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  • Arizona Farm to Child Nutrition Programs

Arizona Farm to Child Nutrition Programs

Arizona Farm to Child Nutrition Programs work to ensure children of all ages have access to fresh, healthy and locally grown food. Intensive nutrition and agriculture education link farm to school and/or farm to early care education through a variety of activities that engage students in learning and increase consumption of healthy foods; reducing food waste.

Benefits include:

  • Investing in Arizona’s local ranchers and farmers thereby supporting the local economy
  • Helping meet the nutrition requirements of federal child nutrition programs by providing access to fresh and healthy food
  • Supporting education initiatives by providing innovative learning opportunities in and outside of the classroom
 

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Arizona Farm to School Network Structure

The Arizona Department of Education, Health and Nutrition Services Division sponsors the Arizona Farm to School Network as a project of the agency with goals that align with USDA Child Nutrition Programs.

Vision: The Arizona Farm to School Network, envisions an Arizona food system in support of schools, producers and industry partners (distributors and processors) that work to engage children in healthy eating and connections made to where food comes from.

In March 2019, the Network’s Leadership team was formed of self-nominated agencies and organizations with statewide focus and/or influence that are key to the success of farm to school in Arizona.

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Arizona Farm to School Network Structure

On August 21, 2019, The Arizona Farm to School Network invited members of the education, health and agriculture community to join the Network membership. Network membership will consist of stakeholders and supportive community members that want to participate in Arizona’s farm to school movement. This may include: producers, industry support partners (distributors and processors), community partners, foodservice professionals, teachers, parents, and Administrators.

Membership Survey (Intake Form)

​Review the 2020 Arizona Farm to School Network Work Plan - Coming soon!

  • Review the archived membership launch webinar here
  • Contact us at: [email protected]

USDA Guidance

  • USDA Geographic Preference Fact Sheet
  • USDA Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs
  • USDA Online Procurement Training
  • USDA Local Foods Decision Tree

State Guidance

  • Arizona Attorney General Procurement Opinion Memo

Other Guidance

  • School Food FOCUS GP Primer
  • School Food FOCUS Procurement Partners
  • WSDA Procurement Guide
  • School Garden Webinar Series (1230)

School Garden Webinar Series (1230)

This webinar is part of a monthly series, designed to help educators and wellness coordinators learn to create and sustain school garden programs in Arizona. Each sponsored webinar is scheduled for the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 3:30pm.

DateTopicArchives
July 15, 2020Soil Structure & Bulding Robust Soil Systems with Emily Rockey

Recorded Webinar & Webianr Slides

Resources & Q&A (coming soon)

August 19, 2020Alighing School Garden Seasonality with Academic Calendar - With Lou RodarteRecrded Webinar & Webinar Slides
September 16, 2020Alighing Curriculm to School Garden Programs - with Gigette WebbRegistration Open
October 21, 2020Sustainable Funding Streams for School Gardens - with Susan SilvermanRegistration Closed
November 19, 2020TBDRegistration Closed
December 16, 2020TBDRegistration Closed
January 20, 2021TBDRegistration Closed
February 17, 2021TBDRegistration Closed
March 17, 2021TBDRegistration Closed
April 21, 2021TBDRegistration Closed
May 19, 2021TBDRegistration Closed

Popular School Garden Publications

  • Collective School Garden Network
  • UA Extension Garden Publications

School Garden Map

  • School Garden Map via Good Food Finder

Safe Practices in the Garden

  • Online UA Extension School Garden Training
  • ADHS School Garden Certificate Program
  • ADE Food Safety in School Gardens Memo

Arizona Department of Education has many partners in the education of both nutrition and agriculture. Below is a list of those partner organizations and links to the websites that house their specific areas of expertise.

Arizona Nutrition Network is housed out of the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) and is a product of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that works in eligible schools to assist in their development of specific strategies used to address school health, active living and nutrition education.

The University of Arizona Cooperative Extension's Agricultural Literacy Program provides K-12 educators with professional development for improving students' knowledge which ensures an agriculturally literate society, one that understands and can communicate the source and value of agriculture as it affects our quality of life. Their Summer Agricultural Institute is a five day tour designed to teach K-12 teachers about the food and fiber grown in Arizona. Participants visit a variety of agricultural operations, spend an entire day at the University of Arizona’s research farm, visit schools with active agriculture education programs, and spend one night with a family on a modern-day working farm or ranch. Teachers are provided with free classroom materials that are aligned to Arizona Academic Standards throughout the tour.

Arizona Farm Bureau's Agriculture in the Classroom develops and implements curriculum and programs, aligned to state learning standards to help students and teachers be successful, while increasing agricultural awareness in K-6 classrooms and beyond.

Arizona Beef Council is a not-for-profit organization created by the State of Arizona. The Arizona Beef Council provides in-state programs that focus on education, nutrition, retail, and food service promotion of the beef industry.

Dairy Council of Arizona is a not-for-profit nutrition education and communication organization working on behalf of Arizona dairy farm families to highlight the benefits of dairy as an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. Dairy Council provides free nutrition education materials and curriculum, along with Fuel Up to Play60, the premiere school wellness program in the country.

The Harvest of the Season Program is a marketing campaign designed to encourage school foodservices to purchase and promote the Arizona grown vegetables and fruits offered at meal service. Purchasing locally grown items, when available, is used to increase student acceptability of various vegetables and fruits offered at meal time.

Program Objectives:

  1. Increase exposure of vegetable subgroups that meet meal pattern requirements
  2. Increasing consumption and acceptability of vegetable subgroups
  3. Increase awareness of Arizona seasonality

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Tomatoes Fact Sheet

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Tomatoe Newsletter

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AZ Grown Logo

 

WinterSpringSummerWinter
December – January – MarchMarch – April – MayJune – July – AugustSeptember – October – November

Broccoli

  • English Newsletter
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  • Poster

Carrots

Celery

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Citrus

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Kale

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Leaf Lettuce

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter

Spinach

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Winter Squash 

Broccoli

Carrots

Celery

Kale

Leaf Lettuce

Peppers

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Spinach

Tomatoes

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Peppers

Summer Melon

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Tomatoes

Summer Squash

  • English Newsletter
  • Poster

Carrots

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Summer Melon

Winter Squash

  • English Newsletter
  • Spanish Newsletter
  • Poster

Apples

  • (poster coming soon)

    Where to Buy Local

    • Arizona Farm Bureau’s Fill Your Plate Online Directory of Arizona's Farm Families
    • Local First Arizona’s Good Food Finder AZ Online Directory of Arizona's Farm Families and Locally Owned and operated Businesses
    • Arizona Department of Agriculture publishes their Specialty Crop Guide; a resource of Arizona agriculture.

    National Farm to School Network

    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 early care and education settings. For more information visit www.farmtoschool.org

    USDA's Community Food System Programs

    USDA's Farm to School Program is housed in the Food and Nutrition Service’s Office of Community Food Systems (OCFS). OCFS helps child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods in the National School Lunch Program and its associated programs, as well as the Summer Food Service Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program. In addition, OCFS staff works with tribal communities to respond to their desire to better incorporate traditional foods into our meal programs. OCFS accomplishes this through grant making, training and technical assistance and research.

    USDA Farm to School Grant Program

    In this funding cycle USDA anticipates awarding approximately $5 million in grant funding to support efforts that improve access to local foods in schools. Grant funds are made available on a competitive basis, subject to availability of federal funds.

    Statistics

    • USDA Farm to School Census In order to establish realistic goals with regard to increasing the availability of local foods in schools, in 2013, USDA conducted the first nationwide Farm to School Census (the Census). In 2015, USDA conducted a second Farm to School Census to measure progress towards reaching this goal.

    The Health and Nutrition Services Division challenges School Food Authorities (SFAs) of the National School Lunch Program to TASTE, TEACH and CONNECT in the 2020 Farm Fresh Challenge. Designed to encourage nutrition-focused activities and enhance meal quality through the service of locally sourced, fresh and healthy meals, SFAs are encouraged to support Arizona agriculture and teach students where their food comes from. In light of continued public health concerns related to COVID-19, HNS will provide monthly 30-minute webinars and resources to assist SFAs joining in the challenge over the academic year.

    • Toolkit (coming soon)
    • TASTE Arizona Challenge Tiers (coming soon)
    • 2020 Farm Fresh Challenge to NSLP: Recorded Webinar & Webinar Slides

    2020 Farm Fresh Challenge Registration: Registration Link

    Challenge MonthPrep Month WebinarTASTE ResourcesTEACH Resources
    October 2020September 3rd 3:00pm  
    November 2020September 30th 3:00pm  
    December 2020October 21st 3:00pm  
    January 2021November 25th 3:00pm  
    February 2021December 30th 3:00pm  
    March 2021January 27th 3:00pm  
    April 2021February 17th 3:00pm  

    The Farm to Summer Challenge is an initiative of the Health and Nutrition Services Division with the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). The Challenge encourages summer programs to serve three locally sourced SFSP meal components, offer two educational activities about nutrition/agriculture education and share at least one social media post using the hashtag #SummerFreshAZ.

    In preparation for the summer challenge in June, SFSP Sponsors are encouraged to review the February 26th webinar for the Farm to Summer Challenge to the Summer Food Service Program. Recordings will available after the webinar date.

    • Leaning in: Teach Arizona Modifications during the COVID-19 response
    • 2020 Farm to Summer Challenge Toolkit
    • 2020 Taste Arizona Tier Structure Note
    • 2020 Farm to Summer Rubric
    • Register for the Challenge

     

    • 2020 Farm to Summer Challenge: Recorded Webinar and Webinar Slides (held on 2/26/2020)

    This webinar reviews the 2020 Farm to Summer Challenge details, including shared best practices from previous summer challenge programs in Arizona.

    Farm to preschool is an exciting program for children 0-5 focusing on healthy eating habits. Examples of farm to preschool activities include farm visits, school gardening, local food taste tests, taste education, local food preparation and cooking education, parent education on access to local foods, and serving locally grown foods during snacks and meals.

    Benefits include:

    • Investing in Arizona’s local ranchers and farmers thereby supporting the local economy
    • Helping meet the nutrition requirements of federal child nutrition programs by providing access to fresh and healthy food
    • Supporting education initiatives by providing innovative learning opportunities in and outside of the classroom

    Statistics

    • 2015 National Farm to School Network ECE Results
    • Request only– Arizona Farm to Preschool Report 2017
    • Coming soon – 2018 National Farm to School Network ECE Survey

    National Resources

    • National Farm to School Network (NFTSN) is an information, advocacy and networking hub for committees working to bring local food sourcing and food and agriculture education into school systems and preschools. NFTSN hosts a farm to preschool subcommittee where members oversee content submitted to farmtoschool.org website and the organization of the preschool network.
    • USDA’s Office of Community Food Systems: Farm to Preschool offers information around farm to preschool as it relates to the Child and Adult Care Food Program.
    • COVID-19: Guidance to Child Nutrition Operators
    • P-EBT Issuance for SY 20-21
    • Providing Meals During the School Day
      • National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program
    • Providing Meals/Snacks in Childcare and Adult Care
      • Child Care Centers
      • Family Day Care Homes
      • Adult Care Centers
      • Emergency Shelters
    • Providing Meals/Snacks After School
      • Afterschool Care Snack Program and At-Risk Afterschool Meals
    • Providing Meals/Snacks During the Summer
      • Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option
    • HNS/USDA Memos
    • Free and Reduced-Price Percentage Report
    • Civil Rights
    • Submit Data Request

    Contact

    • Health & Nutrition Services
    • (602) 542-8700

    From the Health and Nutrition Services Blog

    Arizona Farm to School Network Virtual Gathering. Register today! Wed, Feb 24 2021

    Don’t miss this year’s virtual gathering. Join us to celebrate Arizona's Farm to School progress despite COVID-19!

     

    Congratulations to Concordia Charter School for receiving a School Year 2019-2020 FFVP BRAVOcado! Excellence Award! Tue, Nov 17 2020

    ADE has awarded Concordia Charter School a FFVP BRAVOcado! Excellence Award for their Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) operations during school year 2019-2020.

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