There are numerous examples of flourishing farm to school programs in urban districts with large population centers and support structures, but what do thriving farm to school programs look like in rural communities with an often very different landscape? This month, we talked with the Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD), a Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Patrick Leahy Farm to School grantee headquartered in Bristol, Virginia, in the Central Appalachia region, to highlight one example of a thriving program.

For more than 25 years, ASD, surrounded by an abundance of natural beauty and food insecurity, has worked with farmers and traditional and nontraditional partners to build its mission - a thriving regional food and agriculture system that creates healthy communities, respects the planet, and cultivates profitable opportunities for Appalachians. ASD sees farm to school as a critical opportunity to advance its mission.

ASD operates Learning Landscapes, a farm to school program focused on gardening to create fun experiences in nature for kids. This program has installed an impressive 74 raised garden beds at 18 schools and other youth sites throughout Virginia and Tennessee. Later this year, ASD plans to expand that number further with a garden at a newly constructed school. 

Morgan Bradley, the Regenerative Agriculture Program Manager at ASD, shared, “It’s a common misconception that rural communities, and kids who grow up in rural communities, are automatically more connected to the land and to agriculture. This is not true. Even if kids grow up on a farm, sometimes they are not exposed to the operations involved in farming and even more often, the farm is not producing fruits and vegetables for direct consumption.”

ASD wants school gardens to be an educational outlet for children to learn more about where their food comes from and enhance school nutrition programs by directly delivering school-grown foods to the cafeteria. One way Morgan has described ASD’s goal is that children can look at their lunch plates, see the produce grown in their school gardens, and think, “I made that happen.”

Despite ASD’s success and ambitious plans to expand its garden network, ASD faces challenges that are often unavoidable for rural farm to school programs, such as geography. ASD is actively working to overcome geographical barriers and expand farm to school in Central Appalachia’s rural communities by targeting outreach to schools and parents in the areas it serves, creating easy ways to share resources with teachers and parents, sharing accessible lesson plans for working with kids, finding consistent funding sources, and establishing great community partners and volunteers committed to the long haul.

Between FY 2022 and FY 2023, rural Patrick Leahy Farm to School grantees increased by 7%, comprising 31% of all grant award recipients for both years combined. ASD’s Learning Landscapes offer helpful insights into the successes and demands of rural farm to school programs and how USDA can support this work going forward. We are excited to see what ASD has in store for the future, and we are thrilled to be a part of their journey. If you are in the Central Appalachia region and want to learn more, reach out and volunteer!

Celebrate Black History Month with USDA by Advancing Nutrition Security and Health Equity

Dr. Caree Cotwright, Director of Nutrition Security and Health Equity at USDA Food and Nutrition Service, reflected in a new blog post on how she is celebrating Black History Month with a call to action to ensure everyone in this country thrives. Learn more about Dr. Cotwright’s lived experiences growing up in Georgia in this nutrition security video. Additional information about USDA’s nutrition security efforts can be found in this video, which highlights how USDA nutrition assistance programs help all Americans thrive.

Celebrate National School Breakfast Week, March 4-8, with Fruit and Veggie Focused School Breakfast Recipes

Are you looking for inspiration on your menu for the upcoming National School Breakfast Week from March 4-8? The International Fresh Produce Association has you covered! These ten fruit and vegetable-forward recipes were developed to meet the new proposed meal pattern requirements for added sugars. In addition to recipes, this resource contains nutritional information, USDA crediting information, and guidance for grab-and-go settings. The recipes range from Southwest savory vegetable quesadillas to sweet and flavorful strawberry French toast.

Get Ready for National CACFP Week, March 10-16

National Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Week is a national education and information campaign sponsored annually in the third week of March by the National CACFP Sponsors Association. The campaign raises awareness of how the USDA CACFP works to combat hunger. The CACFP brings healthy foods to tables across the country for children in child care centers, homes, and afterschool programs as well as adults in day care.

With CACFP Week right around the corner, here are some resources to help connect CACFP settings to local foods and agricultural education:

• Growing Minds "I Tried Local…" A Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms
• USDA Grow It! Try It! Like It! Fun with Fruits and Vegetables at Family Child Care

Rural Partners Network

The Rural Partners Network (RPN) is an alliance of federal agencies and civic partners working to expand rural prosperity through job creation, infrastructure development, and community improvement. The USDA Rural Development leads the RPN in collaboration with 24 federal agencies and regional commissions through the Rural Prosperity Interagency Policy, co-led by the White House Domestic Policy Council and USDA. Federal agencies are expanding interagency collaboration through RPN, and providing targeted staffing, tools, and resources. Browse here to explore funding opportunities and technical assistance to support rural community and economic development activities, or read the Rural Connection Blog to stay current on activity within the RPN and rural-based entities.

Updates to USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs

The Food Buying Guide (FBG) is the essential resource for food yield information for all child nutrition programs (CNPs). The FBG assists CNP operators, food manufacturers, and other stakeholders with purchasing the correct quantity of foods and determining each food’s contributions toward meal pattern requirements. Here are some new resources and additions to the FBG web-based tool:

• Interactive "When to Use a Preparation Yield" Flow Chart: The Preparation Yield determines the amount of food to purchase when the ingredient listed in the recipe does not match the form of the food as purchased. Find the flow chart under the "Tools" menu on the toolbar.
• Ounce to Pounds Calculator: Users can now select the Ounces to Pounds Calculator under the "Tools" menu on the toolbar to instantly convert units.
• New Food Yields Added: New foods are now available in the FBG! New additions include ground mutton, stew meat, and catfish fillets!

The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grant Program

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants (SPECA) Program provides funds to promote and strengthen education and vocational training in the food and agricultural sciences to contribute to a skilled and diverse scientific workforce in agriculture in the United States. NIFA funds SPECA grants to enhance curricula in agricultural education and to interest young people in pursuing higher education in professional careers in the food and agricultural sciences. Learn more about the program, read the RFA, and find additional resources here.

USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program

The USDA NIFA 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. BFRDP funds projects that provide education, mentoring, and technical assistance to help beginning farmers make informed decisions for their operations and enhance their sustainability.

USDA School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants

Through USDA School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants, the Illinois Public Health Institute and the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub's first round of Requests for Applications are now open. Two award types will be available to eligible applicants in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Spark Awards will fund short-term projects between $10,000 and $75,000. Innovation Collaborative Awards will support projects that promote systems-level change in the school food system and marketplace up to $250,000. They are for collaborations of local food system leaders who want to ensure that school meals better reflect the Lake Michigan region’s harvests and cultural diversity​.