Watch this PFSN National Farm to School Month Promo Video!
Happy National Farm to School (FTS) Month! This month, we want to celebrate YOU, the farm to school practitioners who work to bring FTS to life in your communities. You are creating meaningful, impactful change by connecting the classroom, community, and cafeteria to farm to school initiatives.
“Farm to School helps make food real,” said Courtney Mulchay, Education for Sustainability Educator at Shelburne Farms, during the PA Farm to School Network (PFSN) September Virtual Open House. “It connects kids to all the parts of the food system. Where food comes from, where it goes, how to grow, and cook, and savor food; and who or what is involved in all of that. It also helps kids think about what food does for them – how it nourishes them and makes them feel. And, perhaps most important – farm to school helps students think about the places they exist and interact in the food system, how they can be involved and how they can make change if they want to.”
National FTS Month “highlights where our food comes from,” says Kaitlyn Falk, District Wellness Manager at Erie’s Public Schools. “Through gardening and cooking, students have a better understanding of the journey harvest takes to become food, which inspires a deeper appreciation for our farms, farmers, and the natural world as a whole!”
There are endless ways to celebrate this month, but no matter what kind of farm to school activities you have planned during October, take some extra time to celebrate and share the work you do!
Share Your Story: The PA Farm to School Network is celebrating by hosting the National Farm to School Month Storytelling Contest. Submit your story by 11:59 pm on November 8 to be entered into the raffle to win some excellent prizes.
Check out these additional resources to help you celebrate:
- PFSN National Farm to School Month Resource Guide. Find even more ideas in this blog post.
- Submit photos of school meal trays to the SNAPA Tray of the Month Campaign highlighting local foods in October! Learn more here.
- Purchase PA Preferred® produce and celebrate a locally sourced PA Preferred Day in the cafeteria. Find resources for sourcing local food in this blog post and on the USDA’s Procuring Local Foods webpage.
- Invite your local legislators to see your farm to school programming using this resource, Inviting Legislators to Your Events. Building relationships with your legislators is a great way to support systemic changes that can further farm to school programs. If you plan to showcase how you procure and serve local food in your school meals or snacks, be sure to share this with your legislators and ask them to support PA House Bill 2420, the Keystone Fresh Act.
- Share photos and videos with your community and on social media! Be sure to use #PAFarmtoSchool.
- Check out a summary and review the slides of the PFSN September Virtual Open House, where we discussed National FTS Month and the 3 Cs of FTS.
Visit pafarmtoschool.org/national-