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
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.
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.
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.
Date
Topic
Archives
July 15, 2020
Soil Structure & Bulding Robust Soil Systems with Emily Rockey
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:
Increase exposure of vegetable subgroups that meet meal pattern requirements
Increasing consumption and acceptability of vegetable subgroups
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
