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August 12, 2014 | Volume 3, Issue 16
Feature
Local Procurement Resource Roundup
 This year, the farm to school team at USDA has been busy thinking about new ways to make buying local foods easier for schools and working on lots of resources that help explain the process. Now, all of these new materials have been compiled into one central place on the Food and Nutrition Service website. Highlighted on the new webpage are:
- The newest resource for purchasing local foods, Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs covers procurement basics, defining local, where to find local products, and the variety of ways schools can purchase locally in accordance with regulations. Throughout the guide, examples illustrate the many mechanisms available for school districts to procure local food.
- A series of a dozen recorded webinars from the Finding, Buying, and Serving Local Foods series that we held earlier this year to showcase the variety of ways school districts can purchase local foods. The series started with an introduction to basic procurement principles, and then walked participants through numerous strategies and tactics for buying local foods.
- Our growing set of fact sheets, which provide readers with a quick reference on procurement topics ranging from using the DoD Fresh Program to purchase local foods to opportunities for farmers to sell to schools.
- Policy memos and regulations that provide background and answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about local procurement.
Check back during Farm to School Month in October for sample solicitations, a new fact sheet on buying local meat, and an exciting video about going local!
 This week's summer spotlight is on an innovative program in northeastern Vermont where a nonprofit organization is sourcing locally to
ensure that children can access fresh, healthy meals all summer long. Green
Mountain Farm-to-School maximizes their impact in northern Vermont through the
Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) by serving meals from a mobile food truck
called The
Lunchbox. By taking their show on the road, The Lunchbox reaches three
area towns each week. You can expect to see kids gathering at the truck to
enjoy peanut or pesto wraps with chicken from Misty Knoll Farm, crunchy snap
peas from Blooming Field Farm, and mouth-watering raspberries from North Derby
Berry Farm.
At each stop, The Lunchbox staffers encourage parents and
guardians to cook healthy meals at home by conducting taste tests, displaying
recipes that utilize local ingredients, and providing information on where
to buy local products. In addition to ensuring that kids have access to
nutritious and appealing meals when school is out, Green Mountain
Farm-to-School strives to create a strong link between community members and
area farmers, serving as a reliable access point for healthy food and
educational activities. Just entering its second summer, this mobile feeding
site attracted 195 children in its first week of service alone. Kudos to
The Lunchbox!
It’s not too late to tell us how you bring the farm to summer!
 Webinars & Trainings
Pilot Project for Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables Vendor Conference Call ~ August 21
In July, USDA released a Request for Applications from states interested in participating in a new pilot project authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Under the pilot, up to eight states across five regions will be granted flexibility in using a portion of their USDA Foods entitlement dollars to purchase locally-grown unprocessed fruits and vegetables for the National School Lunch Program. On August 21, the Agricultural Marketing Service will host a conference call to describe and answer questions about the requirements for eligible vendors.
Date/Time: Thursday, August 21, 2014, 1:00 pm Eastern Time
Call-In Number: 1-888-844-9904; Passcode: 1693356
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Bits from Blogs
USDA Partners with Community, Farmers Market in Eastern Kentucky: To Feed Kids and Help Farmers
Katherine Belcher, USDA Rural Development, Kentucky
This week marks the 15th annual National Farmers Market Week and USDA is celebrating the achievements of the more than 8,700 markets across the county. In rural eastern Kentucky, over the summer, a remarkable thing happened in the small community of Whitesburg. Local, state and federal officials all worked together to create the first-ever USDA “Summer Feeding Site” for children to be held at a local farmers market in Kentucky.
The Summer Feeding Site project that was launched in Whitesburg is part of USDA’s Summer Food Service Program that provides free meals to children from low-income households. Over the summer break, many of these kids and teens are in danger of not eating properly or going hungry because they don’t have access to school meals...
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