virginia farm-to-school week: growing from the grassroots
DESCRIPTION
Matt Benson of the Virginia Cooperative Extension presents on Virginia's Farm to School program that sourced local foods for one week statewide. Presented during the workshop : 3 Places, 3 Approaches: Farm to School Weeks in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DCTRANSCRIPT
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
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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
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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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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