March 31, 2015 | Volume 4, Issue 8

Feature Buying Local? YES! Ask yourself a series of yes/no questions with the new buying local decision tree and you’ll have all the information you need to buy local products for the school cafeteria. This resource helps you decide which procurement method to use when buying local and offers lots of tips for how to source local items. And don’t forget to check out our Procuring Local Foods webpage for more information on bringing local products into the cafeteria!

Notes from the Field

USDA Secretary is Excited about the 2015 Farm to School Census

Earlier this month, on behalf of USDA, state agencies invited school districts to complete the 2015 Farm to School Census. To date, almost 3,000 responses have been received. States with the most responses to date include Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Wisconsin. School districts: don’t miss out on this opportunity to have your work included as part of the results. The 2015 Census will close on May 29!

For inspiration, check out this message from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack on the importance of the 2015 Farm to School Census.

FY16 USDA Farm to School Grant Request for Applications

We are currently accepting applications for the next round of USDA Farm to School grants. The application deadline is May 20, 2015 for planning, implementation and support service grant applications. Training grant letters of inquiry are due April 30, 2015.

Local Food Promotion Program: Grant Opportunity

The Local Food Promotion Program (LFPP), with USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service, has grant opportunities that may align with your farm to school goals! LFPP grants helped a community supported fishery in Monterey, CA source local seafood for school lunch programs throughout central California. In Chicago, IL, FarmLogix, is creating an online portal to help schools coordinate relationships with local producers and distributors. In North Carolina, Maine, Rhode Island and West Virgnia, LFPP funds have supported food hubs that plan to provide food to schools.

The grant program supports the development and expansion of local and regional food business enterprises to increase access to locally and regionally produced agricultural products, and to develop new market opportunities for farm and ranch operations serving local markets. Eligible entities may apply if they support business enterprises that process, distribute, aggregate, or store locally or regionally produced food products.

Applications will be accepted through May 14, 2015.

Planning Your Farm to School Program

Stay tuned to our webinar series for farm to school tips and insights. Earn SNA Continuing Education Units for each webinar attended. To receive this credit, be sure to contact Bob Gorman at robert.gorman@fns.usda.gov.

April 2, 2:00 EDT

School Gardening: Hear about the different ways to incorporate school gardens into your farm to school program as well as hear how schools are successfully procuring school garden produce for their meal programs.

April 16, 2:00 EDT

Curriculum Integration: Experiential education is an important component of successful farm to school programs. This webinar will help you plan for your farm to school educational efforts and brainstorm food, agriculture, and nutrition-related educational activities with which you can engage students.

Bits from Blogs USDA Helps Plant a Seed for a Healthier Next Generation of Inner City Students Posted by Heather Emmons, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nevada Above the sounds of whirring drills and nails being hammered into wood planks, squeals of excitement and oohs and ahhs emanated from Yerington Elementary School students as they filed past the hoop house being built on their way to the lunchroom. March is National Nutrition Month, so it only seems fitting that three rural elementary schools in Nevada had hoop houses installed in late February and early March as part of a partnership among USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension and Urban Roots Americorps. The hoop houses will enhance the Extension’s Veggies for Kids program, an elementary school-based pilot nutrition education program targeting second-graders at schools eligible for Food Stamp Nutrition Education program funding (those having more than 50 percent of the student body eligible for free or reduced-priced meals) and having a significant population of American Indian and Hispanic students. “Children and senior citizens are below the national average in consuming the daily recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables,” said Staci Emm, Extension educator.  “Diets high in fruits and vegetables that are naturally high in nutrients reduce the risk for obesity and related chronic diseases.  Efforts to increase fruit and vegetable consumption in the U.S. population have generally been unsuccessful, and one identified reason for this may be limited access to, and affordability of, fruits and vegetables.”

Learn more at http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool or contact us at farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).