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Farm to School 2.0

Increasing student meal counts through farm to school

USDA Farm to School has funded 221 farm to school projects totaling $15.1 million since 2013. In their recent report that summarizes the grant activity since 2013 it is clear that farm to school has moved well beyond sourcing the local apple and is enriching the educational and community relationships that are required make local food systems work.

Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Food Services received a USDA farm to school grant in late 2013 and started implementation in 2014. The primary focus of the grant project was on education and marketing. Its overarching goal was to develop a year-round educational/promotional program to increase student meal counts at breakfast and lunch and improve student acceptance and consumption of locally sourced foods as part of their meals. This was accomplished through a multi-pronged approach that involved engaging many community stakeholders, food service team members, students, school administrators and teachers.

Building gardens, teacher trainings and curriculum development, a community harvest festival, students visiting farms, farmers visiting students, local food tastings, harvest of the month, art contests, procurement system improvement for local food, a spring Farmers Market event and writing two manuals so others can learn how to accomplish these achievements also ‒ Boulder went way beyond their own grant goals.

BVSD included a case study as part of their grant plan to share the process and key aspects of their system improvements that the grant supported. In SY16 BVSD will continue to build farm to school, local relationships, teacher engagement and kids growing and eating real food. The Lunch Box is sharing great stories like these in the new District Innovations area. Share yours by contacting us at info@chefannfoundation.org

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Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) Food Services received a USDA farm to school grant in late 2013 and started implementation in 2014. The primary focus of the grant project was on education and marketing. Its overarching goal was to develop a year-round educational/promotional program to increase student meal counts at breakfast and lunch and improve student acceptance and consumption of locally sourced foods as part of their meals. This was accomplished through a multi-pronged approach that involved engaging many community stakeholders, food service team members, students, school administrators and teachers.

Building gardens, teacher trainings and curriculum development, a community harvest festival, students visiting farms, farmers visiting students, local food tastings, harvest of the month, art contests, procurement system improvement for local food, a spring Farmers Market event and writing two manuals so others can learn how to accomplish these achievements also ‒ Boulder went way beyond their own grant goals.

BVSD included a case study as part of their grant plan to share the process and key aspects of their system improvements that the grant supported. In SY16 BVSD will continue to build farm to school, local relationships, teacher engagement and kids growing and eating real food. The Lunch Box is sharing great stories like these in the new District Innovations area. Share yours by contacting us at info@chefannfoundation.org

Interested in reading more helpful articles from us? Sign-up for our newsletter in the footer below.

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