Farm To School Home
Farm to School: More local fresh fruits and vegetables and other farm products that feed children in schools for meals and for snacks. Educational activities that help extend and strengthen the changes happening in the school cafeteria. Grades Pre-K through 12.
Farm to Cafeteria: Specifically the fresh foods part of Farm to School.
Farm to College: Similar to Farm to School, but for College level.
Farm to School Education: Those educational activities mentioned above that can include many associated disciplines such as nutrition and health, cooking, agriculture basics, cultural history, environmental studies, outdoor education and activities such as composting and recycling, farmers in the classroom, school gardens, and field trips to farms and other food system sites.
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New book: “Call of the Land: an Agrarian Primer for the 21st Century”
Post Date: December 3, 2009
“Food and farms are involved in a blitzkrieg of changes,” writes veteran journalist Steven McFadden in The Call of the Land, published this October by NorLightsPress. The book gives voice to a growing chorus of 21st century agrarians who are demonstrating a new vision for food and agriculture.
In a time of stark challenges to our food and farms — both globally and nationally — this affordably priced sourcebook presents basic agrarian theory concisely and then offers readers dozens upon dozens of proven creative responses to the call of the land. These working models are supplying hundreds of thousands of families with clean, fresh food, restoring the environment, and providing dignified work in nature.
Subtitled “An Agrarian Primer for the 21st Century,” the book documents a broad range of positive pathways to food security, economic stability, environmental health, and cultural renewal. The surging range of creative, innovative responses — from individuals, communities, cities, churches, colleges, and other institutions — is both practical and inspirational. These models can — and need to be — widely emulated now.
Among the dozens of positive pathways featured in the book:
· The Food Depot of Santa Fe, NM, encourages home gardeners to plant an extra row for the hungry and donate the produce to local food pantries.
· A Pasadena, CA family’s urban homestead grows 6,000 pounds of produce on a mere fifth of an acre.
· Colleges, universities, and schools across America are pioneering pathways for clean campus food.
· Milwaukee’s Growing Power empowers inner-city youth to raise healthy foods and reduce their community’s risk of obesity and diabetes.
· American Farmland Trust protects over 1 million acres of farmland.
· Canada’s City Farmer teaches people how to plant and harvest edible rooftops.
· Sharing Backyards in Vancouver, B.C., links property owners with landless gardeners.
· North American gardeners and farmers are extending the growing season with cold frames, hoop houses, and high tunnels.
· Farmers markets and CSAs can accept food stamps to increase access to fresh produce.
· Food-shed co-op distribution sites help small-scale farmers reach their markets while avoiding costly deliveries.
· Appalachia’s Growing Minds serves local foods in the schools, offers farm field trips and nutrition education, and hosts a school garden.
Steven McFadden is co-author with Trauger Groh of Farms of Tomorrow (1991), America’s first book on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). The volume helped inspire the movement to grow from two farms in the late 1980s to thousands, with hundreds of thousands of shareholders, in 2009. Whole Earth News named Farms of Tomorrow “the best book to access the CSA movement.” Farms of Tomorrow Revisited (1998) recounts the lessons learned.
A journalism graduate of Boston University, he is the author of six other non-fiction titles, including: The Legend of the Rainbow Warriors; Profiles in Wisdom: Native Elders Speak About the Earth; and The Little Book of Native American Wisdom. His epic Odyssey of the 8th Fire chronicles a prophetic transcontinental walk in 1995-96 (www.8thFire.net). A longtime resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, McFadden now resides in Lincoln, Nebraska. He is promoting The Call of the Land with his partner, writer and editor Elizabeth Wolf, founder of Good Medicine Media.
To order The Call of the Land:
http://www.norlightspress.com/our-books-cotl.html
For more information:
Author’s blog: http://www.thecalloftheland.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Call-of-the-Land/15833348577#/pages/The-Call-of-the-Land/158333485770?ref=ts
Topics: Resources and Publications |
New Mexico Organic Farming Conference February 19-20, 2010
Post Date: November 30, 2009
CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION.
It’s time for New Mexico’s premier organic farming conference! This year’s conference will be held at the Marriott Pyramid North in Albuquerque on Friday and Saturday February 19th and 20th, 2010. The event includes:
- Welcome by Dr. Miley Gonzalez, Secretary of the NM Department of Agriculture
- Keynote by US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, Kathleen Merrigan (invited)
- Delicious organic meal and snacks with a focus on locally produced items
- Over 30 sessions on crops, livestock, weed and pest management, market gardening, and farm support. Sessions are taught by experienced organic producers and experts in the field. Get all the details by downloading the CONFERENCE PROGRAM.
Registration for the conference is now open. Click here to register online. Or, if you want to pay by check, click here to download the registration form. Print the form, make the check payable to Farm to Table and send your check and completed registration form to:
Le Adams
Farm to Table
618 B Paseo de Peralta
Santa Fe, NM 87501
The New Mexico Organic Farming Conference is organized by Farm to Table, the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, NMSU Cooperative Extension Service, and the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission. Conference sponsors include: La Montanita Coop, Los Poblanos Organics, NMDA, the Silver City Food Co-op, Acres USA and Sparrow Hawk Farm.
For more information contact Le Adams at 505-473-1004 x 10 or Joanie Quinn at 505.841-9067.
Topics: Farm To Table Conferences, Workshops, and Trainings |
Scaling Up Workshops: How to grow more, sell more and make more
Post Date: October 21, 2009
Consumer demand for local foods is growing and Farm to Table, NMDA, and NMSU and University of Arizona Coop Extension are teaming up to offer a series of two workshops that will help farmers and ranchers in the Middle Rio Grande Valley and the Four Corners area to expand their businesses and meet this demand. The theme of the workshops is “Scaling Up: How to grow more, sell more and make more.”
In the first workshops, successful farmers from the area and beyond will present on their experience with:
- Community Supported Agriculture programs (CSAs),
- Selling to restaurants and institutions,
- Season extension for year round production and sales,
- Livestock marketing, and
- Diversifying product mix.
The workshops will also provide farmers and ranchers with the opportunity to meet in small groups with these farmers to think about which production and marketing improvements will work best for their own farms or ranches.
Workshop participants will be eligible to receive free, one-on-one consulting about their farm and ranch business.
The workshops will be held in the following three locations:
FARMINGTON
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
3pm to 8pm
First Presbyterian Church
865 North Dustin Avenue
SHIPROCK
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Shiprock Chapter House
US 64
10 am to 3 pm
BELEN
Saturday, November 14
Belen Public Library
333 Becker Ave
10am to 3pm
A $5 registration fee covers lunch or dinner and refreshments. To eat, YOU MUST RSVP one week before the workshop. For more information or to RSVP, contact Ilana Blankman at (505) 473-1004 x 12 or ilana.blankman@gmail.com.
Topics: Farm To Table Conferences, Workshops, and Trainings, Uncategorized |
Southwest Marketing Network Hosts Utah Urban Farming Conference
Post Date: October 20, 2009
November 16, 2009
Utah Cultural Celebration Center
West Valley City, Utah
Are you an urban farmer along the Wasatch Front, or are you interested in producing, processing, distributing, buying or supporting local foods along the Wasatch Front? Then join us for an opportunity to network and strategize. Click here for more information and online conference registration. Register today!
Topics: Farm To Table Conferences, Workshops, and Trainings |
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and Alliance for a Healthier Generation Release Book Showcasing Moms’ Creative Ways to Fight Childhood Obesity in Their Homes, Communities
Post Date: October 6, 2009
A new book featuring smart tips from moms on tough topics like cutting down screen time, getting your kids to eat more vegetables and increasing physical activity is available to any parent in the U.S. at low or no cost. The book is a product of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation. Susan Dell — healthy living advocate, co-founder of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and wife of tech legend Michael Dell — narrates the book. Be Well: Messages from Moms on Living Healthier Lives features the stories of 15 moms who are creatively finding ways to fight childhood obesity in their homes and communities.
Be Well is available free or at low cost online at www.BeWellBook.org, in English and Spanish versions, and through local schools and community centers around the nation. The aim of the book is to make it accessible to any parent who wants to start their children on a healthy path.
“Obesity crosses all socio-economic lines, but the moms featured in Be Well don’t have the resources that many other moms do,” said Susan Dell, co-founder and chairman of the board of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. “What they do possess is the creativity and determination to guide their children toward the healthiest lives possible and show us all that healthy living can be easy and inexpensive. I hope women across the country find a story in this book they can identify with and are inspired to jump-start healthy habits in their own homes, or even share their own personal story on the www.BeWellBook.org Web site.”
“We want to enable parents to take an active role in creating healthy lifestyles for their families, as it is an important piece of the puzzle in the fight against childhood obesity,” said Ginny Ehrlich, executive director of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. “It is our hope that the book will not only inspire families to create a healthier environment for their children at home, but that they will become active in creating healthy communities by joining the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Network.”
The foreword is written by Dr. William H. Dietz, M.D., PhD, Director, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity, at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The moms’ creative strategies in the book map to five levers Dr. Dietz attributes to preventing childhood obesity: 1) decreasing screen time, 2) decreasing high-energy density foods, 3) decreasing sugar-sweetened beverages, 4) increasing physical activity and 5) increasing fruits and vegetables.
A flavor of the moms and tips featured in Be Well: Messages from Moms on Living Healthier Lives:
–Debra in Harlem takes care of not only her own children, but also feeds upwards of 10 children on her own dime to ensure they have access to healthy food. She also finds creative serving techniques like “turkey hotdog necklaces” and “broccoli forests” to make healthy fare appealing to little ones.
–Ashley in Houston runs with her two young sons for at least 60 minutes each night to teach them the importance of physical activity and setting goals. Her eldest son’s grades and behavior improved since starting their nightly routine.
–Jamilia in Oakland had a family history of heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. As a 26-year-old mother of four, she made great efforts to cut out fast food by involving her kids in planning the weekly menu and rides the bus 30 minutes each week to buy fresh produce at a farmer’s market.
–Andrea in Tucson recognized the need to improve her family’s habits but wanted to honor her Mexican heritage and ancestors with her cooking. She adapted her culture’s traditional recipes and makes them healthier without sacrificing taste. Instead of frying beans and meats, she uses a slow cooker. Resources Behind the Book
The book was developed by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Dell family foundation advocates the need for childhood obesity prevention strategies to intervene at all levels of a child’s environment, including at the individual level, within families, within schools, and in the community. The foundation’s Health Portfolio reflects the passion of book narrator, Susan Dell, the co-founder and chairman of the board and the driving force behind the foundation. An accomplished athlete, Susan was a member of the President’s Council for Physical Fitness and Sports and is a board member of the Cooper Institute in Dallas. In the U.S. she is specifically focused on encouraging kids to be more physically active and promoting healthy eating. Dell also has four children of her own.
To obtain a copy of the book, go to www.BeWellBook.org. Parents can also submit their personal stories or the story of someone they know–and help others develop lifelong, healthy habits. Stories submitted may be published on www.BeWellBook.org.
Topics: Education, Resources and Publications |
The Community Food Projects (CFP) Request for Applications for FY2010 is Out!
Post Date: September 24, 2009
The Community Food Projects (CFP) Competitive Grants Program is the major funding source for community-based food and agriculture projects in the U.S. The Fiscal Year 2010 Request for Applications (RFA) was released September 23, with a deadline of November 19. The CFP Request for Applications describes what is funded and how to apply: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/community_food.html
There is no Letter of Intent process, so all applicants must submit a full proposal to be considered for funding. All proposals must be submitted electronically. If you plan to apply this year and are not already registered with grants.gov, it is important to start that process immediately, since it can take up to two months. More information and technical support contacts are available at: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/electronic.html.
If you are interested in applying for the CFP grant and want some help figuring out if your project is a good candidate and/or need some help putting your proposal together, Farm to Table can help. Contact Ilana Blankman at ilana.blankman@gmail.com or 505-473-1004 x 12.
Topics: Uncategorized |
New Food Safety Report
Post Date: September 24, 2009
A new food safety report, “Bridging the GAPS: Strategies to Improve Produce Safety, Preserve Farm Diversity and Strengthen Local Food Systems,” was recently released by Food and Water Watch and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. This timely report shows how current government and industry protocols and regulations intended to promote food safety often have the opposite effect by placing unfair burdens on farmers, confusing consumers, damaging the environment, and hindering the growth of local food systems.
Topics: National News, Uncategorized |
USDA’s Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative Launched Last Week
Post Date: September 24, 2009
The Department of Agriculture recently announced a new initiative, “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food,” (KYF2) led by Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan. According to the Department, this initiative “is the focus of a task force with representatives from agencies across USDA who will help better align the Department’s efforts to build stronger local and regional food systems.” This week alone, about $65 million in funding for KYF2 was announced. “Americans are more interested in food and agriculture than at any other time since most families left the farm,” said Merrigan. “‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ seeks to focus that conversation on supporting local and regional food systems to strengthen American agriculture by promoting sustainable agricultural practices and spurring economic opportunity in rural communities.”
Topics: National News |
Save the Date: NM Organic Farming Conference, February 19-20
Post Date: August 24, 2009
After a great conference in Las Cruces last year, the annual NM Organic Farming Conference will be headed back to Albuquerque in 2010. The conference program is being developed and lots of great speakers lined up, so mark you calendar and check back in a few months for conference details. For questions, contact Le Adams at ladams@cybermesa.com or (505) 473-1004 x10.
Topics: Farm To Table Conferences, Workshops, and Trainings |
Quivira Coalition Conference, November 4-6
Post Date: August 24, 2009
Join the Quivira Coalition for their bi-annual conference:
“Living Leopold: Land Ethic and a New Agrarianism”
held at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Albuquerque, NM
Wednesday to Friday, November 4-6, 2009
The event will include pre-conference workshops on Induced Meandering (a way to restore streambed channels) as well as Range School (this year’s focus is the harmony between livestock and wildlife). Conference topics will include land health, conservation, beauty, sustainable agriculture, restoration, and the land ethic.
For more information or to register online, go to www.quiviracoalition.org.
Topics: Farm To Table Conferences, Workshops, and Trainings |
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