Schoharie Central School District is among 12 schools in upstate New York and New England selected for the fourth annual Northeast Farm to School (FTS) Institute, a program that advances food, farm, and nutrition education and expands student access to healthy, local products in school cafeterias.
The year-long professional development program is coordinated by Shelburne Farms, Vermont, and Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont through their Vermont FEED initiative.
Schoharie was selected following a competitive application process, which demonstrated to the selection committee the district’s commitment and readiness to realize a viable Farm to School program by the program’s year end.
The Northeast FTS Institute supports selected schools from across the Northeast in design, development, and implementation of effective, school-wide Farm to School programs.
From June 26-28, Schoharie Farm to School team members Sarah Blood, Marion Jaqueway, Andrea Polikoski, Lauralee Brooks, Joyln Borst and Alicia Terry participated in the Northeast FTS Institute’s three-day kick-off in Shelburne.
They joined other teams of food service staff, educators, administrators and community partners in meeting with peers and experts to expand their understanding and practices of FTS.
The teams developed action plans for the coming school year in collaboration with an experienced FTS coach, with whom they will continue working during the school year to implement their programs.
They will also integrate best practices such as farm visits, gardening and cooking activities, serving seasonal foods in school cafeterias and offering food-based, hands-on science, math and literacy lessons.
“Schoharie Central School is part of an agriculturally based community.
“Our students are surrounded by some of the best farm fresh products in the country,” said Ms. Blood, Schoharie CSD school business administrator.
“As a district, we want our students to have access to those products in their cafeteria and understand where their food comes from.”
Schoharie Central School currently purchases some produce locally and would like to do more.
The district plans to include more New York-grown and raised products in school lunches and increase students’ and families’ understanding of where their food comes from and exciting ways to use whole foods.
In addition to Schoharie, schools selected for the 2018-19 Institute include: Rombout Middle School, Beacon; Bennington County Head Start, Bennington, Vermont; Captain Albert Stevens School, Belfast, Maine; Codman Academy Charter Public School, Dorchester, Massachusetts; Groton Public Schools, Groton, Connecticut; Hamburg Central School District, Hamburg; Kenneth A. Brett School, Tamworth, New Hampshire; Lamoille North Modified Unified Union School District, Hyde Park, Vermont; Mt Pleasant High School, Providence, Rhode Island; Peoples Academy and Morristown Elementary School, Morristown, Vermont, and Sidney Central School District.
The Northeast FTS Institute has been nationally recognized and modeled by other states.
Northeast FTS leaders come from all six New England states, New York, Mississippi, Georgia and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
“As an early leader in Farm to School, Vermont has many lessons learned to share with other states,” said Betsy Rosenbluth, Vermont FEED Project Director.
“In the past, Vermont’s Farm to School grants program, which was the first in the country, was used as a model as the USDA developed the National Farm to School Grant Program. We’re excited to now share our Institute as a model for whole-school professional development for Farm to School.”
Over eight years, the Institute has supported FTS programs at 74 schools and districts, reaching over 54,000 Northeast students.
The Institute also plays a major role in achieving the Vermont Farm to School Network’s ambitious statewide goal for growth: By 2025, 75 percent of schools will engage in integrated FTS programming, and 50 percent of school food will be purchased from local or regional sources.
According to the 2016 USDA Farm to School Census, 61 percent of New York schools now serve some locally grown foods, and another 16 percent of districts surveyed plan to start farm to school activities in the future.
Beyond the classroom, a recent report commissioned by the USDA found that $45,324,500 is invested in local food in New York with the average school district spending 11 percent of their budget on local products.