family farms and community well-being.

We wouldn’t be where we are today if it weren’t for the selfless work and enthusiasm for sharing new ideas that our many partners bring to the National Farm to School Network. Farm to school connects disciplines that previously operated independently. The obvious example is local farms that are now connecting to schools. But when we dig more deeply, we see that there are many more partners at the table, including food banks, educators, state and federal agencies, philanthropists, foodservice professionals, mental health and public health practitioners, economic development organizations, tribal nation leaders, elected officials… the list goes on. It is at these intersections that innovation happens and through these partnerships that we are building a broad, deep and resilient foundation for the future.

I’ll be honest – pumpkin pie smothered in fresh whipped cream is probably the factor that tips Thanksgiving into the “my favorite holiday” category. But slowing down to tune our senses to what is right, beautiful and generous in our lives is even sweeter.

Thank you to all of our incredible core partners, practitioners in the field, school lunch specialists, parents, farmers and policymakers. And to everyone who believes that together we can shape the next generation of healthy eaters.