As farm to school programs move forward into 2021, resiliency and creativity are top of mind as efforts continue across the country to feed America’s children. Along with these themes, many USDA Farm to School Grantees are leveraging partnerships and leaning into collaboration to support the needs of students and families in communities across the country.
Food Roots is a non-profit in Tillamook, Oregon with the mission to grow a robust and equitable food system in Tillamook County through community engagement, education, food producer support, and improved access to local food. Their Fiscal Year 2019 Farm to School Implementation Grant focuses on increasing the farm to school education capacity and local food procurement.
While COVID-19 has limited their ability to facilitate garden-based and in-person learning opportunities, Food Roots’ Farm to School team is developing innovative programming with new partners. Food Roots distributed Naturalist Kits to every public-school enrolled K-6 student in Tillamook County—over 1,600 students. Ten organizations came together to define the kits, pool over $8,000 to purchase materials, develop supplemental activities using the kit materials, and support social media outreach for the project. Food Roots is planning a spring seed distribution that will include an “expansion pack” for the Naturalist Kits and will facilitate activities through distance and hybrid learning for the rest of the school year. “The relationships developed through this project have already fostered exciting linkages, and we’ll continue to build on this foundation for stronger community-wide implementation of intergenerational, place-based experiential learning.” said Rachel Petit, Food Roots Farm to School Program Manager.
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Team Nutrition Training Grants for School Meal Recipe Development
On January 12, 2021, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service announced an exciting funding opportunity that can help schools put local agricultural products on school lunch and breakfast menus. A Request for Applications (RFA) for Team Nutrition Training Grants for School Meal Recipe Development is now open. State agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program have until 11:59pm EDT on April 19, 2021 to apply. An informational webinar is taking place on January 26, 2021 at 2:00 PM ET and will be recorded for later viewing on Grants.gov.
FNS expects to award approximately $4.8 million in total grant funding to up to 16 State agencies. States will develop recipes using the USDA Recipe Standardization Process. A standardized recipe produces the same taste and number of servings each time it is prepared. FNS will make recipes developed under the grant available on the Team Nutrition Website and the Institute of Child Nutrition’s Child Nutrition Recipe Box, resulting in a diverse online collection of school meal recipes that incorporate local agricultural products from across the nation. This grant is for a second cohort of grantees to develop school meal recipes using local agricultural products. Learn more about the first cohort of grants awarded in October 2020 on the Team Nutrition Website.
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New MyPlate Website and Resources Available Now Available!
The USDA and HHS recently released the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025 – our nation’s leading nutrition advice to help all Americans lead healthier lives. MyPlate is here to help families put the Dietary Guidelines into action with new digital tools and resources! Start Simple with MyPlate offers free, personalized resources based on each individual’s eating needs and habits.
Explore MyPlate’s new website – MyPlate.gov –where you can find tips, tools, and recipes that will fit your healthy eating needs. The benefits of healthy eating add up over time, bite by bite. Small changes matter.
USDA Seeks Members for Advisory Committee on Urban Agriculture
USDA is seeking members for a new advisory committee on urban agriculture, part of a broader effort to focus on the needs of urban farmers. The 12-person committee will advise the Secretary of Agriculture on the development of policies and outreach relating to urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production practices as well as identify any barriers to urban agriculture. USDA is seeking nominations for individuals representing a broad spectrum of expertise, including agriculture producers, representatives from higher education institutions, non-profits, business and economic development, individuals with supply chain experience, from a financing entity, and experience with emerging agriculture production practices. Interested individuals or organizations may nominate themselves or others by March 5, 2021. For more information, see the Press Release.
Native Farm to School Webinar Series
As part of First Nations Development Institute’s (FDNI) Native Farm to School project, the Native Farm to School Webinar Series showcases best practices, shares available resources, and provides an open forum and Q&A sessions for discussing challenges. The series is designed to help individuals who have an existing model for a Native Farm to School initiative – or who are interested in starting one – connect with Native American audiences. The next webinar, “Finding Educational and Funding Opportunities for Farm to School Programs” will be hosted on Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 12:00pm MT. Register Here. FDNI is a current Farm to School Grant recipient.
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2019 National Food Hub Survey Results
Like a "state of the Union" but for Food Hubs, this report produced by the Wallace Center and MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, shares emergent trends and data for the food hub sector. Some key insights? The sector continues to thrive and sales to institutional markets are showing promise, but challenges remain and continued support is needed. Access the full report here.
Institutional Investment Accelerator Program
The Institutional Investment Accelerator is aimed at catalyzing and increasing institutional investment in values-based supply chains to accelerate the development of more equitable food systems. The program is seeking six place-based teams consisting of institutional partners, value chain enterprises, community-based organizations, and financiers to participate in the five-month effort to hone their institutional investment projects in order to build community wealth. Teams will have 1-1 support from an advisor and participate in cohort-wide retreats and learning opportunities. Applications are due February 1 – learn more and apply here!
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Virtual Sea Summit
UMass Dartmouth and Farm to Institution New England welcome you to attend the virtual 2021 New England Sea Summit on February 4, 2021, 11 am - 3 pm ET. The Summit is focused on leveraging institutions to support local seafood producers, kelp and underutilized species. Join for one day of programming which includes presentations from regional seafood experts, an engaging panel and stakeholder dialogue. Speakers will share how a team of colleges and supply chain partners tackled procurement issues through a 2018 New England Food Vision Prize from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. Speakers will also share how they worked to bring underutilized species into community and university dining programs, even with the added challenges presented by a global pandemic. Register Here
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