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Colorado Farm to School Updates
September 2015

Back to School!

The best part of going back to school is seeing your old friends and what is growing in your school garden (okay, maybe the latter is a "memory" we're hoping to cultivate!). And, of course, nothing's better than preparing a meal from your garden's bounty. For some great ideas, check out the recipes in the Colorado Farm to School Cookbook for families.

Happening Now

Colorado

The Denver Green School's Farm

7-News and its national affiliates aired a news clip about how Denver is farming its own land. Learn more about this innovative farm to school model.
 

Colorado Proud School Meal Day

This year on September 30th, schools across the state will participate in the annual Colorado Proud School Meal Day. School food services, producers, school administrators, and parents can be proud to be part of this important celebration of local agriculture and healthy fresh school lunches.


National

Most Americans Support FTS Programs

Just released are the results from the 2015 School Food Survey conducted by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Close to 9 out of 10 people want to see an increase in FTS programming, a USA Today article reports. Along with a desire to improve water drinking habits, the overall results showed more confidence in the quality of public school meals and support for increasing government funding.
 

Webinars from The Lunch Box

Kids Eat Real Food – Marketing and Lunchroom Education
Join Curry Rosato, Farm to School and Events Coordinator and Chef Ann Cooper, Director of Boulder Valley School District, Boulder, CO to learn the techniques that have brought Boulder’s kids back to the lunch program and raised participation every year since 2009.  Learn marketing best practices and turn your students into “real food” aficionados.
When: Thursday, September 24th, Noon - 1:00 p.m. MST. REGISTER HERE.

The Numbers - Financial Management and Data Tracking
Join Nancy Howatt, The Lunch Box expert on Fiscal Management in school food programs.  With over two decades of school district administration experience, Nancy will guide you through the critical areas for fiscally managing your program while taking on new challenges of scratch cooking, facility acquisition and improvement, assessing revenue opportunities and more.  The Lunch Box fiscal tools were developed to provide you with information to make good management decisions while not adding significant time to your work load, join us!
When: Thursday, October 22nd, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. MST  REGISTER HERE



Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs

This newly released USDA guide covers procurement basics, defining local, where to find local products, and the variety of ways schools can purchase locally in accordance with regulations. Check out the new guide for sample solicitation language, detailed geographic preference examples and helpful resources!
 

October is National Farm to School Month!

National Farm to School month was designated by Congress in 2010 to demonstrate the growing importance of farm to school programs as a means to improve child nutrition, support local economies and educate children about the origins of food. Find resources to support this celebration from National Farm to School Network.
 

Gems You May Have Missed

USDA "Growing Roots in Farm to School" 2015 Webinar Series

This 11-part webinar series will help you build your farm to school skills and develop new strategies for bringing local foods into the lunchroom. 
 

Evaluate your Farm to School Program

The FTS Evaluation Toolkit is a resource to help farm to school programs of all sizes, in all states, undertake evaluation. The toolkit walks you through each step of an evaluation and includes data collection instruments. Access the toolkit and the companion webinar training series today!
 

Garden as Classroom Manual

Boulder Valley School District has just released its school garden manual. The comprehensive manual provides direction on how to get started, seasonal planting advice, harvesting, garden maintenance, pest and soil management, season extension, and many resources including curriculum, funding opportunities, and research articles. A USDA Farm to School grant supported this effort.

 

Upcoming Events

9/2
Colorado FTS Task Force Quarterly Meeting
10am - 2pm, Durango, CO

9/9
Colorado FTS Task Force Core Team Meeting
9am - 11am, Mile High United Way

9/24
Kids Eat Real Food
Noon-1pm, Webinar

9/30
Colorado Proud School Meal Day

 
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