Since 2010, Vermont FEED has hosted the Northeast Farm to School Institute, a unique year-long professional learning opportunity for school, district, and early childhood teams to build robust, sustainable farm to school programs. The FTS Institute builds capacity in school communities to create a culture of wellness while improving educational, environmental, and community outcomes, and it is rapidly becoming a national model. Cross-sector teams come together in a summer intensive to build relationships, skills, and a farm to school action plan, then spend the school year implementing their plans with the support of an experienced coach.

With a USDA FTS grant, Institute staff initiated a longitudinal evaluation to understand key components to farm to school staying power and how the Institute model creates a foundation for sustainability. Other states and communities have been learning from this model and implementing their own FTS Institutes to spread and scale more robust farm to school programming.

On this webinar recording, learn about this impactful training model, the evidence base behind its design, the key components of farm to school sustainability, and how the Institute is being adapted across the country.
Featured Speakers:

• Moderator: Lacy Stephens, National Farm to School Network
• Betsy Rosenbluth, Vermont FEED-Shelburne Farms
• Andrew Powers, Peer Associates
• Simca Horwitz, Massachusetts Farm to School
• LeBroderick Woods, Mississippi Farm to School Network

This webinar was recorded on June 8, 2021.