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Notes to Presenter:

Introduce yourself •  Who are you? •  Where are you from? •  What is your background?

Who is the target audience of this training?- explain if the audience is not already aware

Note to Presenter: Please  read  the  full  descrip0on  below  while  on  this  slide:  

•  This training is brought to you with support from the National Farm to School Network.

•  Established in 2007, National Farm to School Network seeks to create strong and just local food systems that ensure the health of children, farms, the environment, the economy and communities. NFSN provides vision, leadership and support to connect and strengthen the Farm to School movement, which now includes more than 12,500 schools spanning all 50 states.

•  National Farm to School Network (NFSN) provides vision, leadership and support to connect and strengthen the Farm to School movement across the country. NFSN sets national priorities and policy goals, generates a research agenda, creates and aggregates resources, provides technical assistance, convenes gatherings and promotes the movement. NFSN includes national staff, eight Regional Lead Agencies, 50 State Leads, a 16-member Advisory Board and thousands of on the ground Farm to School supporters.

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Note  to  Presenter:    Please  read  the  full  descrip0on  below  while  on  this  slide:  

•  This  training  is  part  of  the  Peer  Leadership  Network  supported  by  the  Na0onal  Farm  to  School  Network  

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Broadly, Farm to School initiatives connect schools, local farms, and communities as part of the movement to strengthen local food systems and reinvigorate local economies. A subset of initiatives called “farm to preschool” conduct similar activities in preschools, early care centers, head start programs.

F2S has 4 distinct components – Local or regional procurement, School gardens, food and ag curriculum, and experiential education such as farm tours, cooking demonstrations, taste tests.

The Farm to School approach – when taken in it’s entirety is the HOLISTIC APPROACH WE NEEDED TO PROMOTE. Not just one of these STRATEGIES, BUT ALL OF THEM TOGETHER to enable lasting change.

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Insert  picture  

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First,  we  will  start  our  assessment  with  the  opera0ons  of  your  school  nutri0on  department  

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Note  to  Presenter:  

Ask  your  audience  members  if  they  have  sugges0ons  for  great  tools  and  equipment  that  can  help  with  farm  to  school.  

Good  resources  for  kitchen  equipment  include:  

• Na0onal  Food  Service  Management  Ins0tute  Website  

• Local  energy  companies  which  display  and  demonstrate  “demo  kitchens”  • Equipment  vendors.  Your  equipment  representa0ves  may  be  a  big  help  in  guiding  you  toward  useful  tools  and  equipment  

• Other  schools  • Recommenda0ons  from  your  state  Department  of  Educa0on  (They  may  be  especially  helpful  in  determining  what  square  footage  you  need,  or  what  size  equipment  you  need  for  your  school  enrollment.)  

• Cornell  University  has  a  helpful  full  assessment  checklist.  This  resource  can  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  presenta0on  and  in  the  handout.  

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Include  some  personal  or  local  examples  here.  If  0me  or  audience  fits,  ask  the  audience  to  share  informa0on  as  well.  

Some  examples  include:  

Use  ends  and  pieces  of  veggies  such  as  tomatoes,  peppers,  onions  in  salsas,  soups,  casseroles,  smoothies  (repurpose  foods).    

Don’t  don’t  serve  large  amounts  of  new  veggies/fruits,  so  order  smaller  amounts  to  start  with  and  it  is  really  not  as  expensive.  

If  the  opportunity  arises,  encourage  FSD  and  staff  get  on  the  farm  for  their  professional  development  and  help  to  seal  that  rela0onship  with  a  farm  and  farmer?    Community  partners  can  help  with  this.  

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Notes  to  Presenter:  

Cycling  menus  can  help  you  adopt  seasonal  menus  for  fall  when  items  are  available  and  for  the  winter  and  early  spring  when  they  are  not.  

Consider  building  flexibility  into  your  menus  by  adding  Harvest  of  the  Month  or  Vegetable  of  the  Day  programs.  

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Note  to  Presenter:  

Define  “seconds”.  Second  are  imperfectly  shaped  or  cosme0cally  impaired  products  (usually  fruits  or  vegetables)  that  can’t  be  sold  into  the  commercial  market  because  of  their  appearance.  Otherwise,  they  are  perfectly  fresh  and  tasty!  If  you  are  processing  products  in  house,  this  may  be  a  good  way  to  get  fresh,  local  product  at  a  lower  cost.  

Also,  review  your  procurement  prac0ces.  Are  you  using  formal  or  informal  bids?  

Are  you  using  Geographic  Preference  to  help  you  procure  local  foods?  

These  are  tools  that  other  departments  within  your  district  can  help  you  navigate  in  order  to  purchase  local  food  and  make  your  budgets  work  

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This  level  includes  everything  within  your  school  and  district,  but  outside  of  your  school  nutri0on  department  

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Ask  the  group  to  share  and/or  ask  ques0ons  about  their  experiences  with  all  different  types  of  administrators  

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There  is  increasing  interest  in  leveraging  Wellness  Policies  in  order  to  improve  School  Nutri0on  Departments.  This  is  an  opportunity  to  partner  with  others  and  see  change,  and  emphasize  local  foods.  

People  are  interested  in  leveraging  Wellness  Policy  to  improve  the  nutri0on  department.  This  is  a  shi^  in  the  posi0ve  direc0on.    

When  Doug  wrote  his,  it  was  in  his  way  to  increase  access  to  USDA  programs.    

This  is  an  ideal  0me  to  emphasize  wellness  policy.  With  the  new  HHFK,  part  of  the  schools  audit  is  about  WP.  Has  it  been  updated,  is  it  being  followed?  A  great  0me  to  include  local.    

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Here  we  will  look  outside  of  the  school  itself.  How  can  the  community  help  support  your  farm  to  school  efforts?  

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Ask  for  audience  to  share  answers  to  each  of  these  ques0ons,  and  discuss  

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Note to Presenter: Please  read  the  full  descrip0on  below  while  on  this  slide:  

Premier conference for all things farm to school/ farm to preschool and beyond. Great opportunity to connect and network with the movers and shakers, and to learn about best practices, tools, and resources.

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Note  to  presenter:  Na-onal  Farm  to  School  month  occurs  each  October.  If  you  are  hos-ng  a  training  in  August,  September  or  October  (or  if  Farm  to  School  Month  is  relevant  to  your  audience)  please  include  this  slide.  Otherwise,  please  delete  this  slide  if  it  is  un-mely."

And we are celebrating farm to school month in October. This is a great opportunity to start your farm to school activity or highlight an existing one!

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Notes  to  Presenter:  Read  below  text  to  audience  

“This  training  is  part  of  the  Farm  to  School  Peer  Leadership  Network”  

Please  complete  this  evalua0on  form  so  we  can  improve  the  quality  and  effec0veness  of  these  trainings  in  the  future.  Also,  by  comple0ng  the  evalua0on  form  and  including  your  contact  informa0on,  future  farm  to  school  support  may  be  available  to  you.  

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Note  to  Presenter(s):  

Please  customize  this  slide  with  your  contact  informa0on  and  the  logo  of  your  organiza0on  (if  applicable)  

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