Celebrate Farm to School Month in October
October 06, 2014 | Written By: Healthy Schools Campaign
October is National Farm to School Month: time to start or celebrate farm to school.
By Anupama Joshi, Executive Director & Co-Founder, National Farm to School Network
October is National Farm to School Month, an opportunity for schools across the country to start farm to school activities for the first time or celebrate their success. There’s a lot to celebrate: Farm to school enriches the connection communities have with fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and preschools. Students gain access to healthy, local foods as well as education opportunities such as school gardens, cooking lessons and farm field trips. Farm to school practices are in place at more than 40,000 schools across the country!
Whether you are a student, parent, school food service professional, educator, nurse, policymaker, nonprofit advocate or an engaged citizen, there are plenty of ways to celebrate and get involved! The National Farm to School Network has resources and ideas to help your school or community be part of the celebration:
Visit our National Farm to School Month webpage to find resources and information.
Download our Farm to School Month Fact Sheet.
Use our Communications Toolkit to spread the word about your farm to school events and activities.
Order promotional materials: posters, stickers, aprons and shirts.
Use this hashtag #F2SMonth in your social media messages.
Follow @FarmtoSchool on Twitter.
Follow us on Facebook by searching for “National Farm to School Network.”
And here’s one more reason to visit our website during October: Everyone who fills out a membership form and/or a “Share Form” on our website during October 2014 will be entered to win a drawing for $1,000 to spend on a farm to school/preschool project in their community! Five additional drawing winners will be eligible to apply for a free Project Learning Garden™ lesson kit from Captain Planet Foundation that is valued at $1,000; however, winners must have an existing elementary school garden to qualify.
Farm to school is taking place every day in all 50 states and D.C. Even when school isn’t in session, summer meal programs are keeping kids healthy with fresh, local foods, and farmers are planting and harvesting crops for the next school year. Connect with your National Farm to School Network state lead to learn more about what’s happening in your community, and make plans to get involved or celebrate your success this October!
