Back to School


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As the farm to school movement grows, this newsletter highlights pivotal policies, news, publications, and events. Please contact us if you have any comments or suggestions.

Spotlight

What Farm to School Did This Summer

As we celebrate the first National Community Gardening Week during the Back to School rush, here's a sample harvest of Farm to School-related activities across the country:

The National Farm to School Network and our partners have been busy meeting with the new Administration, USDA and elected officials on the multi-faceted benefits and impacts of Farm to School: the cafeteria, classroom and curriculum connections highlighting health benefits, nutrition education, and support of local agriculture and economy.

We are at a critical juncture as we promote our Farm to School policy ask for the upcoming Child Nutrition Reauthorization: $50 Million Mandatory for a Farm to School Grant Program.

President Obama recently stressed the importance of creating distribution systems that can link small, local farmers to public schools who want more fresh fruits and vegetables on their menus.

"When it comes to food, one of the things that we are doing is working with school districts, and the child nutrition legislation is going to be coming up. Let's figure out how can we get some fresh fruits and vegetables in the mix. Because sometimes you go into schools and --
you know what the menu is, you know? It's French fries, Tater Tots, hot dogs, pizza.

A, that's what kids may want to eat. B, it turns out that that food's a lot cheaper, because of the distributions that we've set up. And so what we've got to do is to change how we think about, for example, getting local farmers connected to school districts, because
that would benefit the farmers, delivering fresh produce, but right now they just don't have the distribution mechanisms set up."

Join us in Nourishing the Nation, One Tray at a Time.

Featured Profile

From Commodity to Community Conference

CFSC Conference 2009

Join 750 of your colleagues for the nation’s primary food systems networking and educational event in Des Moines, Iowa. The conference includes four days of presentations, workshops, networking opportunities, local eats, and field trips.

Download the brochure (pdf) and visit the website.

This year’s conference will include a special one day gathering of state and local food policy council organizers and practitioners on Saturday, October 10. The conference will include 50 workshops, a food film festival, six field trips, the 1st annual Food Sovereignty Prize Award presentation, business meetings and structured networking time, lunch and learns, and an exhibit hall. Workshops will focus on farm to cafeteria, food access in rural and urban communities, food politics and projects in the Heartland, labor and immigration in community food systems, international food security, local foods, food access in underserved communities, and much more. Register now.

Kudos

Le Adams receives Farm to School Award

Congratulations to the National Farm to School Network Southwest Regional Lead Le Adams, who was recognized by the New Mexico Student Nutrition Bureau for her outstanding dedication to the Farm to School Program.

Read more here.

This Month's News

Stars Aligning on School Lunches

by Kim Severson. The New York Times.

The Department of Agriculture is expected to upgrade school food nutrition standards this year, many of which haven’t been changed for nearly 15 years. And because many Obama USDA appointees are focusing on improving student health through better food, the department has started an aggressive effort to study reform efforts big and small. These include the national farm-to-school program, which is in nearly 9,000 schools. Read the entire article.

U.S. Education, Agriculture Secretaries Visit Richmond County

by Bryan Mims. WRAL.com.

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.

Local Food for Local Schools

by Jonathan Pitts. The Baltimore Sun.

The Jane Lawton Farm to School Conference in Crownsville, a joint production of the state's agriculture and education departments, was a success once again this year. Last year, the Maryland General Assembly charged the divisions with promoting fresh and local school food by passing Senate Bill 158, a measure that created the Jane Lawton Farm to School Program. Read the entire article.

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