(Top Left to Right) Serena Padilla, Joëll Edwards, Corey Banks, April Smith
(Bottom Left to Right) Gale Livingston, Kadeesha Williams, Disha Patel, David Gardner

As National Farm to School Month comes to a close, we are thrilled to share with you the second round of our 2020 Community Food Champions! This year’s National Farm to School Month theme of It Takes a Community to Feed a Community has been all about recognizing the individuals who make farm to school work - day in and day out - and who have gone above and beyond this year, especially, to keep our kids and their families connected to community food systems.

We called on people like you to nominate your Community Food Champions - the people whose efforts may often go unnoticed, but whose work is absolutely essential to keeping our communities fed - for recognition and a $500 honorarium from the National Farm to School Network as a small token of appreciation. We received more than 200 nominations from across the country, representing nearly every role in the school food and farm to school ecosystem. After announcing our first round of 13 selected Community Food Champions early this month, we’re excited to share with you 17 more Community Food Champions, to round out our 30 awardees for National Farm to School Month 2020. They are:

Amber Woitalla - Community Food Advocate, Cheyenne River Indian Reservation - “Amber harvested 1043 pounds of produce and 169 cups of herbs to share with community members this summer. She recruited numerous youth to help plant and nurture the produce and taught lessons about the health benefits, Lakota and Dakota languages, and Dakota perspectives of the historical value of this food. Knowing that many families have been isolated due to a variety of restrictions, Amber packed up and took the harvest around the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation to many families.”

April Smith - SNAP-Ed Nutrition Coordinator, Minnesota - “Since COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd, April has been a leader in food distribution at four encampments within Minneapolis which impacted over 150 families. April has also partnered with Master Gardeners and a local food hub, the Good Acre, to distribute food from BIPOC farmers to 55 native elders and families. April exemplifies what it means to be a community food hero and has demonstrated unwavering commitment to her community.”

Chester Williams - Founder, A Better Chance A Better Community, North Carolina - “Chester Williams is doing exciting work to uplift the youth and communities in Halifax County and the Roanoke Valley in Northeastern North Carolina, creating opportunities for the youth to shape a healthier world in their own communities and beyond. Before and since COVID, Chester works beside young people to respond to urgent needs of the whole community, foster food sovereignty in his area, and nurture leaders and collaborations that move us toward the world we want for all our people.”

Corey Banks - Operations Associate, The Common Market Southeast, Georgia - “For the past 3+ years, Corey has been a pivotal, behind-the-scenes player in ensuring our fresh, nutritious food reaches our food service teams, students and partners alike safely and smoothly. His contagious positive attitude, resilient spirit, and direct action ensures safe, clean, beautiful food gets picked up from our farms, gets inspected for safety and quality, and ultimately reaches our region's schools and beyond.”

David Gardner - School Nutrition Professional, Cambridge Public Schools, Massachusetts - “David has always been an integral part of our school food services team. However, once the pandemic hit he had to adapt nearly every aspect of our meal service. His responsibilities of managing inventory, coordinating drivers, collaborating with vendors for orders which had been historically stable interactions were now impacted by so many forces out of anyone's control. As district staff was cut in half, use of 13 kitchens was consolidated to 2, on site meal preparation transitioned to contactless delivery to 8 different sites through the city, David was always a beacon of calm.”

Disha Patel - Food Justice Educator, Common Ground, Connecticut - “Disha is a pioneer for food justice, land sovereignty, youth opportunity, farm and labor rights, and so much more. She started a mutual aid fund with other social justice organizations like during the pandemic, hand delivering food boxes grown on her school farms to families. She also works with students as an educator implementing the most culturally aware lesson plans that I've seen, including the Black Panther Smoothie lesson, and Common Grounds infamous cooking club that is vegan, allergen free, delicious, and each month they visit a new culture and tradition!”

Gale Livingston - Farmer, Deep Roots Farm, Maryland - “Gale's dedication to building a healthier and more just food system are unparalleled. She is a hands-on farmer, maintaining 500 acres of land, with a mission for her farm space to become a place where there is equitable access to quality organic produce. She also works with local schools like Kimball Elementary to provide produce through weekly farm shares, which are used to teach family cooking classes. Her hands may be dirty from being immersed in soil all day but her heart is golden.”

Jay Holly - Afterschool Educator & Community Food Advocate, Virginia - “In addition to being an inspiring and tireless afterschool educator for local youth, Jay is also an excellent chef and has consistently supported and championed efforts to provide students with summer field trips to our farm, "Young Chefs" cooking classes, veggie tastings, take-home snack packs for students using local produce, and a Youth-Run Farm Stand in the Boys and Girls Club parking lot. Most recently, Jay supported an online video series called "Super Summer Chefs" we launched to connect with students during the pandemic.”

Joëll Edwards - Farm to School Hui Project Manager, Mālama Kaua’i, Hawai’i - “Joëll is a true unsung hero in the local Kauaʻi food community. When COVID began to shutdown our island, Joëll sprung into action. She began managing all of the intake calls for families and kupuna (elders) who were most in need of food through Malama Kauaʻiʻs CSA bag program so that local produce was delivered to their homes. She coordinated various avenues of food distribution for the USDA Farm-to-Families program through 10 sites across the entire island, which allowed over 15,000 local produce bags to be given out to families for free. Through her personal connections and ability to navigate through adverse situations, Joëll has shown us how much our community can accomplish together with a shared vision.”

Kadeesha Williams - Community Horticulturist and Urban Agriculturist, NYBG’s Bronx Green-Up, New York - “I have learned so much from Kadeesha about providing nutritious food to my community. She has even opened doors for me to gain employment in this field that I grew to love and want to be part of. She is self-taught and very knowledgeable about urban farming and how to help people become sustainable and teach others.”

Kena and Mark Guttridge - Farmers, Ollin Farms, Colorado - "Kena and Mark demonstrate a passion for and commitment to growing nutrient dense, high quality produce for children across Boulder County. When the pandemic hit, we asked if they would be willing to double the number of CSA shares they had initially agreed to provide for our child care programs and they agreed without giving it a second thought. They also helped us strategize safer models for the in-person farm trips and nutrition education classes they provide Farm to ECE participants."

Lenny Xiong - Farmer, Cannon Falls, Minnesota - “Lenny grows strawberries, rhubarb, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, eggplant, sugar snap peas, and more to Minnesota schools and early care and education centers. In the spring, Lenny via the Good Acre supplied schools in Robbinsdale, MN with local strawberries and rhubarb for a strawberry-rhubarb sauce kit that contained a recipe and video tutorial for children in the Robbinsdale Area district. Just this month, he grew loads of colorful carrots for schools in Roseville, MN - a great way to celebrate National Farm to School Month! We are so grateful for local partners such as Lenny who go the extra mile to provide delicious produce for students.”

Malcolm Snead - Food Service Director, Creede Consolidated Schools, Colorado - “Chef Malcolm is committed to making his school lunch program the best rural meal program in the state! He is constantly exposing his students to new cuisines and exciting flavors; things that are not very common in their tiny mountain town. It's common to find Colorado-grown produce on his menu - he has even managed to incorporate Colorado Quinoa into a burrito! He is a leader in this space when it comes to making the procurement of local foods look normal. On top of his amazing meals, he also started a culinary program for 8th and 9th graders. He is doing whatever he can to ensure that the children in his community are well-fed and truly nourished.”

Patricia Cain - Second Grade Teacher, New Mexico - “Mrs. Cain is a second grade dual language teacher at James Elementary and leader of the school/community garden, which has 224 raised beds. Despite COVIE-19, Mrs. Cain still made sure the garden was planted, maintained, and watered so the students would have fruits and vegetables when they returned to school. Unfortunately, the students haven't returned yet, so the produce has been donated to community partners and frozen so the students will be able to do cooking and nutrition activities when they return. She is truly our garden angel.”

Samantha Oster - Farm to Preschool Coordinator, New York - “Samantha adapted Grow it, Try it, Like it food lessons, recorded, edited and uploaded those lessons to Youtube so the pandemic didn't stop nutrition education in our daycare center. She also helped coordinate fresh food boxes to be sent home with families, and recorded recipie demonstrations for how families could use this food. I believe that by implementing Farm to Preschool remotely, she helped continue to provide safe nutrition lessons to children and parents without compromising the safety of our staff nor the families we work with.”

Sarah Nesky - School Nutrition Professional, Suttons Bay Schools, Michigan - "Sarah has been working tirelessly since the pandemic started, providing 200 breakfast and lunch bags for our students 5 days a week that were delivered from March 16th until school started this September. Plus we also had the summer GSRP group and the other student programs on site at the school including driver's education training. She even worked during the spring break to make sure the students didn't go hungry. Sarah really cares for the children of our area, and works long hours to make sure they are taken care of and get the freshest produce we can purchase."

Serena Padilla - Newburgh Program Manager & Garden Educator, Land to Learn, New York - “Serena leads an empowered learning community of students who explore their school garden, discovering its diverse habitat, observing how plants work, understanding where food comes from, creating artwork, practicing literacy skills, and harvesting veggies to make healthy snacks. This gardening season, as schools are closed due to the pandemic, Serena contributed to the 200 pounds of produce that Land to Learn donated to food relief efforts and also participated in the formation of networks that are helping people feed themselves. She has stayed engaged with her students by offering them garden-at-home kits, producing educational videos, and hosting virtual lessons. Serena is a dedicated champion of food education and food system justice!”

(Top Left to Right) Lenny Xiong, Samantha Oster, Amber Woitalla, Chester Williams
(Bottom Left to Right) Sarah Nesky, Jay Holly, a Malcolm Snead school lunch, Patricia Cain

In addition to these Champions, meet the first 13 Champions we announced here. We are so inspired by and grateful for all 30 of these individuals who make strong, resilient food systems work and keep their communities nourished. THANK YOU for all you do!

Special thanks to CoBank and Carton2Garden for sponsoring our National Farm to School Month campaign and making our 2020 Community Food Champion recognitions possible!

Farm to school is all about relationships and partnerships. We often hear about the relationships between farmers and schools – a literal farm to school kind of relationship. But there are many other types of partnerships, collaborations and support networks in the background that make the farm to school movement thrive. One of those important partnerships is between National Farm to School Network and CoBank, which have a shared goal of growing farm to school to support farmers and vibrant rural communities. CoBank, one of the nation’s largest providers of credit to the U.S. rural economy, has been a financial supporter of the National Farm to School Network for more than six years, making important farm to school projects – like data research and evaluation, national networking events, National Farm to School Month celebrations, and so much more – possible.

Since 2014, CoBank has been a sponsor of National Farm to School Network’s biannual National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, which has brought together thousands of stakeholders from across the country to network, learn, and collaborate on advancing farm to school and wider cafeteria efforts, including expanding new market opportunities for farmers and agricultural producers and strengthening rural economies.

In 2017, CoBank and fellow Farm Credit bank AgriBank sponsored the development of National Farm to School Network’s “Economic Impacts of Farm to School: Case Studies and Assessment Tools” report, which quantified the financial benefits to farmers when schools source food locally. The report found that not only were surveyed farmers satisfied or very satisfied with most aspects of farm to school sales, but farms participating in farm to school tend to purchase more inputs from the local economy, which results in positive overall local economic impact.

CoBank has also been a significant supporter of National Farm to School Network’s National Farm to School Month celebration campaigns in October. This year’s theme of It Takes a Community to Feed a Community honors all of those who contribute to feeding our kids and communities – including farmers, harvesters and food hub distributors, school nutrition professionals, educators, garden coordinators, bus drivers and more. Among this year’s campaign activities has been the nomination and selection of 30 Community Food Champions from across the country for special recognition of their important efforts to keep kids and their families fed, especially during this difficult year. CoBank’s sponsorship has allowed National Farm to School Network to specifically recognize the exceptional efforts of five farmers, producers and agricultural community leaders:

• Kena and Mark Guttridge - Ollin Farms, Longmont, CO - Kena and Mark grow high quality produce for schools and early care and education centers across Boulder County. They also offer farm trips and educational classes to teach and excite students about where their food comes from.
• Lenny Xiong - Farmer, Cannon Falls, MN - Lenny grows and delivers strawberries, rhubarb, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, eggplant, sugar snap peas, and more to Minnesota schools and early care and education centers. Just this month, he grew loads of colorful carrots for schools in Roseville, MN - a great way to celebrate National Farm to School Month!
• Mateo Carrasco - Food Justice Organizer, Albuquerque, NM - This summer, through his work with the Southwest Organizing Project, Mateo partnered with Cornelio Candelaria Organics to harvest and distribute more than 1,000 pounds of fresh, local produce to families from Whittier Elementary School in Albuquerque.
• Josefina Lara Chavez - Farmer Advocate, Davis, CA - Josefina works with Latinx growers on the California Central Coast to coordinate and aggregate their agricultural products for sales, including to school districts, and during the pandemic, to emergency meal programs and food banks. She has helped facilitate thousands of dollars of fair price sales for Latinx growers, who sometimes have otherwise faced language, financial, and other barriers in selling their products.
• Lauren Jones - Urban Farmer, Shreveport, LA - Lauren, through a partnership with Shreveport Green and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, is leading the establishment of a multi-acre urban farm in the heart of downtown Shreveport that will feed 150 families, teach gardening and nutrition education, and foster leadership development opportunity for youth.

Looking forward, National Farm to School Network and CoBank’s partnership is continuing in the coming months with the launch of a new quantitative and qualitative analysis of the producer and supply chain impacts of Washington, D.C.'s Healthy Tots Act, which includes a local procurement incentive program for child care programs purchasing from local farmers and producers. This evaluation will provide valuable data on the impacts of procurement incentive programs and will inform new policy advocacy tools to help elected officials and decision-makers explore and implement policies that support new economic opportunities for farms and increased access to healthy, nutritious food for kids. Stay tuned for more on this new project coming in 2021!

“CoBank’s partnership with National Farm to School Network supports creating new markets for local farmers,” said Sarah Tyree, Vice President, Policy and Public Affairs of CoBank.

“National Farm to School Network is grateful for CoBank’s partnership and investment in our efforts to strengthen farm to school across the country, which is providing new opportunities for farmers, strengthening rural economies, and fostering vibrant and healthy communities,” said Helen Dombalis, Executive Director of National Farm to School Network. “CoBank’s commitment to supporting our mission has been instrumental in allowing us to expand our reach, deepen our impact, and move closer to turning our vision of a just food system that corrects inequities and benefits everyone into reality.”

Meet our first 13 Community Food Champions! These pictures are ordered to follow the stories below, starting top row left to right, followed by middle row left to right, etc.

October is National Farm to School Month. And this year, we're approaching our celebrations of National Farm to School Month with a theme of "It Takes a Community to Feed a Community." We've always known that farmers, farmworkers, harvesters, food distributors, school nutrition professionals, teachers, garden coordinators, bus drivers, school volunteers, and many others are the people who make farm to school work – day in and day out – and they've had to go above and beyond this year, especially, to keep our kids and communities connected to community food systems.

So throughout October, we're honoring them with activities that express appreciation, amplify underrepresented voices, and shift power – all in an effort towards creating a more equitable and just food system.

One of the cornerstones of our campaign is recognizing the individuals who go above and beyond to keep their communities fed. So we've been asking folks like you to nominate your Community Food Champions for recognition and a $500 honorarium as a small token of appreciation for their efforts.

Last week at our 2020 Movement Meeting, we were excited to announce the first 13 selected Community Food Champions. Let us introduce you to them!

Debra Wade – ECE Food Service Manager in Michigan - “Debra is the Child Development Center Cook at Baxter Community Center - we call her Grandma Dee. Everyday 70+ children are fed FROM SCRATCH nutritious hearty meals. Whether it is pizza or collard greens from our garden, Grandma Dee is picking, cleaning and making the dough. Even our infants are eating homemade baby food! Not only does Grandma Dee help grow vegetables in our greenhouse and garden, she nurtures the staff and students and serves with so much love. Her heart is huge and her love is contagious.”

Imelda Rodriguez – Community Food Advocate in California - “Imelda is an incredible force in our community. She founded Cosecha A Mesa, which is dedicated to empowering students to use gardening, food, and plants as a form of healing. She is always trying to tackle systemic problems with food education and food justice, and her work has directly addressed the systemic issues that have been highlighted recently to give students tools to help their families during times of need. Imelda is creating a space for students to feel empowered.”

Curt Canada – Garden & Food Literacy Teacher in Washington, DC - “Curt is the Garden and Food Literacy Teacher at Stoddert Elementary School, where students spend at least 12 hours throughout the year in the garden learning how to dig, plant, see, taste, smell, harvest, question and more. During the pandemic, Curt has continued teaching by filming instructional videos for the students so they could see their harvest, the garden and continue learning. He has also posted weekly to his Facebook for students, families and the greater community to visit the garden and pick up seedlings to start their own gardens.”

Kim Leung – Food Service Director in California - “Kim has a strong dedication to making sure children are fed well during this pandemic. As Food Service Director at Goleta Union School District, she has led her team in continuing to provide scratch-cooked homemade meals – like pozole, pineapple kahlua pork bowls, homemade mac and cheese (made with carrots), teriyaki bowls, and more – to children throughout the school year and summer.  She has also worked with organizations to obtain local produce that may otherwise go into the trash to feed children and families in her community.”

Lauren Jones – Urban Farm Educator in Louisiana - “Lauren has worked tirelessly to make environmental changes throughout our city since she started with Shreveport Green nearly 5 years ago. In that time, I have witnessed her establish solid foundations to increase food security by providing gardening and nutrition education to students at over 20 schools and recreation centers in the parish. She has also managed and trained 80 AmeriCorps members, who teach and assist with this work. Recently, she has started a new project to establish a multi-acre urban farm in the heart of our downtown that will feed 150 families, teach gardening & nutrition education, and incorporate the involvement of youth in our community.”

Mateo Carrasaco – Food Justice Organizer in New Mexico - “This summer, with the help of a team of volunteers and youth interns at Cornelio Candelaria Organics, Mateo and farmer Lorenzo Candelaria distributed almost 1,000 pounds of fresh produce to families in the International District Neighborhood through a partnership with Albuquerque Public Schools’ Whittier Elementary and their community school team. Every week, Mateo and his team assembled fresh food boxes for families to pick up through grab-and-go food distribution pick up at the school.”

Dawn Bauer – Elementary School Secretary & Food Pantry Supervisor in Montana - “Dawn is our elementary secretary and supervises our school pantry. Since March 16th, Dawn has coordinated the donation of over 10,000 lbs of pantry food items, 100s of personal hygiene products, over 2,000 weekend backpack meals, and thousands of coats, shoes, socks, hats, gloves, jeans, shirts, socks, underwear, and backpacks for students and their families. Dawn also created a Crockpot Club for elementary students, where kids were given crockpots and then taught how to assemble meals in them as part of an afterschool program. Dawn's spirit and creativity are indefatigable!”

Lachelle Cunningham – Culinary Education Manager in Minnesota - “Lachelle is a local foods rockstar! This year, Lachelle championed a new culinary program that will teach culinary skills, school nutrition guidelines and kitchen safety. After 8 weeks of classroom and lab work, our school district will be hosting these students as interns in our school kitchens, with the hopes of hiring them. Lachelle has also been committed to equity by partnering with local nonprofits who serve refugees, immigrants and women to prepare them for the application with this program. She brings excitement to the kitchen, enthusiasm for good food, and a commitment to teaching. Lachelle is helping to shape the future of school foods in Minnesota.”

Maggie Nowak – Farm to School Manager in Massachusetts - “Maggie has been working on the front lines throughout the pandemic, alongside the Lowell Public Schools cafeteria staff, to provide food for the community. She has also consistently pushed forward new programming to distribute food to people in need. She managed a program this summer to produce food in four of our school gardens and distribute that food for free to community members. She has also been running a bi-weekly food bank at school food distribution sites. Maggie has diligently served our community without hesitation in the face of a very high infection rate and constantly shifting planning.”

Jesse Padron – School Food Service Director in Oneida Nation - “Jesse is an amazing food service champion, providing meals and food education in Oneida. Not only does he do great farm to school work in the school meal programs, but he has also created great programs (gardens, farms, etc) to engage students in growing food and learning about food sovereignty.”

Lauren Little – Community Food Advocate in Connecticut - “Lauren's commitment to Hartford's youth is both impressive and inspiring to me. She is someone who doesn't only talk - she acts! Which is empowering for not only the students she teaches, but for the educators she works with. She is always showing up to do the work of connecting kids to healthy local food in a new and innovative way, but she's committed to something greater too - to growing a sense of self-worth and interconnectedness in her students. Her energy is a reminder of why I got into any of this farm to school stuff in the first place - because food is representative of something much larger and deeper. It's a force of connection.”

Josefina Lara Chavez – Farmer Advocate in California - “Josefina has been working with Latinx growers on the California Central Coast to coordinate product volumes and aggregate, connect them with emergency meal programs, and sell to school districts, food banks, and other emergency routes during COVID. She has helped facilitate thousands of dollars of sales for Latinx growers at fair prices. These Latinx growers often face language barriers, financial barriers, and face additional barriers if they are undocumented. Josefina has been a voice for these farmers and has been passionate about representing these growers.”

Ángeles Martínez – School Garden Coordinator in Oregon - “Angeles started a parent volunteer at her children's school, Powell Butte Elementary, in the Portland area. Now, she runs the school garden with Growing Gardens and cultivates a large plot of the adjacent community garden to donate fresh produce to school families. She also teaches cooking demos in the classroom at several schools, like teaching students how to use a tortilla press or making fresh salsa verde. During Covid, she has helped pass out garden kits so that students can continue hands-on learning at home, as well as grown many pots of strawberry starts and big sunflowers to share with families who came to the school's food distribution. Angeles’s big smile, friendliness and enthusiasm create bridges between communities.”

We are so inspired by and grateful for all of these individuals who make strong, resilient food systems work and keep their communities nourished. THANK YOU for all you do!

We also have one more round of Community Food Champions Nominations still open - submit your champions by Oct. 22 at 11:59pm ET!

Special thanks to CoBank and Carton2Garden for sponsoring our National Farm to School Month campaign and making our 2020 Community Food Champion recognitions possible!

October is National Farm to School Month, an annual 31-day campaign to recognize, appreciate and celebrate the connections happening across the country between kids, families and their community food systems. National Farm to School Month was designated by Congress in 2010, making this year’s campaign the 10th anniversary of National Farm to School Month celebrations. However, this October is looking very different than the previous nine years.

It Takes a Community to Feed a Community, and that’s been especially true this year. As our schools and early care and education sites, communities and food system continue to be impacted by the pandemic, we are approaching this October as an opportunity to honor all those who contribute to feeding our kids and communities – from farmers, harvesters and food hub distributors, to school nutrition professionals, educators, garden coordinators, bus drivers and more. This year, it’s been made very clear that the workers who keep our kids fed – many of whom are Black, Latino, Indigenous and other people of color – are often unseen, underpaid and undervalued for the contributions they make in our communities. Yet they’ve always been essential, and we know farm to school wouldn’t exist without them.

That’s why this October, we’re focusing on expressing appreciation and amplifying underrepresented voices in order to shift power to these essential workers and create a more just food system.

Here's are 5 easy ways you can join us this October:

(1) Nominate a Community Food Champion: Who are your community members – farmers, cafeteria workers, teachers, gardeners, bus drivers, volunteers, advocates, and others – that are feeding children and families, supporting local food systems, and going above and beyond in 2020? Nominate them to receive a $500 honorarium and be named a National Farm to School Network Community Food Champion! Learn more and submit your nominations here.

(2) Participate in our Virtual Movement Meeting, October 14: Join National Farm to School Network for a virtual Movement Meeting on Wednesday, Oct.14 from 1-3pm ET, featuring Karen Washington, food justice activist, for deep conversation and action-oriented reflection on shifting power and racial justice in the farm to school movement and wider food system. Register here.

(3) Take Action for Change: Throughout October, we'll be sharing ideas, opportunities and resources for engaging in advocacy to amplify underrepresented voices and shift power to create a more just food system. Save the date for a Twitter Chat we’re co-hosting with FoodCorps on Oct. 21 about these topics, and check-in for more updates throughout the month.

(4) Get Involved Locally: Explore our national calendar of Farm to School Month events to see how you can celebrate locally.

(5) Spread the Word: Shout out about farm to school and share what you’re doing for National Farm to School Month with the hashtags #F2SMonth and #farmtoschool on social media. Follow the National Farm to School Network on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Download our Sharing Toolkit for sample messages and graphics to share with your community.

Find more action ideas, resources and printable National Farm to School Month materials here.

Lastly, special thanks to CoBank and Carton2Garden for sponsoring our 2020 National Farm to School Month campaign!

Happy National Farm to School Month!

Photo courtesy of Little Ones Learning Center

By National Farm to School Network's Farm to ECE Working Group - Procurement Subgroup

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc in communities across the country. Early care and education (ECE) and food systems have been profoundly impacted and the inequities in access to quality care and nutritious food have only deepened. Many ECE providers and food producers alike are fighting to keep their businesses alive, even as the essential nature of these businesses becomes more apparent. As families face extended financial challenges and potential food insecurity, ECE sites are an important access point for nutritious food for children and families. For that reason, farm to ECE initiatives, especially local food purchasing, offer benefits that may prove even more important right now:

• ECE sites can link families to the source of local food (farmer’s market, local farms, CSA or food boxes, etc) contributing to sustainable local food systems and increasing access to local food sources.
• Purchasing local food supports local producers and invests dollars back into the local economy and the local food system.
• Incorporating local foods in meals can increase nutritional value, quality, and appeal of meals, helping ensure children get the nutrition they need to stay healthy and be ready to learn.  

ECE sites are facing unprecedented financial challenges, including reduced enrollment and limitations in parents’ ability to pay, paired with increased expenses related to meeting health and safety guidelines of reopening. The National Farm to School Network Farm to ECE Procurement Subgroup has compiled recommendations to help local food fit within any budget, including tips for leveraging innovations and partnerships that have emerged through the COVID-19 crisis. For additional resources to support local purchasing, check out the Farm to ECE Local Food Purchasing Resource Compilation.

• Utilize the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) - CACFP provides reimbursement for meals and snacks served in ECE settings and is an important way to further food budgets. USDA not only allows, but encourages the use of local foods in CACFP meals and snacks. Connect with your state agency contact to get more information about CACFP in your state. For more tips on using CACFP for local purchasing, take a look at USDA’s Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs Guide or Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems’ Local Food for Little Eaters Toolbox.
• Seek out Seasonal - In many parts of the country, late summer and early fall signal peak abundance of locally grown foods. When produce is abundant, it is also often less expensive. Learn about seasonal availability in your region with this Seasonal Food Guide. Many states have also developed their own guides, like this one from Louisiana State University which shows the vegetable subgroups recommended by CACFP.
• Count on Community -  During the COVID-19 crisis, communities have come together to ensure families have enough to eat, sometimes through programs that purchase food from local producers to distribute in the community. Community development organizations, local community foundations, and community food access organizations (like food banks and pantries), may be able to offer local foods as a donation or at a reduced price to ECE sites and to families they serve. Find your local food bank through Feeding America and learn more about the USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box Program here. Donated foods are allowable in CACFP with appropriate documentation. Contact your state administering agency for more information.
• Order Online - As producers shift to online marketplaces there is increased opportunity for connection and purchasing that can accommodate the smaller quantities needed in ECE settings. Increased options in online purchasing can allow providers to find the producer or vendor with the preferred product, quantity, price, and pick-up/delivery options. Browse the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s Local Foods Directory to find producers, farmers markets, and food hubs in your area.
• Get Growing - On-site edible gardens not only provide valuable hands-on experiential learning, but can be an access point for locally grown produce. Fruits, vegetables, and herbs grown in the ECE garden can be used in meals and snacks, or shared with families to take home.  

Even as the costs and impacts of COVID-19 continue to mount, the importance of strong ECE and food systems, and the opportunity for these systems and stakeholders to work together, is only becoming more apparent. Starting or continuing to offer local foods to children and families is one way to contribute to healthy learning environments and healthy communities that benefit families today and build strength and resilience for whatever the future holds.

More Resources for Farm to ECE and COVID-19:

• The Significance of Farm to Early Care and Education in the Context of COVID-19
• National Farm to School Network Farm to School/ECE and COVID-19 Resource Hub

By Helen Dombalis, NFSN Executive Director

I’m writing this nearly a week after Jacob Blake was shot seven times in the back by police, and after Kyle Rittenhouse murdered two people and injured a third at a Black Lives Matter protest in Kenosha. In the words of the late and great John Lewis, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.” So I’m here to say something, even when I know words are not enough, and to do something with the privilege and power I have.

Black people are being killed, Black families and communities are being torn apart, and Black members of our nation are living in constant fear. I know words alone will not make racism and hatred stop, and yet speaking up is necessary at moments like these. My colleagues (and co-conspirators) and I have written this, this, and this in the last three months alone. How many more times is this going to happen? And why did it take us this long to even get to the point of having national attention of systemic racism when Black people have been murdered by state sanctioned killings since being kidnapped and enslaved centuries ago? It took too long to get to this moment. Looking ahead, how are we going to take responsibility for changing the future?

While words are not enough, they do make a difference. After my May 31 statement, I heard from plenty of people suggesting farm to school has nothing to do with racial justice, that our food system is colorblind, and that speaking up about George Floyd’s murder is bringing politics to an apolitical topic. I’ll say again, this simply is not true. National Farm to School Network was founded on these core values and with a vision for a just food system. Farm to school has everything to do with racial justice; our food system is immensely racist, and our country’s politics have become about which humans are valued, and which are not.

Racial justice is “the systematic fair treatment of people of all races, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all…[it]...goes beyond ‘anti-racism.’ It is not just the absence of discrimination and inequities, but also the presence of deliberate systems and supports to achieve and sustain racial equity through proactive and preventative measures” (from Racial Equity Tools Glossary). That’s what National Farm to School Network should be about and it’s the direction we’re going in - making our food system work for everyone, from farmers, farmer workers and producers, to children and families, school nutrition staff and educators. And until every person has the opportunity to participate equally in producing and consuming nutritious, local food, and until there are no differences in this opportunity based on race, there is work to be done in correcting the racial injustices in our food system.

When we release our new strategic plan at our Movement Meeting on October 14, we will set forth a bold goal, centered in racial justice. Because nothing less is going to accomplish our vision.

As a white Executive Director of a national nonprofit, I have many privileges. I know sitting comfortably in my home writing this, not living in fear of being killed because of what I look like, is one of them. I don’t carry the constant, exhausting burden that Black people carry always. I cannot change my skin color, but I can evolve my actions. As my colleague Krystal Oriadha told me, being an ally is about taking risk. If you aren’t taking risk, if you aren’t taking even a bit of the burden off of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, you aren’t in allyship. Another of my privileges is platforms like this. Maybe a few people will leave our movement, and that is okay. We are investing our energy in those that are aligned and want to move forward with us on this path. And I am confident we will also gain many new supporters. I heard in recent months from the critics, but I also heard from newcomers and old friends, sharing that our words inspired them. So I’ll keep using my privilege to say something, hoping it will inspire more of you to do the same.

And when it comes to the fact that I also want to do something, we’re committing to shifting power. There’s power in money. Through the second phase of NFSN’s COVID-19 Relief Fund, we made a commitment specifically to Black- and Indigeouns-led organizations, and we will continue to make these types of commitments. In this spirit, today National Farm to School Network is granting $5,000 to the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. These commitments are examples of shifting power, but we know these are not the overall solution, and we know that this is long-term work. It has taken time to build structural racism into all aspects of our society, and it’s going to take time to dismantle it. We also know we’ve been implicated in maintaining these structures. And we know we have power and privilege and are committed to channeling this into actionable steps towards a more racially just food system and society. (If you missed it before, here and here are commitments we’re making and steps we’re taking.) We’re calling on you to take this seriously and do the same. Our contributions may not be much, but little things coalesce into a big difference.

So what are you saying, what are you doing? Join me. Join us. Make a difference today.

Photo by Harshal S. Hirve on Unsplash

By Karen Spangler, NFSN Policy Director

In August, National Farm to School Network submitted comments on the Scientific Report of the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Advisory Committee, which reviews new scientific evidence about diet's impact on health. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), reviewed by an advisory committee every five years, provide the foundation for the federal government’s recommendations to the public about eating patterns that lead to better health outcomes.

The DGA are crucially important because their recommendations to promote or limit certain types of foods inform the nutrition standards for federal programs, including child nutrition programs.The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 ensured that school meal program standards are aligned with the DGA. Over the last ten years, as school menus have changed to meet the DGA standards, school meals have included more fruit, more servings and varieties of vegetables, more whole grains, and less saturated fat and sodium. A recent summary of research from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation highlights the impact of these changes on short-term and long-term health and educational performance, particularly for low-income students.

This review of the scientific evidence from the Advisory Committee offers recommendations to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Health and Human Services (HHS) for updating the existing dietary guidelines. We’re excited by these new areas of focus, and in our comments have highlighted for the Secretaries that farm to school and farm to early care and education (ECE) activities can help achieve these recommendations.

Focus on Overall Dietary Pattern
The report notes a dietary approach that promotes holistic, lifelong positive overall dietary quality leads to better long-term health. The Committee comments that, in general, healthy dietary patterns emphasize vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and seafood, all of which are currently under-consumed by Americans. Farm to school and farm to ECE activities offer proven strategies to increase immediate fruit and vegetable consumption. Research shows participation in farm to school and ECE activities increases children’s fruit and vegetable consumption by up to 1.3 servings per day. As the Committee notes, the flexibility within these patterns offers opportunities to incorporate traditional and culturally relevant foods, which connect children with their local food system and strengthen cultural and social connections in the community. Similarly, exploring local and seasonal foods through nutrition education and food service encourages kids to meet the dietary objectives recommended by the Committee within an accessible, culturally relevant frame.

Recognition of Early Childhood as a Key Developmental Period
For the first time, the Committee focused its review on nutrition in the earliest stages of life, concluding that this period of development is crucial to health later in life. The food environment in early childhood impacts long-term health directly, through key nutrients, and indirectly through shaping taste preferences and food choices. We know that farm to ECE activities can help with both of these aspects. In addition to local food procurement, educational and hands-on activities also  increase students’ willingness to choose healthier options at school meals and influence healthier food behaviors throughout their lifespan and in home environments.

Health Implications of Racial Injustice in the Food System
Commendably, the Committee notes the persistent health problems that food insecurity presents for our country. In addition to calling on USDA and HHS to support programs that provide low-income people with the resources to meet DGA, in our comments, we highlighted the historic and ongoing racial injustice in our food system that leads to these health inequities. We knew before the Covid-19 pandemic and recent Black Lives Matter protests that our food system is rife with racial inequities and that the current public health crisis has only exacerbated them. Our nation’s economy and our agricultural system are built on a foundation of racism and exploitation. These inequities in our food system contribute to economic and health inequalities: the same people that provide labor in our food system often can’t afford nourishing food for themselves and their families. As a result, Black, Latinx, and Native American communities are significantly more likely to face hunger and food insecurity than White individuals, and to suffer from diet-related diseases like diabetes. The Committee chose not to review scientific evidence on how the food environment and the overall food system impact health, which present a major shortcoming of their final report. Food system factors, including systemic racism and environmental justice, are key to dietary health.

The next step is for USDA and HHS to consider the evidence reviewed by the Committee and turn this scientific review into actionable recommendations for federal programs and for the general public. We have encouraged USDA and HHS to consider farm to school activities as a proven strategy for helping child nutrition programs meet these goals, and to foster healthier lives for our kids and communities.


Read our full comments here.

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By Tracey Starkovich, NFSN Operations & Events Manager, and Simone Washington, Lawyers for Children and NFSN Advisory Board Member

The current state of the country, in the midst of the COVID-19 public health crisis and blatant racial inequities and police brutality, highlights the critical need for real leadership. While illness, stress and racial justice movements rise, the opportunity is ripe for developing and supporting authentic leaders who are focused on the values that will move our country, and our food system, forward. These values include:

• Abolishing racism,
• Environmentally regenerative, sustainable, and just local agriculture,
• Equitable food production, distribution and service at all levels,
• Just pay and healthy working conditions for farmworkers, and
• Safe and justice-based school systems.

There is a lot of work to be done and we need to examine our leadership development methods to move us beyond the status quo.

As the farm to school movement joins others who have already been doing this work, and we organize and mobilize action, what approaches to leadership and leadership development will make the most impact? What can we learn from other movements and our nation’s history about raising up effective leaders?

One path towards leadership development throughout the farm to school movement and broader food system is to examine six leadership approaches and how they can impact change and move us towards justice, building a stronger and more equitable society for us all. Each approach has its own set of benefits and goals, but share strong similarities rooted in a set of core values - collaboration, cooperation, and shared accountability -  that will help us create a new way forward together.  

The heart of National Farm to School Network is the Collective Impact approach - we continuously aim to build a system where all of us are stronger together than any one of us can be apart. This approach is more likely to solve complex problems than if a single entity or stakeholder were to approach the same problem(s) on its own. The diversity of the stakeholders allows for multiple perspectives to be explored and for resources shared to address the issue. This approach really creates accountability and mutuality, and therefore stakeholders must depend on the strengths of one another and the commitment to achieving a goal to be successful. This is the epitome of the “there is no ‘I’ in Team’” mantra. We must band together to make the necessary impact if we want to make real sustainable change in our communities.

Farm to school work also lends itself to a Diffused Leadership (or Distributed Leadership) approach, which holds every stakeholder as a valued co-producer and change agent. Farm to school work requires partnerships and collaboration, and there are benefits to not having a single leader - it is a shift from a traditional “power over” dynamic to a “power with” paradigm.

This type of leadership empowers people to own and act on issues rather than simply be followers and allows for emerging leaders to develop their skills. Many of the state networks and alliances that have been formed around the country ascribe to this leadership style, one example would be the New Mexico Farm to School Alliance. The New Mexico Alliance shares leadership across many BIPOC individuals and organizations, working to elevate significant involvement from the communities most impacted by the local food system and its inequities.

If farm to school seeks to be a truly justice focused movement, we need to implement Nontraditional Inclusive Leadership, which uplifts the voices of those with lived experience, with a focus on the unheard voice. It is equity in practice - creating space for people who historically not been included in high-stake decision-making processes. This approach moves away from assumptive solutions towards those that are rooted in reality, while also increases cultural competency beyond just the theoretical. The centering of whose voice is heard and who is seen as a leader shifts away from the expected and toward the experienced. This leadership style can be seen in work of the Native Youth Food Sovereignty Alliance, which is led by and created for Tribal youth. In addition to their own Alliance they have also created this partnership alongside Intertribal Agriculture Council and in conjunction with a youth voice. They show us that youth participation should not be an afterthought or an accommodation to be made, but stands front and center as its own leadership power - when we allow that power to be shifted to others.

For the past year, the National Farm to School Network has been engaged in a strategic planning process for the future of the movement that follows Adaptive Leadership, recognizing that there are many levers of change at all levels - with an emphasis on non-linear. This style generates innovation and fosters learning while allowing for creative problem solving and testing out ideas. It highlights everyone’s strengths and champions diversity while viewing challenges as an opportunity for evolution and sometimes revolution. The key to this approach is buy-in from various stakeholders as it’s an ongoing process and requires various lift points to keep the work moving forward. Vermont Farm to School has implemented this leadership style through its strategic mapping project – you can learn more about that here.

The work of the Native American Agriculture Fund, led by Janie Hipp, NFSN Advisory Board Member, shows us Ecosystem Leadership, keeping the focus on a larger purpose and motivation to achieve a common goal, working across communities and breaking down silos. This approach is not transactional, it’s transformational in that it's not just focused on addressing a problem, but it’s focused on creating a positive environment to support lasting change. It recognizes the intersectional nature of complex problems and seeks to find solutions that are generative. It also disrupts ineffective and/or structural biased systems. NAAF works across Tribal communities, Tribal needs, and Tribal support organizations to assist existing and aspiring Native farmers and ranchers. Its focus is not limited, it’s intentionally broad to create an entirely different environment for success.

Glyen Holmes, founder of the New North Florida Cooperative, farmer hero and a true father of farm to school has been a shining example of Asset-Based Leadership for decades. Glyen, and this leadership style, sees the potential for change, looking carefully at what is currently working and what could work. It includes the ability to reframe challenges as opportunities for evolution and progress. If people can see a light at the end of the tunnel they will remain engaged in the process of pursuing change. When you decrease your focus on what is wrong (deficit-based thinking) and increase your focus on what is right (Asset-Based Thinking), you build enthusiasm and energy, strengthen relationships, and move people and productivity to the next level.

The current state of our country is giving us the opportunity to pause and really reassess our leadership styles and development approaches – what is working and what is possible? What ways can you shift your approach to build a more equitable and inclusive system? Who are the potential leaders in your community whose voices have been muffled? If 2020 is teaching us anything, it’s that our old ways of thinking and doing haven’t been advancing justice and health for all communities, so what will we do now to create the future we all dream of? Now is the time to shift the power to create a new equitable reality – let’s get working.

If you’re interested in digging in deeper on any of these leadership approaches we suggest the following resources:

Collective Impact:
Collective Impact (Stanford Social Innovation Review-SSIR)
The Dawn of Systems Leadership (SSIR)
The Collective Impact Forum
What is Collective Impact (Community Resource Toolbox)

Diffused/Distributed Leadership:
Diffused Leadership (Positive Mindful Leader)
Distributed Leadership in a Nutshell (Youtube video)

Nontraditional Leadership:
Nontraditional Approaches to Developing Nontraditional Leadership (Leadership Learning Community)
Investing in Community Leaders (Youtube Video)
Inclusive Leadership Matters (Youtube Video)

Adaptive Leadership:
Adaptive Leadership- Introduction (YouTube Video)
Adaptive Leadership (toolshero)
Adaptive Leadership Resource Page (Tamarack Institute)

Ecosystem Leadership:
What is Ecosystem Leadership? (Medium)
Ecosystem Leader (Learning as Leadership)

Asset-Based Leadership:
Asset-Based Leadership (LinkedIn SlideShare)
Leading from the Bottom-Up: Lessons Learnt in Asset-Based Leadership (Church Urban Fund)

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