Reports from the Field


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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

Farm to School Field Hearing

Glyen Holmes, Executive Director of the New North Florida Cooperative, was invited by the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, to testify on behalf of the National Farm to School Network at the May 15, 2009, field hearing, "Benefits of Farm-to-School Projects, Healthy Eating and Physical Activity for School Children." Holmes joined Dr. David Satcher of the Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Ms. Cindy Long of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service as witnesses to testify before the Committee.

In his testimony shared in an auditorium filled with local advocates, farmers, food service directors and kids, Holmes reinforced that “every child deserves the opportunity to eat food in school that ensures their health and well-being, and Farm to School programs are one solution to incorporating healthier foods into school meals.” Read his full testimony here.

The committee held the hearing in anticipation of the 2009 Child Nutrition Reauthorization expected to be taken up by the committee and ultimately the full Congress later this session.

The 2004 Child Nutrition Act included one provision on Farm to School (section 122): a seed grant program with $10 million in discretionary funding that has failed to receive an appropriation. In this Child Nutrition Reauthorization, the National Farm to School Network requests that Congress enact $50 million in mandatory funding for section 122. This would fund 100-500 projects per year up to $100,000 to cover start-up costs for Farm to School programs.

A big thank you to Georgia Organics and Erin Croom for the local support during the hearing! All the testimonies are available at http://www.agriculture.senate.gov/. Click on May 15 and on the link under each person's name to access the testimony.

Featured Profile

Cooking up Connections in the Northeast


 

 

 

 

 

" If every school was like Lawrence Barnes, I could retire to the Bahamas."

Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan

On May 14th, the new U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, visited Barnes Elementary School in Burlington, Vermont with Senator Patrick Leahy, Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss, and Education Commissioner Armando Vilaseca. He learned about the school’s partnership with local farmers to provide healthy, locally grown lunches, and he listened to teachers, parents, and students talk about challenges they face. Virtually dine with Duncan via the lunch video here.

With the fitting conference theme of Cooking Up Connections, the Northeast Regional Farm to School Conference kept the momentum going by hosting 300 people for a two day event of field trips, short courses, keynotes, workshops, and discussions groups. Presenters from all seven northeast states (ME, NH, VT, NY, CT, RI, and MA) created the 25 workshops.The amazing line up of speakers included Tony Geraci from Maryland, Margaret Krome from Wisconsin, U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas, and Vermont Commissioner of Agriculture Roger Allbee.

The conference was made possible by Vermont FEED, the National Farm to School Network, and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.

Kudos

Dr. David Satcher Receives Julius B. Richmond Award

Congratulations to Action for Healthy Kids Board member
Dr. David Satcher, who was named the 2008-2009 recipient of the Julius B. Richmond Award, the highest honor given by Harvard School of Public Health. The award recognizes individuals who carry forth the vision of former U.S. Surgeon General Julius B. Richmond, who provided leadership to protect vulnerable populations and children.

This Month's News

NY First Lady Urges Nutrition Program

The Gouverneur Times.

The Governor proposed the Healthy Food/Healthy Communities Initiative, which the legislature passed this year. It offers a new revolving loan fund to increase the number of healthy food markets in underserved communities. Additionally, the New York State Departments of Health and Agriculture & Markets have worked with schools, communities and farmers to develop and expand the Farm to School program. They worked to obtain procurement exemptions that would promote the use of local fruits and vegetables in schools, and to support edible school gardens. Read the entire article.

The 'Process' of Rebuilding a Local Food Economy

by Peter Metcalf. New West Missoula.

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. 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.

The school lunchroom grows green

by Yvonne Zipp. The Christian Science Monitor.

At a private school in Newark, N.J., students dine daily on ingredients grown on the building’s roof. In Baltimore, city schools have their own 33-acre organic farm, while in Riverside, Calif., elementary school students trundle wheelbarrows of lettuce and buckets of strawberries from a community garden behind the playground directly to their own salad bar. Across the United States, efforts to make school lunches more environmentally friendly have paired with the local food movement, as educators try to reconnect children with the growing season. Read the entire article.

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