Greetings all!
Hope your week has gone well! Mine has been busy planning for the Farm to School Trainings coming up next week! Be sure to register if you haven’t yet, I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of you there.
Lots of news this week – perhaps because with the start of the school year comes the re-initation of a lot of great farm to school activities. It’s inspiring to see all the media support for Farm to School programs. In case you didn’t see the USDA’s report on the impacts of Farm to School grants, it’s definitely one to check out!
News
- USDA: New Report Shows Farm to School Grants Have Increased Likelihood that 6.9 Million Kids Will Eat More Healthy Food at School, Created New Local Market Opportunities for Farmers: That’s a mouthful! But YAY! While I’m sure a lot of you have experienced this first hand, it’s always nice to see national attention being drawn to the issue. And I love seeing the dual effect highlighted: kids eat healthier, and great opportunities for farmers. My newsfeed has been exploding with articles on this outcome, here’s a couple others highlighting the impacts that I really like:
- Union of Concerned Scientists: A Single Federal Program Cut Obesity by 3% (And Saved Twice What It Cost) - I love this article highlighting the impact of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program, not just in terms of childhood health but also in terms of health care savings. The message? “Invest $1 in healthy school foods, save $2 in health costs"
- Sacramento Bee: Nutrition education should be part of school curriculum – this article highlights the impacts of hunger on child health, and the importance of incorporating nutrition education into school learning – not just as an addendum but as an integral part
- Brooklyn Reader: Getting our little ones off to a great start: how farm to preschool can make a difference – Farm to School doesn’t just mean K-12, it means incorporating healthy, local foods even into the youngest childcare settings. This is an opportunity to start healthy habits at an early age, and in Brooklyn they’re seeing improvements!
- KXNews: Eye on Education: Farm to School – North Dakota is seeing positive impacts from their farm to school programming! Check out this video highlighting Granville Farm to School
Goodness, with this week’s heat it’s hard to believe it’s nearly October and Farm to School Month, but it’s coming up! How are you celebrating Farm to School Month this year?
Looking forward to meeting many of you at the trainings this week!
Best,
Abby Harper
Farm to School Specialist
Center for Regional Food Systems | Michigan State University
480 Wilson Rd | Rm 309 Natural Resources Building East Lansing, MI 48824
(p) 517.432.4525 (c) 857.600.6921
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.