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Ohio Farm to School Quarterly Newsletter
Cultivators + Classrooms + Cafeterias
Issue # 20 | December 2023
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Welcome to the December quarterly edition of the Ohio Farm to School Newsletter. This edition features news and updates from across the state.
As 2023 comes to a close, on behalf of the network, we hope everyone has a safe, healthy holiday season and may 2024 bring more farm to school magic across Ohio! Thanks for all your work this year to get fresh, local foods to Ohio’s children.
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Recipe of the Month
 As hardy, local root vegetables come into season, get creative and colorful with this recipe for Purple Pirate Potatoes. This mix of roasted beets and sweet potatoes is sweet, savory and a healthy treat for children (and adults) of all ages!
Crediting:
½ cup (4 fl. oz spoodle or #8 scoop) provides ¼ cup red/orange vegetable and ¼ cup other vegetable.
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National Farm to School Month Recap
National Farm to School Month celebrated all the amazing work Ohio’s schools, childcare centers and their partners have done to grow and advance farm to school programming this past year. Various events were hosted throughout the state including meals featuring local ingredients, recipe taste tests, garden harvest celebrations and more.
The Ohio Apple Crunch was another success! This year 106 schools, childcare centers and other community organizations crunched on local Ohio apples – totaling over 113,902 kid and adult crunchers. Of those schools and organizations who crunched this year, 56% reported being first time crunchers.
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce’s Office of Nutrition’s mascot, Munch the Fox, visited 16 schools across the state. Munch celebrated Apple Crunch days, participated in farm to school taste tests and showed off some dance moves with students!
Thank you to all who celebrated!
2023 National Farm to School Census Update
The USDA has provided initial returns on the 2023 Farm to School Census. Currently, Ohio is at 48.7% completion with a goal of 80% or more. If you are an SFA or an organization that works with schools, please encourage them to complete the survey. Survey data informs future farm to school funding and resources!
The USDA has several resources including a FAQ sheet, sample survey, webinar and more to help SFAs complete the survey. Please follow the link to access these.
An Interview with Rural Action’s New Farm to Institution Manager, Alisha Bicknell
Alisha Bicknell is the Farm to Institution Manager at Rural Action in Southeast Ohio. She joined the organization in September 2023 and supports Southeast Ohio institutions including schools and childcare centers purchasing local food items.
For folks that are not familiar with Rural Action, can you briefly describe the organization and its priorities? We're a nonprofit in southeast Ohio working with Appalachian Ohio counties with the motto or tagline, ‘Thriving Communities and Healthy Environments’. We do a lot of different work from sustainable agriculture to sustainable forestry, watershed work and zero waste. We also have our social enterprises, which are businesses we've created or helped create and get off the ground to support the economy in the area such as Upcycle Thrift Shop which is a zero-waste initiative. The social enterprise that I'm most connected with is the Chesterhill Produce Auction (CPA) in Morgan County, Ohio. It is a great space for local farmers to bring produce and have a large produce auction and a great place for Rural Action to source and procure food for different initiatives.
The Farm to Institution Manager is a new position at Rural Action; what does it entail and what projects are you currently working on? The Sustainable Agriculture branch at Rural Action has been doing some form of Farm to Institution work for many years. As they've moved forward with this initiative, they found they could really use someone focusing on this work. I have a background in working with before and after-school and summer camp programs. I also have experience working on a farm for the past few years which gave me a good mix of knowledge and experience for the role.
I am currently reaching out and talking to schools in the area about what kind of local procurement they are already doing, as well as what kind of programming we can provide in the spring and coming years around local procurement and education for staff.
Are you currently working with any schools or childcare organizations? At the moment, we are trying to work with the Athens County Schools as well as schools in Morgan and Washinton counties. We just did a harvest of the month project with Athens City Schools in November, which was really cool. They've been doing a great job with harvest of the month for multiple years, and it was great to help support that. We procured and processed about 300 pounds of local butternut squash that was served either as part of the school lunch or a taste test for kids that packed lunch.
What barriers to local procurement do you see or hear from partners in Southeast Ohio? There's just not the structure for local foods like there is for other foods. For example, a large broadline distributor is always going to have the same food the same way whenever you want it. Buying seasonally and relying on local farmers presents additional challenges. For example, weather or other factors may mean a certain menu item may not be available from one week to another, making it hard for schools to plan. The behind-the-scenes work of contacts and documentation for purchasing local can also be a barrier.
The cost of local foods has always been brought up as a barrier to procurement. I think one thing that is really exciting about Farm to Institution work is that these places are already spending money buying food. So why not keep the money that people and institutions are spending within the local economy?
On a larger scale there is also an equity issue. Local food can be a barrier because of the cost to different families, but if you're offering it at school and you're offering it at universities, then the access to local, healthy, fresh food becomes more equitable.
How else do you support schools interested in local food? Rural Action does an educational program called Live Healthy Kids. The program is in 23 second-grade classrooms in the area. The program provides weekly lessons for 22 weeks split between the fall and the spring. The lesson topics include healthy eating, cooking and knife skills. These lessons are done during the school day and are facilitated by COMCorps members. Our Farm to Institution program has helped Live Healthy Kids procure a few local items for their classes as well.
There is another educational program in the area called the Sprouts Program that is run by a partner organization called the Community Food Initiatives, or CFI. They do a lot of amazing work, but one of their programs is the Sprouts Gardening Program which provides garden and farm to school education.
Do you have anything that you are looking forward to as you grow in your role? I’m looking forward to getting more local foods into the institutions in the area. I am also excited about meeting more local growers and farms in the area and showing support for the people that are taking care of the land.
To connect with Alisha, send her an email at alisha@ruralaction.org.
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2023 Ohio School Gardens Conference
The 9th Annual Ohio School Gardens Conference took place on November 3, 2023, at Nationwide Insurance & Farm Bureau 4-H Center on the campus of The Ohio State University (OSU). This year’s theme was “Garden Party”, which intended to celebrate all the amazing school garden work and the folks helping to bring more gardens and agricultural education to Ohio’s children. The day was jam-packed with field trips, interactive sessions and plenty of fun.
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Participants were able to learn about innovative greenhouse growing techniques at the state-of-the-art controlled greenhouse complex at OSU’s Waterman Farm. Others got creative in OSU Extension’s demonstration kitchen, learning fun food preparation techniques and recipes to take back to the children they work with. Attendees could also tour Waterman’s outdoor garden to learn tips and techniques for extending outdoor gardening into the cooler months. |
The conference featured a plethora of interactive breakout sessions focused on various topics related to school and childcare gardens. Sessions included: Classroom Growing Opportunities and Best Practices, Nature the Teacher, Garden Club Program Using Sustainable Practices and many more! The conference concluded with Franklin County Master Gardeners hosting “Make It, Take It” garden craft lessons.
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To learn more or get involved with School Gardens of Ohio visit the School Gardens of Ohio webpage and complete the “Contact Us” information at the bottom.
Upcoming Promotions
Get Ready for February’s Smoothie Slurp with the American Dairy Association Mideast: Smoothies are a great way to encourage consumption of fruits, vegetables and protein-packed yogurt or milk. They are also a wonderful way to increase school meal participation at breakfast or lunch. This February, get ready to “slurp” some delicious smoothies as part of the American Dairy Association Mideast and Ohio Farm to School Network’s 2nd Annual Smoothie Slurp!
Check out the American Dairy Association Mideast’s Smoothie Kit for some delicious and creditable smoothie recipes to try in February or year-round!
National School Breakfast Week: National School Breakfast Week (NSBW) celebrates the importance of a nutritious school breakfast in fueling students for success. This year’s NSBW will be from March 4-8, 2024, with the theme of “Surf’s Up with School Breakfast”.
Start your planning early with resources from the School Nutrition Association and encourage your schools to feature locally grown and made products if possible!
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Want to be featured in the next monthly newsletter and on Ohio's Farm to School Website? Share your F2S success stories with us! Submit your F2S Success Story here!
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Grant Opportunities
2024 Patrick Leahy USDA Farm to School Grant
On October 11, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the 2024 Patrick Leahy USDA Farm to School Grants application. The grant program is designed to increase the availability of local foods in schools and help connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips and local food sourcing for school meals. Grants can launch new farm to school programs or expand existing efforts. Grants are open to schools and other institutions that operate child nutrition programs, tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers, nonprofit entities and state and local agencies.
Visit the USDA’s Grant Applications Resource page for additional application resources, webinars, and other helpful tools.
This grant closes on January 12, 2024.
Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) Grant
This program will fund grants between $500,000 and $600,000 to 8 projects (totaling up to $4.8 million) and does not require grantees to match funding. Proposed projects should seek to build and strengthen relationships among community-based food system stakeholders and School Food Authorities (SFAs) as well as expand scratch cooking in schools to build more nourishing school meal programs. Applications are open November 27, 2023, through January 22, 2024. For more information, visit the Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS) webpage.
Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems (Project SCALES)
SCALES is a cooperative agreement funded by the United States Department of Agriculture, led by Boise State University. A key goal is to support innovation to increase the use of locally sourced foods in rural schools. SCALES will be issuing up to 70 grants to SFAs across the United States. Grants will last for two years and provide up to $150,000 for each SFA to engage in projects to increase local procurement. To learn more, visit the SCALES webpage. Grant applications are due Applications are due by January 26, 2024.
2024 Youth Gardening Grant from Kids Gardening
This grant will provide 50 school and youth educational garden projects nationwide with $500 in funding for garden projects in addition to a collection of garden supplies. Learn more and apply. Applications are due by December 15, 2023.
Trainings and Webinars
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce’s Farm to School Month Recorded Webinars
Townhall with Ohio’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Awardees 2023 USDA Farm to School Grant awardees Bob Gorman, Executive Director of School Nutrition and Rebecca Rodriguez, Farm to School Project Manager of Cleveland Metropolitan School District; Sydney Strite of Community Roots in Mt Vernon, Ohio; and Michelle Merrett of Hamilton Urban Garden Systems (HUGS) in Hamilton, Ohio discuss the grant development process and provide tips and tricks for a successful application.
Procurement Best Practices for Farm to School features Brian Davis from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Lauren Marlow, Food Service Supervisor at Cincinnati Public Schools.
Farm to School Food Safety features Matt Fout from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Division of Food Safety, providing insight on food safe practices when purchasing produce directly from farms or using school grown produce in meals.
School and Childcare Gardening – Advice from Garden Experts features Ellie Falk from the Civic Garden Center and Anne Rogerson from Fork Farms, discussing both indoor and outdoor growing spaces for schools and childcare centers.
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Farm to School Winter Activities
Farm to School does not have to stop even when the weather in Ohio is snowy and cold. Explore some indoor farm to school activities with children.
Do you have a favorite indoor farm to school activity not listed? Share with Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Farm to School Specialist, Rebecca Naab at (614)-981-2371 or Rebecca.Naab@education.ohio.gov.
Meetings & Events
Ohio Farm to School Network Quarterly Meeting
Mark your calendar for the next Ohio Farm to School State Network meeting on December 14, 2023. For more information on Ohio Farm to School, visit the website and Facebook page.
Register Now! 2024 Summer Summit: Celebrate the Plate
Registration is open for the annual Summer Summit gathering. This event brings together past and future summer program sponsors, along with community partners, for a day of specialized training and networking to elevate summer meal programs and will include Farm to Summer topics and local food procurement for summer programming.
When: February 5, 2024
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Where: Quest Conference Center
9200 Worthington Road Suite 400 Westerville, OH 43082
Visit the registration page to register for the event and view the sessions offered.
Growing School Gardens Summit
Join the nation’s largest gathering of school garden educators next spring at the 2024 Growing School Gardens Summit. Learn from some of the best in the field through immersive workshops, educational field trips, and hands-on lessons while growing your network and sharing your experiences (view summit agenda here).
When: March 15-18, 2024
Where: Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
10950 N Torrey Pines Rd, La Jolla, CA
Learn more and register at www.schoolgardensummit.org
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Thank you to the following newsletter authors & contributors:
Rebecca Naab, Farm to School Education Program Specialist at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce
Aleshia Bicknell, Farm to Institution Manager, Rural Action
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