Virginia Farm-to-School Week: Growing from the Grassroots
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Transcript of Virginia Farm-to-School Week: Growing from the Grassroots
Virginia Farm-to-School Week: Virginia Farm to School Week: Growing from GrassrootsMatt Benson
S i l Th k
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Virginia Department of Agric lt re Leanne D Bois
Special Thanks
• Virginia Department of Agriculture- Leanne DuBois
• Virginia Department of Education-g pCatherine Digilio-Grimes
• Virginia Farm to School Work Group• Virginia Farm-to-School Work Group
• Virginia Food System Council- 501c3
• National Farm-t0-School Network
• USDA- Jimmy Nguyen
Th O i
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Th Ch ll• VA schools currently spend more
The OpportunityThe Challenge• Over 92% of farms gross VA schools currently spend more
than $6 million annually on fresh produce
• Over 92% of farms gross < $100,000
• VA FFVP funding will increase to $2.4 million for the 2010-2011 school year
• 1% of total Ag sales are direct marketing
y
• If $0.25 a day per student lunch were devoted to purchasing
• Organic Ag: 12% => ~91%
p glocally grown Virginia farm products, more than $30.7 million would be reinvested
• Average age of farmer= 58 years old
annually in Virginia’s farm economy and rural communities• Over 400 years of
agricultural ‘tradition’
B k d & Hi
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Background & HistoryVirginia Farm to School authorized in 2007 legislation • Virginia Farm-to-School authorized in 2007 legislation forming task force
• Co-led by Department of Agriculture and Department of Education with multiple partners
• No dedicated funding for “ VA F-2-S”▫ Duties within roles▫ Cooperative Extension- ‘capacity builder’
Ed ti il t j t k d P• Education, pilot projects, work group, and Programs
Fi W k G
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First steps… Work Group
• Convened in July 2009
• Representatives from public, private and non-profit / community-based organizations
• Multidisciplinary, focused on F-2-C
• Communication, awareness building, leadership
• 2009 Farm-to-School Week first activity
2009 W k
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2009 Week2nd week of November• 2nd week of November
• Every region of Virginia participatedy g g p p
• ~35 divisions participated
• Support from public, private and CBOs- local, regional and state
• Sourced over 36 different foods- dairy, fruits, veggies d tand meats…
▫ Special emphasis on Virginia apples
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2009 Week
• Participation varied…▫ 1 product, 1 meal, 1 day, several days, several
f d ll kfoods, all week
• Worked with community food enterprises• Worked with community food enterprises▫ Local Food Hub- Charlottesville▫ Fall Line Farms Online Market- RichmondFall Line Farms Online Market Richmond
• Included farmer visits to schools and classroom learning activities
L i l i S
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Legislative Success
• Found a key ally- House Delegate Ed Scott
• National policy review- Discovered Maryland home grown lunch bill
• Built a coalition of private, public and CBOs
• Joint Resolution (‘10)– HJ95 Officially establishing VA Farm-to-School Weekestablishing VA Farm to School Week▫ HB 398 (Lohr)
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Best PracticesPlan early• Plan early
• Use existing communication networksg
• Form interdisciplinary partnerships
• Engage audiences across the region or state
• Small steps are good steps
• Communicate w/ local stakeholders▫ Invite decision-makers to events
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Best PracticesU ili l• Utilize volunteers
• Find a local championFind a local champion
• Do not use a black box approach▫ Build into existing food system projects- farmers
markets, BF BL campaigns, new business development
• Evaluate and celebrate
We have resources to share:▫ Media releases, “Getting Started” pub, policy template
F S
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Future Steps• Official 2010 Farm to School Week• Official 2010 Farm-to-School Week
• Infrastructure development- production food • Infrastructure development production, food hubs, processing, distribution
• School and community gardening
• Assessment:▫ Week▫ Program
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S
i l i ' l d
Successes
• PBS Special- America's Heartland
USDA T ti l T i it H i b Cit • USDA Tactical Team visit- Harrisonburg City Public School System
• Silver Diner Restaurant Program
• Diverse collaboration