August 11, 2022

This Week in Farm to School 

Farm to school connects local agriculture, schools, and partners to benefit students, educators, farmers, families, and communities.

Meal Talk: Local School Wellness Policies 

August 17, 2022 // 3 pm ET

The United States Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition staff and guest speakers from South Carolina’s Local Wellness Policy State Technical Assistance Team and Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will share how to energize, strengthen, and assess local school wellness policies. Attendees will leave with new ideas for increasing engagement and excitement about school wellness in their communities, including among administrators, teachers, parents, students and more. 

Register here.

Meet the Grantmakers Funding Youth Garden Programs

August 18, 2022 // 4 pm - 5 pm ET

Join this webinar to hear from KidsGardening, Whole Kids Foundation, Green Our Planet, Big Green and others–all national youth garden grantmakers–about their upcoming grant opportunities, and to hear their thoughts on what makes a strong grant proposal.

Register here.



Recorded: USDA Seeding Success Series - Purchasing Outside the Box! Local Procurement Beyond the Apple

This webinar shares creative ways to procure and incorporate local foods into school meals. The webinar features three amazing farm to school stakeholders from Uni Organic, Mineral County Tech Center, and Gulf of Maine Research Institute, whose stories take us from coast to coast, and dive into the ways they are getting local grains and proteins onto the trays of students in their local school districts.

Watch here.

Climate-resilient Farming Has Financial Benefits for North Carolina Farms

Climate-resilient farming practices can help small farms in North Carolina profit in a changing climate, according to research by NC A&T Cooperative Extension and Environmental Defense Fund. 

Watch the film here.

North Carolina Alliance for Health School Meals 101

Are you curious about how school meals operate in North Carolina? You can check out this video, created by the North Carolina Alliance for Health, which breaks down the various policies surrounding school meals!

Watch here.

The Case for Food

As the new school year begins, FoodCorps is thinking more about food and its role. Why food? Because it’s a basic human need for everyone — especially for our kids. This video shares how school meals can have a positive impact on our students. 

Watch here.

Indigenous Youth Nutrition Security Grants from Newman's Own Foundation

Deadline: September 15 (Application)

Newman's Own Foundation launches its first-ever request for proposals (RFP) for Nutrition Security for Indigenous Youth. This RFP has been developed in collaboration with their partners at Tahoma Peak Solutions, a Native woman-owned firm focused on empowering and building up communities in Indian Country. Through this RFP, Newman’s Own Foundation will support organizations that build on the strengths of Native communities to enhance nutrition security for Native youth. To accomplish this, they are seeking organizations that are focused on improving nutrition security for indigenous youth.

Learn more here.

Big Green Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) Grants

Big Green is a USA 501c3 non-profit that believes growing food changes lives. They’re launching a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) as an experiment in democratizing and decentralizing their grantmaking. Food or gardening nonprofits can receive funding from the Big Green DAO. Successful applicants will also receive a DAO governance token to drive future funding.

Take the eligibility quiz here.

School Meals: Who’s at the table?

The National Farm to School Network has been exploring a movement toward values-aligned universal meals focused on equity for the most impacted stakeholders across the food system. Universal meals embedded with the core values of farm to school have the potential to radically transform our food system for the better. Six key values, put into action, get us closer to a just, equitable food system that promotes the health of all school children and benefits producers, workers, educators, and their communities.

Learn more here.

Report on Health Equity, Hunger, and Nutrition in Indian Country

The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) in partnership with the Native Farm Bill Coalition (NFBC) hosted two virtual convenings to gather input for a report that will inform the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health on food and nutrition disparities in Indian Country. The NFBC also hosted a Tribal caucus and informational briefing session prior to the official Nation to Nation consultation on the conference.

Learn more here.

Towards Equitable and Just Food Systems: Exploring Food Justice, Food Sovereignty, and Ending Food Apartheid Policy and Practice

This resource explores the evolving language of food systems and policy work centered on addressing structural racism and inequity. It describes equity-focused terms and frameworks related to the food system, outlines how these terms and frameworks are used in food policy, and provides examples of what they mean in practice.

Learn more here.