In the summertime in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, it is likely you will see a trolley roll through the town of Waynesboro City delivering locally grown produce and meals to the students of Waynesboro Public Schools. The trolley was purchased as a mobile café for the students by Augusta Health Community Health Foundation, a Fiscal Year 2020 USDA Farm to School Implementation grantee. The mobile café provides nutritious meals and fresh produce to children in low-income neighborhoods during summer vacations and school closures. The trolley is part of a collaborative effort of the Get Fresh program. The Get Fresh program is designed to educate children in the region about healthy nutrition using fresh food tastings, farm field trips, and nutrition programming for the entire family.
|
The idea of a mobile summer food program came from a community needs assessment conducted by Augusta Health Community Health Foundation in 2019. The assessment found that 15% of Waynesboro City was identified as having low food access which included difficulty finding and affording fresh produce. Augusta Health Community Health Foundation and Waynesboro Public Schools developed a shared vision: to create a mobile café. This rolling café would deliver freshly prepared meals and produce to children and families in low-income neighborhoods within Waynesboro City as part of USDA’s Summer Meals Program. The Summer Meals Program provides children and teens in low-income areas free meals when school is out. The goal of the trolley is to increase access to fresh produce, provide fun interactive nutrition education lessons, and offer healthy food options.
|
 |
|
After being awarded the Implementation grant, the important work of purchasing and designing a mobile trolley began. On April 15, 2021, the mobile trolley was completed and arrived at Waynesboro Public Schools. With the assistance of the Virginia Department of Health, the trolley was able to get properly registered and inspected for food safety compliance. The trolley was ready to serve the community! |
In August 2021, the trolley made its debut at the Waynesboro Public School “Back to School Bash.” At the event, fresh produce tastings were offered, as well as bags of take-home local produce and magnets with the mobile café’ schedule and web link. Additionally, in September and October, the mobile trolley was able to distribute locally grown apples and cider to students. In 2021, the Get Fresh program reached 1,294 students in Waynesboro Public Schools. A total of 932 pounds of locally grown produce were procured and consumed by students in nine schools.
Rolling into the future, the Get Fresh Team have been coming up with new ways to use produce from local farms and the Waynesboro’s campus school garden in their plans for this summers’ school feeding initiatives within the community.
|
Around the state of North Dakota many students will soon have the chance to try beef produced in their own backyard. The Independent Beef Association of North Dakota spearheaded a project to provide 12 different North Dakota schools with ground beef. This donation of meat started the schools thinking about buying more in the future.
Read more about it HERE!
Turnip the Beet 2021 Awards: USDA Food and Nutrition Services Turnip the Beet Award recognizes outstanding summer meal program sponsors across the nation. All schools that participate in Summer Meal Programs are encouraged to apply.
Stay Tuned: The 2021 Turnip the Beet award winners will be announced soon!
FoodCorps service members help kids learn about, grow, cook, and eat nourishing foods in school. They build lasting partnerships with communities dedicated to healthy kids, food education, and food justice.
Are you passionate about fueling kids’ bodies and minds?
This year’s application deadline is March 31, 2022.
|
The purpose of this competitive undergraduate scholarship grant program is to increase the multicultural diversity of the food and agricultural scientific and professional workforce and advance the educational achievement of all Americans by providing competitive grants to colleges and universities.
Ground Rules: A Legal Toolkit for Community Gardens – This ChangeLab Solutions resource provides guidance on establishing community gardens on land owned by others, and it will provide model agreements and checklists to help communities establish and operate safe community gardens.
Dig, Eat, and Be Happy: A Guide to Growing Food on Public Property – ChangeLab Solutions developed a guide to provide users with the tools they need to access public land for growing food, including: (1) opportunities to work with public agencies to identify suitable growing sites; (2) common types of agreements, such as leases, licenses, and interagency agreements; (3) common provisions in agreements; (4) special issues related to growing food on school district property; and (5) sample agreements from real-world urban agriculture projects on public land.
Growing School Food Gardens (GSFG) is LIVE on the Kids Garden Community!
KidsGardening has launched Growing School Food Gardens, an online community designed to facilitate networking and collaboration among school food garden practitioners locally, regionally, and nationally.
Growing School Food Gardens is also hosting 4 FREE webinars each month this Spring.
- March 8: STEAM in the School Food Garden: Merging the Indoor and Outdoor Classroom
- April 12: Teaching for Sustainabilit
- May 10: Place-Based, Culturally Relevant, & Indigenous Learning
- June 14: Funding Your Garden
Virtual 4-H Camp | 4-H
This year, National 4-H Council is taking their summer camps outdoors with Virtual 4-H Camp! We’ve all spent a lot of time indoors over the last year, so they are encouraging kids to get outside, explore, and get their hands dirty.
For more information regarding Virtual 4-H Camp please go: HERE
|
What is that smell? It’s the March veggie of the month – Garlic!
Stinky and Stringy: Stem & Bulb Vegetables
(Plants We Eat)
This book provides a fun-filled exploration of the history and field-to-table processes of onions, garlic, leeks, celery, asparagus, and rhubarb. Discover the migration of these vegetables and their roles in cooking, technology, and world cultures.
|
|
