Congratulations to Broome-Tioga BOCES on their recent New York State Farm to School Grant award! We are excited to partner with BOCES on this initiative to construct a warehouse facility, which will improve and add capacity to the New York Thursday Farm to School program! The warehouse will alleviate distribution barriers and significantly increase New York State procurement for 31,290 students in 15 school districts. This project builds on several years of collaboration with Broome-Tioga BOCES Food Service and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County. A big thank you to our partners and to our NYS representatives for investing in farm to school! Click here to read the full press release and learn about other farm to school programs in NYS!
The Farm to School team visited Chenango Bridge Elementary for NY Thursday on February 6. Students enjoyed Southwest Chicken Chili and were given the opportunity to enter a raffle to win an age appropriate cookbook. Students loved the opportunity to interact with our team and take photos with the new farm to school photo frame, made by our team!
March is National Nutrition Month! We are partnering with Broome-Tioga BOCES and CCE Broome on a nutrition campaign across 15 BOCES school districts to highlight the importance of "eating right, bite by bite" and physical activity for a healthy lifestyle. Broome County Executive Jason Garner will officially declare March as National Nutrition Month. Additionally, March 2nd through the 6th is National School Breakfast Week. This week is meant to emphasize the importance of a nutritious breakfast.
Binghamton City School District, FaHN, BOCES, Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) Broome County, and the Roosevelt Elementary Wellness Committee have teamed up to put on a nutrition and wellness expo at Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School on March 11th. From 9 to 11 am and 1 to 2:30 pm every class in the school will have a chance to rotate through activity stations with educators from local community organizations and farms.
Stations will feature a variety of activities framed around nutrition and wellness, including a seed starting activity using re-purposed milk cartons for a national Carton 2 Garden competition that could result in the school receiving up to $5,000 for school garden materials. In addition to the expo, CCE educators and FaHN's Farm to School AmeriCorps members will be offering nutrition education during the month for Roosevelt students. We hope to add enrichment through our programming and emphasize our community's dedication to making our schools a place for healthy eating, activity, and development.
Last month we held another luncheon for FVRx participants at the George F. Johnson Memorial Library in Endicott! Participants were welcome to come, meet fellow participants and interact with the FVRx team, share a delicious meal, and take a gift bag with cooking essentials. To learn more about the Southern Tier Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, click the button below!
We hosted our fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Poverty Simulation at Binghamton University on January 25 in collaboration with Hinman College of BU, AmeriCorps and VISTA members, and the Food Bank of the Southern Tier's Speakers Bureau! Poverty simulations are designed for participants to gain an understanding of the challenges that people face while living in poverty. During the debrief section, participants discussed structural barriers that exist within society which prohibit upward mobility. If you are interested in volunteering in a future poverty simulation contact Tom Lewis at tlewis@rhnscny.org.
Need Something to Read?
Farm to Institultion New York State (FINYS) and American Farmland Trust recently published a report entitled Growing Opportunity for Farm to School. You can find that report here.
Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land, by Leah Penniman, is a book by an Albany-based farm owner, Leah Penniman, working to end racism and injustice in the food system. If you are interested in learning more or purchasing the book, you can find more information here.
News from Our Network
Job Opportunities
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County is seeking an Executive Director. This position provides high-level leadership to the association, within Cornell and local policy direction. The Executive Director builds and maintains positive relationships with partners as well as with employees of the association itself, while overseeing program activities and operations.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County is seeking a Nutrition Issue Leader. The Nutrition Issue Leader will oversee the planning and implementation of nutrition programming through CCE Tompkins. Also, they will interact with the public and serve the diverse needs of the community through their work.
Cornell Cooperative Extension- Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research is seeking a 4-H Health, Wellness, and Food Systems Specialist. This individual will support the development and implementation of 4-H programming in the areas of agriculture and food systems, including hunger and food insecurity. They will also support educational programming in CCE that helps youth understand the connections between agriculture and food systems, health and wellness, community sustainability, equity and social justice, and supports community engagement and exploration of career pathways.
Upcoming Events
The NYS Farm to School Institute is in its second year and accepting applications for 2020-2021 school teams! You can learn more about this opportunityhere and register for the informational webinar here.
The Farmers Market Manager's Conference is holding an event from March 3-4, 2020 entitled "Building Markets that Meet the Needs of our Stakeholders". Learn morehere.For more information, contact the Farmers Market Federation of NY at deggert@nyfarmersmarket.com or call 315-400-1447.
If you would like to view more open job positions, events, and other news please follow the button below to visit our Food for Thought Blog!
Value-Added Producer Grant Program
Application deadline: March 5, 2020. Learn more here.
Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program
Application deadline: March 19, 2020. Learn more here.
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Foundational and Applied Science Program Application deadline: November 18, 2020 (LOI due February-March). Learn more here.
John May Farm Safety Fund
Application deadline: applications selected on an ongoing basis. Learn more here.
Entergy Micro Grants
Application deadline: applications selected on an ongoing basis. Learn more here.
Sponsoring Conference Participation for Organizations in New York
Application deadline: applications selected on an ongoing basis. Learn more here.
