Farm
to school is cookin’ in Minnesota
With the help of Stephanie Heim from the University
of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota’s Farm to School Leadership Team, which is made up of 11 organizations, works across the agriculture, education,
public health, and economic development sectors to grow and institutionalize
farm to school.
One outcome of the leadership team was the creation of the
Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s (MDA) Farm to
School Grant Program in 2013. As of January 2016, MDA
has awarded 83 Farm to School grants to 57 institutions, totaling $1.46 million
and leveraging $3.5 million of additional funds through local school districts
and the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.The number of
Minnesota school districts engaged in farm to school practices rose from 18
districts in 2006 to 268 districts in 2014! The features below showcase the work of an urban district and rural school in Minnesota.
Minneapolis Public Schools
Procurement
“Local” means so much more
than just geographic proximity. It indicates a set of values that schools
are looking for in suppliers and partners. Minneapolis Public Schools
(MPS) is going beyond local - they’re establishing partnerships specifically
with diverse, small and medium sized, sustainable farmers in the region. Their innovative Request for Proposals establishes a set of values (in addition
to Geographic Preference) desired in farmer partners – values that include
commitments to sustainability, equity & diversity, and community
engagement.
Wondering how they do it? MPS is pleased
to launch the MPS Farm to School Toolkit: a case study of how MPS buys fresh,
sustainably-grown produce from small and medium-sized local farmers. It’s
an easy-to-read summary of MPS’ farm to school procurement process with lots of
pictures and links to useful documents and templates. While no two school
districts are alike, programs large and small can find something to glean from
MPS’ model. Check out the Toolkit.
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Education
What good is a farm to school
program if students, staff, and the community are unaware of it? MPS
received a USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant in 2014 to expand its
Minnesota Thursdays program, which highlights an entirely locally-sourced meal
the first Thursday of every month. New products
from new vendors made their debuts, such as freshly-baked corn bread made from
certified organic corn meal from a local mill. Farmers were thrilled to
see their very own Farmer
Trading Cards and Farmer Profile Videos among the outreach
materials. With all the emphasis on great food and outreach,
participation rates increase up to 10% on Minnesota Thursdays compared to other
days of the month! Learn more about Minnesota
Thursdays!
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 Rippleside Elementary
Once per month, students and staff at Rippleside Elementary in
Aitkin are treated to a lunch featuring local food. The local lunches started in September 2015
and the number of staff-purchased lunches is always highest on Farm to School
Lunch days. On an average day, six to 11 adults have school lunch. In March,
when the lunchroom offered a BBQ Farm Slider, featuring local pulled pork,
freshly baked buns, homemade BBQ sauce, coleslaw & hummus with fresh
vegetables, 67 staff members
purchased lunch!
To procure farm fresh food Amy M. Wyant, Aitkin County Statewide
Health Improvement Program (SHIP)
Coordinator, developed a Farm to School Request for Proposal. A neighboring
school district took notice, and Hill City Public Schools will start farm to school
lunches this fall. So far, the two school boards have awarded more than $10,000
in contracts to 13 local farms for the 2016-2017 school year. Amy collaborated
with partners from the USDA, Minnesota Department of Education, Minneapolis
Public Schools, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, and Aitkin
County Environmental Services in developing the RFP process.
To learn more about the Farm to
School program, click on the link to watch a highlight video.
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Farm to Preschool,
school gardens, and foods hubs are also growing in Minnesota. Be sure to check out these highlights:
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Farm
to Preschool - The Hmong American
Farmers Association and Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy partner
to offer fresh produce and assist in culturally responsive curriculum design
for Head Start programs in St. Paul. Many of the families belong to the same
Hmong community of farmers, creating a mutually supportive partnership. Learn more.
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School gardens - As a member of Minnesota’s Schoolyard Garden Coalition, the Jeffers Foundation has supported A Garden 4 Every
School providing $500 starter grants
to schools. To date, 42 school garden programs are featured on their website,
with an additional 25 to be featured in 2016-17. Learn more.
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Food
Hubs - Food
Hubs are emerging all over Minnesota and at least three, Sprout Food
Hub, Lakes
Country Service Cooperatives Fresh Connect Food Hub, and Mankato
Valley Action Council’s Food Hubsell directly to schools. Recently, Lisa Mensah, undersecretary of
rural development for USDA, attended Sprout Food Hub’s grand opening. Learn more.
 Welcome Jenna Segal!
We are excited to
welcome Jenna Segal to USDA’s Office of Community Food Systems as the
newly appointed Midwest Farm to School Regional Lead!
Jenna
has been providing farm to school expertise to schools and communities since
2006. Her interest in nutrition and agriculture began during her undergraduate
education at McGill University in Montreal, where she received a BA in
Environmental Studies and Ecological Determinants of Health. After working
with farming communities in Barbados and Ecuador, Jenna moved to the Pacific
Northwest to work her way through the food system, from farm to table. In 2014,
Jenna obtained a Masters of Public Health in Nutrition from UC Berkeley’s
School of Public Health, where she studied federal nutrition policies that
impact local farming communities as well as the nutritional health of
populations. After graduating, Jenna continued to work with numerous school
districts, educational institutions, non-profits and state agencies to develop
institutional support for farm to school activities.
Jenna is here to help all of you in the Midwest!
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 The Census Scoop
Data shows the Midwest is bringing the farm to school
According to the latest USDA Farm to School Census,
in the six
Midwest states, 36% of school districts
surveyed say they participate in farm to school activities. That’s 1,316 districts
and 6,894 schools impacting more than 3.3 million students. Innovative programs
are flourishing all across the region. Combined, Midwest
school districts reported having over 1,300 edible school gardens, over 2,800
salad bars, and spending over $76.3 million (or 13% of their total food budget) on
local foods during school year 2013-2014. In the Midwest, more than 200 school
districts reported using local foods in summer meals and over 300 districts
reported completing farm to school activities with preschool children.
Akron
City Schools in Ohio recently told us about the
great work they are doing to bring the farm to school. They said, “Our district
provides students with a variety of vegetables to sample from multiple farmers
in the area. We have an annual farm to school celebration where local farmers
have interactive booths and the students can learn about farming.”
Keep up the good work Midwest farm to school rockstars!
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 See you in Madison!
We're excited to join the National Farm to School Network (and, hopefully, many of you!) in June for the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Our team will be in Madison throughout the week participating in field trips, short courses, workshops, and regional gatherings. Check out our latest materials at our table in the exhibitor area throughout the conference. We're looking forward to connecting with you!
 Three fact sheets now available in Spanish
We know community food systems are growing in communities of all shapes and sizes across the country and in an effort to reach Spanish-speaking program operators, we recently had three of our most popular fact sheets translated into Spanish. Check them out:
Webinars
Partnering for
Success in Tribal Communities: May 18, 3:00
PM EDT
Everything is better
together, right?! In this webinar, we’ll hear from two
practitioners who illustrate that partnerships make the difference in keeping
food traditions alive in child nutrition programs. This webinar will identify
strategies to engage local producers and community leaders in your farm to
school efforts.
Engaging
Students: May 25, 3:00 PM EDT
Incorporating nutrition
education related to traditional food items into cultural activities such as
ceremonial songs and storytelling helps students to identify food as part of
Native American heritage. This webinar will help you plan for farm to school
educational efforts that engage students throughout the year. Gloria Begay, a
Navajo Educator, will highlight school garden efforts and local foods
activities in summer meals.
Planning for Farm to School Success
Don't
miss the last webinar in this series!
Tying it All
Together and Digging In: May 26, 2:00
PM EDT
Join us for a healthy dose
of motivation! Deborah Kane, Director of USDA’s Office of Community Food
Systems, will hit the highlights by showing how local procurement fits into the
larger farm to school picture and share several resources to help you meet your farm to school goals.
By Lillian Salerno, Deputy Under Secretary, USDA Rural Development
Open any food magazine these days and you’re bound to find a profile
of the latest locavore start-up turning cream and cantaloupe into craft
popsicles or maple sap into a whole new category of bottled beverages.
As consumer demand for local foods continues to climb like pole beans,
venture capitalists are scouring this sector in search of the next hot
investment.
USDA has long been investing in this space too, for the good of rural economies. And now we’re unveiling a new online interactive training
to help other funders understand the work of regional food enterprises
that are connecting local producers with local markets, and why they
might want to invest in a piece of this pie
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