Hello Everyone!
Farm to School has taken some time to regroup, reorganize and prioritize and has developed a plan for the next year.
Here are the highlights:
- Provide general support to 5 to 6 school gardens. The following school gardens were recommended by the committee:
- Hills
- Shimek
- Kirkwood
- Lucas
- Northwest Junior High
- West High
- Conduct an assessment on the status of all school gardens at ICCSD in the Spring of 2015. This effort has just begun.
- Host a Farmer Fair in the Spring of 2015. Currently seeking a host and location!
- Host a Farmer Fair in the Fall. We are partnering with the Iowa City Public Library to host a Farmer Fair as part of the annual Field to Family festival. It is tentatively set for Saturday, September 19th, in the afternoon following the Kid’s Day activities at the Iowa City Farmers Market.
- Continue to provide support to the ICCSD Food Service Department to include more locally-grown foods in school lunches. The amount of locally- grown foods purchased by
the school district directly from local farmers from 2011 to 2014 is estimated to be at 17,500 lbs. Last year, they purchased 5, 430 pounds. Our goal for 2015 is to increase that by 5%!
Action Items:
1. Officially join Field to Family’s Farm to School program committee! The plan is to meet before Spring Break. Help us set the date by filling out this doodle: http://doodle.com/7vtbcedwxf2i6b63
2. Help us complete the school garden assessment. If you are currently involved with a school garden, please contact me and provide a brief summary of the current status, plans and needs for 2015.
3. Support Farm to School by becoming a member of Field to Family! Field to Family is a small
organization, dedicated to our mission to grow healthy communities by
connecting local food and families. Our programs include Farm to School, Local
Food Finder (formerly Buy Fresh Buy Local) and Healthy Food System Education.
For 2015, we have created a new membership program for individuals and
families to officially join our cause. We have multiple levels of support
to choose from; please contribute what you can & become a member!
When we became an official
Farm to School Chapter in 2010 we received an initial $4,000. All chapters of
all sizes are given the same initial funding and funding is not available after
the first year. Iowa City Community School district is one of the largest
school districts in the state. Funds for school gardens and supplies are
generally available in our community from generous businesses and individuals,
however, funding for staff to organize, coordinate, publicize, recruit
volunteers and pool together resources is harder to come by. We are currently
seeking grant funding to cover the expenses of Farm to School but until we are
successful we are dependent on funding from individual memberships and
sponsorships to our annual Local Foods Festival to cover the cost of staff. As
your Program Director, I not only coordinate our Farm to School program, but also
manage our Local Food Finder, annual Festival and our Food System Education
programs. I also write grants, serve as Marketing Director, recruit volunteers
and take on many other roles and responsibilities the organization requires.
You support will help us continue to run these programs and provide educational
opportunities related to local foods.
Contribute online
here: http://fieldtofamily.org/support-us/
or Mail your donation to
Field to Family, PO BOX 93, Iowa City, IA 52244
Sponsoring our annual
Festival is another way to show support for Field to Family’s mission. Contact
me if you are interested in learning more about our sponsorship levels and
benefits at mkbio...@gmail.com.
4. Join our mailing list.
Our next newsletter will go out next week! http://on.fb.me/17jJ2o7
Please contact me with any questions!
Thanks for all you do for our school kids!
Best,
Michelle
