October is National Farm to School Month, a time for schools, early care and education sites, farms, communities, agencies, and organizations to celebrate food education, school gardens and lunch trays filled with healthy, local ingredients! For National Farm to School Month, the PA Farm to School Network is providing resources, learning and networking opportunities, an exciting platform to share your farm to school stories, and information on advocating for farm to school related policy change.
If you are interested in learning more about celebrating your farm to school programming this October, register for our next virtual open house! The PA Farm to School Network is hosting a virtual open house for educators, farmers/growers, school food service directors, early care and education (ECE) providers, parents and community partners on Thursday, September 26th from 3-4:30 PM EST. During the open house, we will discuss National Farm to School Month and the 3 Cs of Farm to School! Join us to learn more about the 3 Cs of farm to school programming, Classroom, Cafeteria and Community, and how you can incorporate them into your farm to school celebrations. Learn more and register to attend the open house here!
To celebrate National Farm to School Month this October, the PA Farm to School Network (PFSN) is hosting a multimedia Farm to School Storytelling Contest. Share your success with your community through a written story, photo series, video, poetry, art project and more! Submit your story by 11:59 pm on November 8, 2024, to be entered into the raffle for some excellent prizes. If you know a program or organization that you think has a great story to share, please pass this information along.
Celebrate National Farm to School Month by advocating for policy change! A great way to gain more sustainable support for your farm to school programming is to contact your local legislators to advocate for policy change and invite your legislators to come see your farm to school programming. The PA Farm to School Network is working to pass House Bill 2420 – the Keystone Fresh Act, which aims to increase the variety and quantity of PA products served in school meals and create greater opportunities for local farmers to participate in the school food market. This initiative is a win-win-win scenario, fostering economic growth, improving public health outcomes, and nurturing stronger communities, all while nourishing Pennsylvania’s children with the nutrition they require to thrive. Fill out this form to easily send a pre-written letter to your State Senator today! Learn more about the Keystone Fresh Act.
Learn more about PA Local produce with the Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month: In the Kitchen video series! Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month (PA HOM) is a program developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Project PA (Penn State University) to promote a local agricultural product each month through schools, child and adult care centers/day care homes, and summer feeding sites. The“Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month: In the Kitchen” video series has recently been released. These short (approximately 5-7 minutes) videos are designed to provide information about how to procure, select, handle, and prepare each PA HOM item for Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs). They can be incorporated into training sessions for CNP staff or used for individual-level learning to facilitate implementation of the PA HOM program in CNPs. Funding for this project was provided by a Fiscal Year 2022 USDA Farm to School grant.