Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch 2019 What is Farm to School? Has your program ever grown a plant, served local food or taught about nutrition or agriculture? If so, you have participated in Farm to School efforts. If you haven’t participated in Farm to School activities, get started with the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch! The Great Lakes states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio celebrate National Farm to School Month ➚, nutritious meals and local farmers by crunching into locally and regionally grown apples at NOON on Thursday, October 10, 2019. Although we aim for a collective Crunch heard ‘round the region on October 10 at noon, you are welcome to Crunch any day or time in […]
Ohio Farm to School News
COVID 19 Resources for Farm to School and ECE
These resources from the National Farm to School Network can be found here.
Knowledge Exchange COVID 19 HUB
A new website with science-based information and research on COVID-19 from The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences launched April
7th. The KX COVID-19 Hub is a collaboration between The Knowledge Exchange, Ohio State University Extension, and the CFAES statewide network of researchers and faculty. Visit kx.osu.edu/covid-19 for a collection of resources, tools, and links to help Ohio communities weather the crisis.
Founded in 2019, The Knowledge Exchange (KX) is a support platform in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences bringing research to the public in an unbiased and interactive way.
Read past editions of This Week for more funding opportunities, webinars and events, jobs, and ways to take action to support farm to school growth across the country.
2020 Meeting Dates
Ohio Farm to School State Network and Advisory 2020 Meeting Dates: March 5, June 4, September 3, December 3 Join the Ohio Farm to School Advisory and State Network meetings to connect with organizations, state agencies, and schools participating in Farm to School efforts throughout Ohio. All 2020 meetings are on Thursdays from 9:30 am–noon with a networking lunch from noon–1 pm. Meetings will be held at the Franklin County Extension building at 2548 Carmack Rd, Columbus, OH 43210. If you plan to attend the June 4 meeting, please register here.
Farm Fare Produce Vendor
Farm Fare was created when the three co-founders approached the same problem, but through three different lenses. Laura Adiletta, a former chef and food writer, aimed to improve ability for restaurants and food service kitchens to order superior quality product from local growers. Cullen Naumoff, wanted to get off the road and move freight more efficiently. And, Dan Conway, co-founder of Great Lakes Brewing Company, knew there was an better way to be stewards of the land. These lenses revealed a need for a new way of doing business and utilizing existing and often underutilized resources in the regional food system. Farm Fare reimagines the local food supply chain by equipping economies of collaboration to compete with the economies of […]
Seminary Hill Farm
An Ohio seminary is offering hands on training to its students on growing food. They are focused on being both a place of learning and a place to gather and celebrate fresh, local food. The Methodist Theological School in Ohio (MTSO) near Delaware founded Seminary Hill Farm (SHF) in 2013. They began raising food for their dining service in the spring of 2014. Tadd Petersen the manager of Farm and Food at SHF said, “We have raised far too many different crops to list them all. This season we raised roughly 30 different crops at around 80 different varieties. Baby greens are our specialty (and our most profitable crop).” They provided $26,000 worth of produce to the school’s dining hall […]
Bexley City Schools Enjoys Harvest of the Month
Pictured: Kristin Peters, Franklin Co. Public Health, Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, and Juli Carvi director of food services at Bexley City Schools “School food does not have to be great, it just needs to be good,” explained Juli Carvi, the director of food services at Bexley City Schools. She thinks she has the best job in the school, because it is rewarding for her to make kids happy (with lunch) and she does not have to worry about giving them grades. “I have found zero resistance while implementing a Farm to School program in my district. The hardest part is the leg work and going after the Ohio products. It takes extra work for me to go after the products, but […]
Who Grew Your Food?
Is the question Yellowbird Foodshed promotes on their delivery trucks. Yellowbird Foodshed of Mount Vernon has connected local farmers and small food companies with its more than 900 Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) members in the Columbus area. They have also provided produce to central Ohio school and college cafeterias. Benji Ballmer founder of Yellowbird said, “The Ohio Days: My State, My Plate monthly Farm to School promotion taking place in central Ohio is a stepping stone to increasing local food sales. Many schools want to do more with local foods. However, it is a hassle for them to coordinate buying the food directly from the farmer therefore, we can step in. We are not trying to infringe upon that farmer […]
OSU Plans to Serve More Local and Sustainable Foods
The Ohio State University dining services has set a goal of serving 40% local or sustainably grown foods by 2025. This is an admirable goal, when you consider they have 17,000 students on their meal plan. Their definition of local foods is providing items grown within the state, according to Lesa Holford, associate director of residence and dining food service. Due to volume of business, much of our produce arrives processed, however, with local produce, most of it comes to us whole and we have to process and sort. Kale may come in washed and chopped from our produce distributor, but will need cleaned and cut from our local partners. This takes time and planning, and we’ve become much better […]
Springfield City Schools Teaches a Cooking Class using their Garden Produce
During 2015, Springfield City School District Springfield received an USDA Farm to School planning grant for more than $44,000. Springfield City Schools (SCSD) is an urban district with 8,000 students, the Springfield Grows, Farm to School Initiative contributed to a more economically stable, academically strong, physically healthier, and food secure community. They had two overarching goals; to support the academic, social and career success of youth through project-based learning through agriculture, and to develop an integrated local food system that links local producers with the various SCSD food programs. The planning grant accelerated the success of the initiative by providing the initial support to retain a part-time project coordinator to ensure the development of a stakeholder team and a strategic […]
A Cleveland Head Start Grows its Own Food
A Head Start in Cleveland has a children’s garden that has taken roots and helped to provide nutrition education and fresh produce for the students and their families. Their goals for having their garden is to encourage children and parents to eat more fruits and vegetables, as well as teaching families to have gardens at home. They encourage their families to consume a variety of foods and exercise more. Thelma Bizzell, site administrator at the CEOGC Louis Stokes Head Start, explained the interest in gardening began at their site in 2013 after one of the teachers read the children’s book Up Above and Down Below to their classroom. The students had expressed a curiosity about plants so the teachers began […]
Bauman Orchards are Saving Schools Money
Bauman Orchards of Rittman, OH began selling their fruit to schools, more than 25 years ago. “We started in our hometown of Rittman and branched out to Wadsworth schools,” said Jason Myers manager of business and growth development. Primarily they sell schools their apples and peaches, although they grow other produce. “Providing our apples to schools has been a wonderful addition to our operation. This has enabled us to grow our business. We are fortunate to have four generations of growers and an amazing team pulling together to deliver the best fruit to our customers. In the past, our operation has focused on growing larger apples. However, we have adjusted our production procedures to ensure that there is an adequate […]
