We are excited to share updates from the 2014 Farm to School (F2S) workshops. Over 200 Ohioans participated in the workshops presented around the state in April, June, and October. A lot of these people are in roles— as teachers, food service personnel, administrators—that can determine whether or not F2S will be integrated into their school systems to help students to be healthier, by providing more local foods and educating students about their sources. OSU Extension F2S is pleased to have reached participants from many areas of Ohio. We have been able to connect local schools to local farms, and know many schools plan to implement F2S activities within the next 6 months to a year as a result of their participation in the workshops. How exciting is that?!
For those readers out there who do not know what Farm to School is, let me introduce you briefly. We are a national effort, with lead organizations in each state. In Ohio, it is led by Ohio State University Extension. Ohio F2S staff are the messengers for Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, which has programs and partnerships across all 88 counties. We offer trainings and resources to help students pre-K through college to have an increased awareness of and access to nutritional foods raised and grown here in Ohio, to promote healthier lifestyles, and to support the local economy by putting school dollars back into the community.
How is this done? Our workshop sessions include:
- What’s happening with Farm to School
- Purchasing local foods for schools
- Food safety and awareness
- Making connections with local producers
- The education connection – school gardens and more
Our F2S program director Carol Smathers stated, “The workshops help teach participants how to identify food safety practices for using local foods in school food service, identify resources for connecting local producers with local school food service and use direct marketing tools to develop networks for procuring and supplying local foods”. To finish off the year we have scheduled one more regional F2S workshop for December 5 in Yellow Springs.
Now, just because this program is for schools and farmers in particular, doesn’t mean those on an individual scale can’t be involved too. By coming to these workshops you can learn more about the food you buy and where it comes from. When you make a direct connection with a farmer on the individual scale, you can just go buy what you need from them whenever it’s in season and believe me, many farmers are thrilled to have regular customers that are from the private sector. So come on down and get involved. It’s a lot of fun, and a choice you won’t regret as you can not only taste, but see the difference in your own lives as well as having that face-to-face contact that can be enriching to everyone’s lives.
So, go here to sign up for the December 5th workshop in Yellow Springs. You will also want to save the date for the statewide F2S conference on March 5, 2015, in Columbus. These are sure to be exciting and we encourage all farmers, food producers, and school district employees, as well as anyone else who would like to further expand F2S efforts, to come and learn from each other to ensure a better, brighter, and healthier future.
For more information visit our Facebook for news and updates here: https://www.facebook.com/OhioFarm2School or visit our website http://farmtoschool.osu.edu/. Register for the workshop at: https://www.regonline.com/Register/Checkin.aspx?EventID=870815.
Oh, and look for our brand new website coming out early next year! It is beautiful and is going to be a great source of information.
