August 10, 2016
National Farm to School Month is Coming
Schools and colleges are getting ready for their cafeterias to fill up with students and many are planning menus with the New York harvest. October is National Farm to School Month and in New York schools, Farm to You Fest will be celebrated October 2-8! Find resources for Farm to School and Farm to College throughout our website.
Early Child Care and Education: Little Eaters, Big Success
The National Farm to School Network recently released its 2015 Early Childcare and Education survey results and a great infographic on programs that serve our littlest eaters in child care, Head Start and pre-schools. New York State was well represented with 84 survey participants. Interested in learning more about New York Farm to Preschool and starting a program? Check out New York Farm to Preschool.
Farm to School Pilot Program Kicks Off in the North Country
School districts and farmers in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties met to learn about new funding for schools to purchase foods from New York farms with a Farm to School pilot program championed by Assemblywoman Addie Russell and coordinated by Adirondack North Country Association. Learn more about the pilot here.
FINYS Leadership Team Summer Meeting
The FINYS Leadership Team met earlier this summer to tour the NY Custom Processing facility which services farmers that sell beef to New York schools and hospitals. Kathleen Harris arranged the tour and shared how important it is for Northeast Livestock Processing Service Company to have a high-quality processor partner like NYCP. During the networking meeting that followed the tour, farmer Ken Jaffe and Julia Van Loon of Slope Farm to School Beef talked about the opportunities and challenging of providing beef for schools. Waterville School District and Schoharie Valley Farm to School described how students are learning about growing food, tasting new vegetables, and connecting with local farms.
Kate Fiduccia of New York Custom Processing giving a tour to FINYS Leadership Team