USDA Farm to School Grant awarded to Northeast Indiana partners

The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network received exciting news last week! Farm to School programs across Northeast Indiana will be able to make big strides forward in the next two years, thanks to a USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant recently awarded to Wells County Revitalization on behalf of the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network, Parkview Health, and Purdue Extension.

The Office of Community Food Systems within the Food & Nutrition Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture is investing $12 million in Farm to School Grants this year, announcing awards to 176 grantees, the most projects funded since the program began in 2013. Four of the 2021 USDA Farm to School grantees serve students in Indiana.

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According to the USDA, “This year’s Farm to School Grants will help expand the access to fresh, local foods and hands-on agricultural learning for children across 45 states and the District of Columbia. The awarded projects will serve more than 1.4 million students at more than 6,800 schools. Grantees include schools, state agencies, non-profits, tribal nations, agricultural producers and groups, and – for the first time ever – institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Service Program. “Over 65 percent of the children served in participating schools are eligible for free and reduced price meals” according to the USDA.

New Farm to School Grant pursues goals set under Farm to School Planning Grant

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In October 2019, the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network was asked to participate in the launch of the new Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team being led by Kylee Bennett, the Youth Well-being Coordinator for Parkview Health.

In October 2019, Parkview Health received a U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm to School Planning Grant to bring together “school districts, state and local agencies, agricultural producers, and nonprofit organizations to increase local foods served through child nutrition programs, while also educating children and their families about food and agriculture through garden and classroom education.”

This USDA Planning Grant led to the formation of the new Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team led by Kylee Bennett, the Youth Well-being Coordinator for Parkview Health. The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network actively serves as part of this team and collaborates with educators, administrators, community leaders and child nutrition experts from across the region to implement Farm to School programs in schools and early childhood education programs.

Read more about the mission and goals of the Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team here.


Eleven regional school to participate in Farm to School Programs under Grant

The new USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant was awarded to Wells County Revitalization, which serves as the fiscal sponsor of the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network. Under this grant, Wells County Revitalization will partner with the Northeast Indiana Local Food Network, Parkview Health, and Purdue University Extension to improve access to local food in early childcare sites and various schools in northeast Indiana.

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These Farm to School grant partners will produce 'Harvest of the Month' videos on farms across the region; deliver training and on-going support for school tower gardens, raised garden beds, and/or greenhouse gardens to eleven participating schools; develop curriculum resources to integrate agricultural education and Harvest of the Month taste test activities into classroom instruction; organize taste tests of Harvest of the Month products; develop networking opportunities for school food service staff, local food producers and community members; celebrate Local Food Week, with partner schools, through educational activities hosted on area farms; and, convene the Northeast Indiana Farm to School Team.

 
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Kylee Bennett, the Farm to School Team Program Director, shared, “Parkview’s Community Well-Being Team is excited our Farm to School momentum will continue, working alongside schools and early childhood sites to expand our region’s Harvest of the Month program, establish more school gardens, and develop engaging curriculum.”

The eleven (11) regional schools and early childhood education programs participating in programs as part of this USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant include:

The Northeast Indiana Local Food Network looks forward to sharing regular updates from our schools and grant partners on all their Farm to School projects and programs.

Congratulations to Lifeline Youth and Family Services in Fort Wayne for also being awarded a USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant. To learn more about all the 2021 Farm to School grantees, please see the 2021 Farm to School grant list of awardees.

Janet Katz