Farm to School “Linking the Land with

the Lunchroom”

Farm to School Programs• Primary Goals:

• Improve student diets by increasing offerings of fresh fruits and vegetables in school

• Support local farms by creating additional markets for their products

• Takes many forms:• School gardens – learning & eating• Food education in the classroom• Field trips to gardens and farms• School purchase foods direct from farms for special events, snacks, meals• Weekly snacks

Children’s Health: Alarming Trends

• Diets are falling short of the mark

• Obesity rates are skyrocketing

• Desirable physical activity levels are not being met

• Adult diseases are showing up in children

Benefits Of Farm to School Projects

• Increases quality food for students • Supports local farmers, local community, & local

economy (positive public relations)• Lowers environmental impacts

Food Service Staff, size, budgeting, operations, rate of participation

Suppliers Local farmers, food processors, distributors

Project Coordination

Funding

Community Support Parents, volunteers

Schools Administration, teachers, students, school board

Climate Seasonal and Political

• Fall 2007- Met with PdC Admin Team to introduce the idea

• Met with key people including food service staff, parents, teachers, farmers

• Spring 2008: Formed “Food-4-Thought” committee at B.A. Kennedy

Farm to School in Crawford County

• Core group of 10 people

• Created 2 year workplan

• Applied for and was awarded 2 Americorps volunteers for 2008-2009 school year and then again for the 2009-2010 to work thoughtout the County

- Nutrition educator

- Food procurement

B.A. Kennedy Food-4-Thought

• Wauzeka-Steuben - Formed spring 2009 with the local foods in the cafeteria and classroom lessons

• Seneca – Began 1/10 with harvest of the month in the cafeteria and plans to add classroom lesson

• Countywide oversight committee – Formed fall 2009 with representation from each school

Countywide Food-4-Thought Expansion

• Local procurement through the cafeteria when possible

• Harvest of the Month– Classroom lessons– Local food in the cafeteria

• B.A. Kennedy Snack– Healthy snack every Tuesday and Friday

• School Garden at B.A.Kennedy

Food-4-Thought

• For the 2008-2009 school year almost $18,000 was donated or raised for the program (not counting the snack program)

• Already in the 2009-2010 school year, over 50 volunteers have helped with the program for a total of over 225 hours

Community Support/Involvement

Community Donations

Local Melons at BA Kennedy

Students gobbled up watermelon and cantaloupe from local farmers in September

“It was nice to have fresh fruit”

Sourcing Shihata’s Apples

September – Apples

October 2009 - Pumpkin & Their Kin

Wauzeka October Features

• Roasted garden veggies – zucchini, potatoes, carrots, peppers & onions

• Gyros with cucumber sauce for a Greek theme lunch

• Assorted baked squash

• Butternut squash soup

• Pumpkin soup

Pumpkin Soup

Students are served soup from a pumpkin

for Halloween

“The soup was awesome!!”

November 2009 & 2010 – Succotash & Cranberries –

Historical Significant

CranberriesTasty, SweetHarvest from

bogThey are very

tartFruit 

Drake Coleman3rd Grade Bluffview

 

January 09 – Cranberries & Wetland Eco- Systems

January 2010 – Root vegetables

February 09 – Potatoes

March 09 – Goat Farming & Cheese Making

April 09 – Bees & Pollination

Grass Fed Beef

Students gobbled up local grass fed

burgers and visit with the farmer

“This was the best burger

ever!”

BA Kennedy Snack Program – 2009-2010

•Goal - Provide Kindergarten – 2nd grade students with a fresh, local, healthy snack every Tuesday and Friday

•Funding – Parents pay $10 per semester

•Logistics • Food Service Director, Donna Heilmann

sources and preps the food through the food service

• Snacks are placed in a designated fridge in the teacher workroom for the teacher to pick up

• Parent volunteers help as needed

Benefits of a School Garden

• Provides a context for understanding seasons and life cycles.• Creates an opportunity to work cooperatively and teach the

value of meaningful work. • Improves nutrition and highlights healthy foods. • Demonstrates where food really comes from. • Encourages students to try new things including foods they

may not eat at home.• Reinforces classroom curriculum across many subject areas. • Encourages community involvement – neighbors, volunteers,

parents, community businesses, and service organizations. • Teaches life skills. • Improves aesthetics around the school.• Gardens build a sense of pride, ownership, and

accomplishment.

B.A. Kennedy School Gardenfrom green space to growing space

Planting!

More Planting!

4H Summer Partnership

All Done!

Harvest Hootenanny

The harvest of the month program impacts over 900 students in Crawford County per month

Over 250 children at B.A. Kennedy receive a healthy snack 2 times a week every week - & they love it

B.A. Kennedy student have a garden which provides snacks, education, exploration and fun

Already this school year, over 1000 lb of produce has been purchased locally for the schools

The food service directors say that they have seen an increase in the amount of fruits and vegetables the children are eat during lunch because of the program

Impact

•

Tony Evers, State Superintendent, has chosen our Food -4-Thought program to

receive the “Standing up for Rural Wisconsin” award to be given Feb. 22 in

Madison