One would expect a school cafeteria to be quiet and empty on a Saturday morning. However, on Saturday, February 4, 2023, the cafeteria at David Thibodeaux STEM Magnet Academy in Lafayette, Louisiana was chock-full of eager students and community members preparing for the 7th Annual “On Cuisine du Jardin Cook-Off.” Louisiana State University’s AgCenter, a partner of Fiscal Year 2021 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program grantee, the Louisiana Department of Education and the School Garden Initiative, a partnership of the Lafayette Parish Master Gardener Association and Lafayette 4-H Program, collaborated to lead this annual event. Students engaged in a friendly competition that combined hands-on cooking using vegetables grown in their school gardens and their knowledge of healthy meal planning to create a meal consistent with USDA’s MyPlate healthy eating recommendations.   

This year, five teams prepared their “MyPlate meal” during the cook-off event. The teams consisted of students, teachers, chefs, and local community officials. Each team was tasked to prepare a savory recipe that incorporated at least two ingredients from their school garden and that met the MyPlate recommendations, which include fruit, vegetable, grain, and protein components. Some of the delicious meals prepared included chicken and vegetable stir-fry, beef lettuce wraps, kale and berry salad, and black bean tacos.  

Celeste Finney, Farm to School Program Manager for Seeds to Success: The Louisiana Farm to School Program, said, “It has been a joy to be part of such a collaborative and impactful program. The classroom teachers who go above and beyond to offer this unique learning experience to their students are the heroes. Students consistently gain invaluable knowledge from the garden and in turn bring positive eating habits home to be adapted by their families."  

The 7th Annual “On Cuisine du Jardin Cook-Off” was a great experience for all involved and showcased how local foods can be incorporated into nutritious, student-approved school meals. Among awards presented for creativity, outstanding teamwork, and food safety awareness, Charles M. Burke Elementary School’s team was awarded with the winning dish. The team prepared a garden salad, beef stir-fry, and berry shortcake. The community is already looking forward to the 8th annual celebration! 

USDA Announces Steps to Improve Child Health through Nutritious School Meals: Public Comment Period Open  

Based on the latest nutrition science and feedback from our school meal partners, USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service is proposing updates to the school nutrition standards in a few key areas to give kids the right balance of nutrients through healthy and appealing meals. The key areas include proposed updates to the standards for milk, sodium, and whole grains as well as a new added sugar standard.   

One proposal in the rule that’s particularly important to the farm to school community is the expansion of the geographic preference option. This proposal would allow schools to include locally grown, raised, or caught as a requirement for vendors bidding to provide unprocessed or minimally processed food for their school meal programs. Under the current geographic preference option, bids from a certain geographic area can receive extra points, but local cannot be used as a requirement for bids. Allowing locally grown, raised, or caught as a requirement responds to feedback from stakeholders and would broaden opportunities for child nutrition program operators to purchase directly from local producers.  

This proposed rule - Child Nutrition Programs: Revisions to Meal Patterns Consistent with the 2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans - is the next step in an ongoing effort toward healthier school meals that USDA and the broader school meals community have been partnering on for over a decade. FNS welcomes your feedback and invites you to comment on the proposed standards. Comments received will inform the final standards. You can submit comments through April 10, 2023.  

FNCS Deputy Undersecretary Learns about Urban Farm to School in Action in Houston    

At the James Beard Foundation’s Chef Action Summit in Houston, Texas, USDA Deputy Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Stacy Dean joined child nutrition, urban agriculture, and farm to school stakeholders for a roundtable discussion. The discussion kicked off with a virtual tour of the Food and Agriculture Literacy Center at Mykawa Farm, a six-acre working farm operated by Houston Independent School District students and employees. Mykawa Farm provides produce to local schools and student-run farmers’ markets. Stakeholders also discussed Booker T. Washington High School’s agriculture program, where students learn growing practices like hydroponics and composting as well as grow and distribute leafy greens in the community. These are great examples of farm to school and urban agriculture programs that support nutrition security in action!  

USDA Invests $9.4 Million in Compost and Food Waste Reduction Projects 

Composting and Food Waste Reduction cooperative agreements are part of USDA’s broad support for urban agriculture through its Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. USDA prioritizes projects that anticipate or demonstrate economic benefits, incorporate plans to make compost easily accessible to farmers, including community gardeners; integrate other food waste strategies, including food recovery efforts; and collaborate with multiple partners. The USDA is investing more than $9.4 million in 45 cooperative agreements, and these projects will be implemented between 2023 and 2025. One project based in Tucson, Arizona plans to build infrastructure needed to provide compost to school and community gardens. 

USDA Child Nutrition Programs Food Buying Guide and Crediting Tip Sheets 

The USDA Food Buying Guide (FBG) is the essential food yield information resource for all USDA Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs). The FBG assists CNP operators, food manufacturers, and other stakeholders with purchasing the correct amounts of foods for CNPs and determining the contribution that each food makes toward meal pattern requirements. New food yield data continues to be added to the FBG on many diverse foods like lychee, rambutan, sorghum, and more. A related resource, USDA’s Crediting Tip Sheets, provides CNP operators with simple, easy-to-use tip sheets on how to credit the five meal components in the CNPs.  

New Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition Resources 

USDA and the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN) have partnered to release new resources that provide school nutrition professionals with the in-depth, hands-on culinary training essential for the creation of school meals that are healthy, flavorful, and student approved.  

USDA Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grant Program 

The USDA is making up to $7.5 million available for grants that will support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects through two categories: Planning Projects and Implementation Projects. A pre-recorded webinar on Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grants provides an overview of the grants’ purposes, project types, eligibility, and basic requirements for submitting an application.   

Apply by March 27, 2023  

USDA Local Agriculture Market Program  

USDA is now accepting applications for this year’s Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), with a total of $133 million available in competitive grant funds to expand and strengthen local and regional food systems and increase the availability of locally grown agricultural products. USDA’s LAMP is made up of the Farmers Market Promotion Program and Local Food Promotion Program and the Regional Food System Partnerships grant program. A Request for Applications and due dates for each program is available on the program pages linked through the LAMP webpage.  

USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program  

The USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) provides grant funding to help beginning farmers and ranchers enter into or improve their successes in farming, ranching, and forest land management. The BFRDP grants may be used to fund projects that provide education, mentoring, and technical assistance to help beginning farmers make informed decisions for their operations and enhance their sustainability. Applications led by or including nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, and school-based agricultural education organizations with expertise in agricultural training and outreach for beginning producers will be given priority in funding.  

Apply by April 27, 2023 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program works at the State level to implement evidence-based nutrition and physical activity strategies that address health disparities related to nutrition, physical inactivity, and/or obesity. Funds can be used for recipients to work with State and local partners to promote food service and nutrition guidelines; coordinate the expansion of existing fruit and vegetable voucher incentive and produce prescription programs; advance farm to early care and education programs; and more.  

       Apply by March 28, 2023