It is always exciting to share ways in which local schools and communities are working together to improve educational outcomes for children.
October is National Farm to School Month, which provides an opportunity to share information about efforts that local schools are making towards health and wellness. We can all agree that promoting childhood health is a shared community value. Farm to School Programs help support schools in honoring this value through the educational system. The core elements of Farm to School include school gardens, education, and procurement.
This particular community mandate is supported by state and federal policies. The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 established the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School Program as a strategy to implement new nutrition standards for school meal programs. According to The USDA’s Farm to School Program Report for Fiscal Years 2013-15, 15 percent of national awards were granted in the Midwest Great Lakes area. This includes Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana. Integrating food related education into a standards-based curriculum helps connect children to land, food, and community in addition to being a venue for us all to better care for personal health.
Providing locally procured fresh foods in the school cafeteria helps students eat more local fresh foods while supporting local farmers. In addition to federal funding programs, the State of Minnesota has $500,000 in grant funding available through its Farm to School initiatives to assist schools in these efforts.
In a rural area such as Cook County, strong community partnerships are essential in making these programs possible. Cook County and Grand Portage are both recipients of funding from the Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP). While county and tribal SHIP program priorities differ slightly, funds from both programs are used to incorporate healthy lifestyle options into the schools and community. This year, a portion of funding was used to highlight how schools throughout Cook County are working to improve student health and wellness. During the summer of 2015 a short video was produced to highlight these efforts. When finished, the video will be available to the public on the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic website and distributed to participating schools. The video will be released this fall, and will help you learn more about local school programming.
At Oshki Ogimaag, students participate in a school garden program; receive hands-on, integrated food related education during the school day; and have started an extra-curricular activity via the Giitagan Club (Garden Club).
Many funding sources provide the resources to support this programming and are acquired through partnerships with Grand Portage Health Services, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, Grand Portage Trust Lands, and the Grand Portage Agriculture and Food System Development Advisory Committee. Schools and organizations working together on common priorities is a powerful tool to help create systemic community improvements.
If you are interested in learning more about Farm to School, the National Farm to School website has excellent information at www.farmtoschool.org. From the website, “Farm to school empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities.”
The development of this program exemplifies the power of community partnerships, and we hope that you will join us by supporting these efforts in your local schools.
Each month a representative of our local schools will offer thoughts in Issues in Education. This month’s contributor is Anna Deschampe, director of Oshki Ogimaag Charter School.
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