This Week : Farm to School in the Great Lakes

1)         General Updates 
2)         Webinars, Conferences & Events 
3)         Funding Opportunities 
4)         Farm to School Job Openings 
5)         Farm to School Media Mentions

General Updates

2013 USDA Farm to School Grant Request for Applications
The USDA Farm to School Grant Program (FSGP) Request for Applications (RFA) for fiscal year 2014 funds will be issued in mid-February. A press release will be issued from the USDA’s National Office and a blog post will be published using the Farm to School E-letter.  USDA will share the press release and blog post with you all as it comes out! USDA National Office staff will continue to provide the same level of technical assistance during the application process as was provided last year, including posting sample grants to the website and hosting informational webinars. Once released, all questions regarding the RFA should be sent to farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov (note, this is a different address than was used last year!).

Midwest Public Schools commit to buying local and we need your help!
Midwest Public Schools and Chartwells have committed to sourcing locally produced food to serve OVER 1,000,000 school meals per day! Chartwells is looking to source fruit, vegetables, and anti-biotic free chicken for public school districts in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan
and Wisconsin.
WHO?             Local Producers, Processors and Distributors
WHAT?            Locally produced fruit, vegetables, and ABF chicken
WHEN?            Now through the 2013-2014 school year
WHERE?         Contact RFI@familyfarmed.org to obtain a Request for Information form; complete and email back to RFI@familyfarmed.org
WHY?              This initiative brings a huge opportunity for local producers to profitably partner with Chartwells to increase the amount of locally produced food to area school children in Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Meet Family Farmed in person at the Good Food Festival at the UIC Forum on March 15th to learn more. For more information, contact: Jennifer Borchardt, Grower Coordinator, Family Farmed,  773-805-3210

Nutrition and Physical Activity in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine The majority of articles in the February 2013 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine are about nutrition and physical activity, including some articles about school meals  and the school environment:  http://www.ajpmonline.org/issues 

New Fact Sheet now online:  Benefits of Farm to School

This fact sheet created by the National Farm to School Network summarizes research to illustrate the benefits of Farm to School programs including: Student Health and Achievement; Food Service Costs, Revenue, Interest; Benefits for Farmers; Community and Economy; Teachers; and Parents. http://www.farmtoschool.org/files/publications_514.pdf

USDA Invests in Food Safety Training through Familyfarmed.org 

USDA’s Risk Management Agency has funded the websitewww.familyfarmed.org to expand its farmer training programs in 2013. Familyfarmed.org will work with local partners to produce 25 trainings for small to mid-size growers to teach best practices in food safety, postharvest handling and packing produce. More than 2,500 fruit and vegetable farmers from across the country are expected to participate.

FDA Issues Food Safety Modernization Act Rules and Resources


In 2011, President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration, charged with implementing the law, issued major proposed rules on Produce Safety Standards and Preventive Controls in Human Food, as well as a host of fact sheets, videos, and other resources to help the public understand the proposed rules and the law. http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FSMA/default.htm

EdWeb Growing School Gardens Community

This online learning community is a place for educators, gardeners, parents, and community volunteers to come together to share information and resources on how to start and maintain a school garden, and integrate it into the curriculum and the life of a school. EdWeb is hosting a series of webinars on school garden topics.  A recording of the January 21th webinar “Winter Planning for the Spring School Garden” featuring Beth Feehan and Dorothy Mullen can be found at the following link:  http://www.instantpresenter.com/WebConference/RecordingDefault.aspx...

Future webinars and resources can be found on the Growing School Gardens page:

http://www.edweb.net/schoolgardens/

School Breakfast Coverage Roundup

FRAC’s latest school breakfast reports show that, for the first time nationally, more than 50 percent of students participating in the National School Lunch Program also participated in the School Breakfast Program. Schools can continue to increase the numbers of children participating, through moving breakfast out of the classroom and away from rigid schedules. More children would participate at schools where students arrive after the cafeteria closes in the morning. Serving breakfast in the classroom, offering breakfast from grab-and-go carts, offering “second chance breakfast” between early morning class periods are proven ways that schools can continue to improve breakfast participation, as well as raise the amount of reimbursements for the meals from the federal government.  http://bit.ly/YmjBft

Great American School Lunch Challenge 
James Beard Award-winning chef Jose Garces and Food Network star Anne Burrell, alongside two school nutrition professionals from school districts known for their good work in the lunchroom, are gearing up to tackle school lunches. Houston Independent School District and Colonial School District outside Wilmington, Delaware will partner up with the award-winning chefs and cook live, on stage, in front of Summit attendees.Hosting this year's challenge is White House Assistant Chef and Let's Move! Senior Advisor Sam Kass. See www.ahealthieramerica.org/summit/greatamerican-cooking-challenge
for full more details on the Great American School Lunch Challenge

Webinars & Conferences

FDA Webinar on FSMA Proposed Produce Safety & Preventive Controls Rules
The Produce Safety Alliance, in collaboration with the FDA, will be hosting a webinar on Thursday January 24, 2013 at 11 AM EST to provide information about the Proposed Produce Safety Rule as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act.  Dr. Jim Gorny, Senior Advisor for Produce Safety, will present An Overview of FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Proposed Produce Safety & Preventive Controls Rules.  This presentation will include reviewing the proposed produce safety rule, how it interacts with the proposed preventive controls rule for human food, and provide details regarding produce rule provisions.  There will be time for questions and answers at the end of the presentation.  Participation in this webinar is open to all, but limited online to 1000 people on a first come, first served basis. http://bit.ly/WrY4wW

  Get Farming! Announces Wholesale Success Workshop (MLUI – Michigan) Farmers and other producers looking to succeed in the wholesale marketplace are invited to an upcoming workshop. MLUI’s Get Farming! program is partnering with MSU Extension, USDA,  the NW Michigan Council of Governments and FamilyFarmed.org to offer “Wholesale Success” on Monday, February 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the NW Michigan Horticultural Research  Center, 6686 S. Center Hwy, Traverse City. Click for details.

Great Lakes Farm to School at the MOSES Organic Farming Conference There will be a farm to school lunch panel and a networking session at the Organic Farming Conference in La Crosse, WI on February 22

^nd

 and 23

^rd

. Listen in on the panel discussion  about farm to school, or join in the networking session to make connections with local farm to school practitioners.

You're Invited! Local Produce for Foodservice (Madison, WI)

Foodservice professionals that want Wisconsin local produce, farmers growing produce that are interested in selling to foodservice operations, and distributors are all invited to this meeting to network and discuss doing business together in 2013. This meeting is hosted by the Institutional Food Market Coalition, a Dane County UW-Extension program. For more information and agenda, please visit http://www.ifmwi.org/.

Date: Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Time: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm (please arrive 10 to 15 minutes early to check in)

Location: Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center, 1919 Alliant Energy Center Way, Madison, WI

Registration: Pre-registration is required by February 15, 2013. To register, mail in a registration form(http://pdf.countyofdane.com/plandev/ifm/Local_Produce_for_Foodservi...) or register online(http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5142411090/eorg) to pay by credit card.

Cost: The cost of this meeting is $20 per person, includes continental breakfast and lunch 

Farm to School Job Openings

Community GroundWorks is hiring Goodman Youth Grow Local Farm Manager
Community GroundWorks is seeking an experienced educator and grower to develop and manage the Goodman Youth Grow Local Farm, an innovative, regional farm-based education program for a diverse population of young people from area schools and community centers. Successful candidates will have experience in program management, sustainable food production and hands-on environmental education. Please visit http://www.communitygroundworks.org/content/job-posting-gyglf for a complete position description and application instructions.

Farm to School Media Mentions

Farmers can learn more about providing for school lunches
Portage Daily Register (WI)
Connecting Columbia County farmers with schools that might serve the food they produce is the purpose of a summit planned for Feb. 7 in Poynette.In July, officials of the University of Wisconsin-Extension Columbia County learned that the Extension had received a $160,000 grant, which expires in 2014, for a pilot Farm to School program, to increase the awareness and use of locally produced foods in lunches served to schoolchildren, said Kathleen Haas, Extension community development educator.

Humke students celebrate with local farmer
Wisconsin Rapids Tribune
While many local residents made New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, it’s Wood County students who are walking the walk. In fact, Humke Elementary School students in Nekoosa kicked off the new year during lunch on Friday with an exciting carrot celebration. During the fall of 2011 and 2012, the Patrykus and Guth family of Bancroft supplied schools with locally grown carrots through the Get Active Wood County Farm to School program. On a recent Friday during the lunch hour, Humke students were able to meet a local farmer, watch a video of the carrots going from farm to lunch line, visit with a dancing carrot and even snack on the local veggies.

Should school meals be free for all students?

Following the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, officials in New York City received a federal waiver to serve free school meals to all students. After the city applied to extend the waiver, advocates began speaking out in support of universal free school meals for all. The state education department so far has been silent on the issue, but advocates are pointing out the benefits from better academic performance to fewer stigmas in schools for low-income students. Still, some acknowledge that funding would be a key challenge. City Limits (New York City) (1/7)

Farm to School Program Blooms in Alaska

SitNews

From Sitka to Bethel, Farm to School has touched the lives of students in a variety of ways. A few examples from 2011-2012 include: jpg Farm to School Program Blooms in Alaska. A student washes local rhubarb in Kathleen Vik's Family and Consumer

Speak Out: Should schools spend more on healthier, sustainably grow...

Editorials on this topic by Chelsey Simpson of the National Farm to School Network and Linda O’Conner, the Kansas teacher who wrote and produced the “We Are Hungry” YouTube video.

DISPATCH FROM MINNEAPOLIS: RETHINKING SCHOOL LUNCH

You know you're onto something when teens begin spontaneously promoting the school lunch. That's what happened after Bertrand Weber, Minneapolis Public Schools' director of nutrition services, launched a campaign to bring back real food in school meals. Using the Center's Rethinking School Lunch framework, he inaugurated a five-year plan in 2012 to remake nutrition services. Already, participation is up, kids love several new dishes, waste is down, and staff members report "an incredible behavioral change" in the cafeteria. more >

New farm-to-school program gives kids fresh food

The California program, supported by the Clinton Foundation and the Health Matters Initiative, aims to help kids in the Palm Springs Unified School District vulnerable to health issues like obesity by providing fresh fruit and veggies straight from community farms. NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman reports.