{"id":647,"date":"2017-10-13T11:05:29","date_gmt":"2017-10-13T17:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/?p=647"},"modified":"2017-10-25T19:34:42","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T01:34:42","slug":"farm-to-school-programs-contribute-to-vibrant-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/farm-to-school-programs-contribute-to-vibrant-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Farm to School Programs Contribute to Vibrant Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you enjoy visiting farmers\u2019 markets or eating out at local restaurants, you\u2019ve probably heard the term \u201cfarm to table.\u201d Now, schools across the country are making the connection to local farms and ranches.<\/p>\n<p>To demonstrate the growing importance of \u201cfarm to school\u201d programs, October has been designated as National Farm to School Month. Across the country, it\u2019s a time for school districts to celebrate the connections between children and local food, as well as educate students about the origins of food. Furthermore, it\u2019s a great way to promote farm-fresh food as a vital way to improve child nutrition while supporting local economies.<\/p>\n<h3>What Does \u201cFarm to School\u201d Involve?<\/h3>\n<p>Farm to school provides students with access to nutritious, high quality, local food so they are ready to learn and grow. Programs differs by location, but they typically include at least one of these elements:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Education<\/strong>: Students learn about agriculture and how it\u2019s related to the food they eat. They also participate in activities related to health and nutrition, including cooking demonstrations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Procurement<\/strong>: Schools work to purchase, promote and serve local foods in their cafeterias.<\/li>\n<li><strong>School gardens<\/strong>: Through hands-on learning, students plant and nurture school gardens. Often, the crop yield is then shared in the classrooms or cafeteria.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Field trips<\/strong>: Students see first-hand how local farms contribute to enriching communities and strengthening the local economy through the production of fresh, healthy food.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Local farmers, fishers, ranchers, food processors and food manufacturers can gain significant opportunities by serving schools. Also, when schools buy from local producers and processors, they in turn create new jobs and strengthen the local economy.<\/p>\n<h3>Get Involved in the Farm Fresh Movement<\/h3>\n<p>This month is full of exciting opportunities for everyone \u2014 including food enthusiasts, farmers, ranchers and nutrition professionals \u2014 to get informed and involved in making better food choices. During National Farm to School Month, take action to grow farm to school programs in your own community.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers and parents can volunteer to support a school garden, attend taste tests in their school cafeteria or participate in nutrition education activities in the classroom. Individuals can visit local farmers\u2019 market, or buy a food item you\u2019ve never tried before to cook and share with family and friends.<\/p>\n<h3>Free Meals for Houston ISD Students Following Hurricane Harvey<\/h3>\n<p>Following Hurricane Harvey and the flooding due to water released from the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, the Houston Independent School District announced all students will eat all school meals for free during the 2017-18 school year.<\/p>\n<p>With the help of the Texas Department of Agriculture, which waived the required application process for the National School Lunch\/Breakfast Program, hopefully some of the extra meals will be procured from local producers. It will be a great way to extend the farm to school initiative through the year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you enjoy visiting farmers\u2019 markets or eating out at local restaurants, you\u2019ve probably heard the term \u201cfarm to table.\u201d Now, schools across the country are making the connection to local farms and ranches. To demonstrate the growing importance of \u201cfarm to school\u201d programs, October has been designated as National Farm to School Month. Across<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":660,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","post_format-post-format-image"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":652,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions\/652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colonylimo.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}