Students at Carrollton Exempted Village School District growing lettuce with the Lettuce Grow Towers. WATCH: Chieri Kubota Talks Controlled Environment Plant Systems Welcome! Welcome to the January edition of the Ohio Farm to School Newsletter featuring Ohio Hydroponics! Hydroponic growing is a form of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) which focuses heavily on the manipulation of light, temperature, water, and nutrients to grow plants. The most common crops grown in controlled environments are lettuce, kale, spinach, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and strawberries. The year-round accessibility of hydroponics provides engaging experiences for students, bringing agriculture education into the classroom and beyond. According to Chieri Kubota, professor of controlled environment agriculture in OSU’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, students with greenhouse related jobs are in high […]
Ohio Farm to School Success Stories
Gardening and Nutrition Education Activities
Although Americans are spending time quarantining, there are plenty of positives to staying home together.
#1 it is finally spring and the perfect time to start a garden!
#2 Because families are spending time together at home, it’s a great time to spend some time gardening together.
Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio Department of Health director, recommends getting outdoors and spending time gardening.
“We need to get people outside doing the thing that is great for mental health. We can also be sharing some of those plants, doing some of that gardening, getting out of doors, single handedly can be alone. Being out there in nature is going to help you feel better,” said Dr. Acton.
Below is a list of Farm to School activities that have been adjusted to fit the current lifestyle- have fun taking Farm to School home!
#1 Plant A Seed Day: The at-home activity and resource guide for Plant a Seed Day! These activities will keep you busy all day long!
#2 Garden Journal: Start a garden journal to observe and track what is happening in your garden! What do you see, hear, and smell? If you haven’t started a garden yet, make sure to create a journal once you do have a garden to observe! 
#3 Mini Garden: The guide to starting a miniature garden! Build your own small landscape indoors or outdoors with materials found around the house!
#4 SEEDS Guided Activities: The SEEDS activities from Scotts Miracle Gro, including pre-planned activities for every season!
#5 Seed Viewers: Super simple and fun to watch, these bean seeds in clear plastic cups allow young gardeners to watch seeds sprout and introduce them to the life cycle of plants. More at home activities from Kids Gardening can be found here.
#6 Harvest For Healthy Kids: A free evidence-based curriculum! Check out Harvest for Healthy Kids 13 FREE activity kits with activities, books and recipes that could keep you busy at home year-round!
#7 Exploring Hydroponics: Kids are always amazed to see plants growing without soil. This simple kid-powered system gives them a chance to experiment and explore hydroponic basics.
#8 Dairy Coloring Book: Break out some coloring pencils, crayons or markers and dive into the Undeniably Dairy coloring book! 
#9 Growing Great Tasters: The Growing Great Tasters activity! As a family try one new fruit or vegetable every day for a week and record what you like!
#10 Relax and Read A Book! After so many active gardening activities, take some time to relax and read a book. Growing Minds children’s has a great collection of children’s gardening literature and many more activities!
For help or questions about gardening, contact your county's Extension office here. Find updated gardening information for Ohio on the Growing Franklin site.
Early Childhood Education Tour Through Ohio Apple Orchard
Ohio State University Extension, Wood County celebrated the Great Apple Crunch by sharing how local apples are grown with preschoolers and families Meet your tour guide, Emmett and Doug Haslinger from Haslinger Orchards LLC in the below video!
Apple Crunch Count in Knox County
Over 280,000 Ohioans (including 213,000 K-12 students) celebrated National Farm to School Month in October by collectively purchasing and crunching Ohio grown apples for the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch. Mrs. Jones Second Grade class at Dan Emmett Elementary continued the Crunch by tracking the apples the students ate throughout the month of October. Overall, the class ate 73 apples! Thanks to Tanner Cooper-Risser, Ohio State University Extension SNAP Ed Educator in Knox County for sharing this Apple Crunch class activity! See more Apple Crunch stories and examples on the Ohio Farm to School Facebook page HERE!
Farm to School Network Meeting December 9th
Join the Ohio Farm to School Advisory and State Network meetings to connect with statewide participating in Farm to School efforts throughout Ohio. All 2020 meetings are on Thursdays from 9:30 am–noon. Meetings will be held virtually until further notice. To register for the December 9th meeting, click here.
USDA Farm to School Grant FY2022 Request for Applications (RFA) Now Available!
FY2022 Request for Applications (RFA) Now Available! The Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Farm to School Grant Program RFA is now available through www.Grants.gov. Be sure to visit the Grant Applicants Resources page to access other helpful resources, including links to webinars that provide specific assistance on applying for a Farm to School Grant. The solicitation officially opened October 22, 2021 and will remain open until 11:59pm ET on January 10, 2022. USDA expects to award approximately $12 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the Farm to School Grant Program in FY 2022. Each grant helps implement farm to school programs that increase access to local food in Child Nutrition Program (CNP) meals, connect children with agriculture for better health, […]
2021 Great Apple Crunch Registration is OPEN!
It’s official! The 2021 Great Apple Crunch is scheduled for noon on Thursday, October 14, 2021. Join over 300,000 Ohio youth and adults in crunching to celebrate Ohio farmers, healthy kids, and strong communities this October. Participating in the Crunch is simple: buy, serve, and Crunch into locally grown apples! Since 2014, we have highlighted National Farm to School Month and our local farmers with MILLIONS of Crunches across the region. Register your Crunch to make it official, add to the Crunch count, get the scoop on purchasing and serving local apples, and receive the Crunch Guide and lesson plans. Everyone is invited to Crunch to reach our Midwest regional goal of 1 MILLION CRUNCHES in 2021! Noon on Thursday, October 14, 2021 […]
2021 USDA Farm to School Grant Recipients
Congratulations to all eight Ohio recipients of the 2021 USDA Farm to School Grants! These are all such exciting projects that will advance buying, serving, and teaching about local foods in Ohio. Learn more about the grant awardees here.
High School Garden Take Home Kits
High School Environmental Science Take Home Kit Success Story With many students learning virtually from their homes this school year, fun, engaging and hands-on projects can be hard to come by. Dublin Jerome Environmental Science teacher, Ashley Dulin-Smith filled this gap by giving her 50 high school students two educational garden projects to do at home. To make these projects possible, Dulin-Smith gathered materials from donors and made an Amazon wish list that successfully drew requested packages to her doorstep, sometimes sent by strangers who had happened to see the wish list. With the help of these donations, her 50 high school students who have been engaged in hands-on learning throughout the winter! 1. Aquaponics Kits These easy to assemble […]
Ohio Department of Agriculture Accepting Specialty Crop Grant Proposals March 1 – April 15
Assistance available to promote fruits, vegetables, flowers and nut crops in Ohio REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (March 1, 2021) – The Ohio Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications for the 2021 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program. To qualify, the grants must be used to support projects that raise awareness about and increase demand for specialty crops grown in Ohio. Eligible specialty crops include fresh fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture. Successful grant applications should explain how projects will improve specialty crop production through marketing and promotions, research, and development, expanding availability and access to specialty crops, or addressing local, regional, and national challenges confronting specialty crop producers. Preference will be given to projects […]
2020 Ohio Farm to School Highlights
Click HERE to see the 2020 Ohio Farm to School Highlights!
