|
Successful farmers stay informed
with our opt-in newsletter!
|
|
Contact info:
"On the Farm" Radio
P.O. Box 137
Mount Sidney, VA 24467
(540) 363-3938
e-mail
|
| |
 Farm-to-School
program hopes to connect Virginia farmers and schools
Richmond - In order to get more
locally-grown fresh fruit and vegetables into the diets of Virginia’s school
children, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS)
has created a Farm-to-School program and Web site. The site serves as a
matchmaker for farmers and school food service directors. It brings them
together in a common goal to attack the problem of childhood obesity and provide
better nutrition through consumption of fresh produce.
“The Farm-to-School program is about creating connections between growers,
distributors and educational institutions,” says Todd P. Haymore, VDACS
Commissioner. “Through these connections, we also can reach children and their
parents,” he added. “Farm-to-School also can play a constructive role in helping
to address the problem of childhood obesity, as few things are more helpful in
that regard than adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to children’s and
families’ diets. An added benefit is that using local produce in school menus
supports the ag economy. This is a win-win situation for Virginia’s children and
for Virginia’s farmers.”
Farm-to-School is the result of an initiative by the 2007 Virginia General
Assembly. Senate Joint Resolution 347 requested that the Secretary of
Agriculture and Forestry and the Secretary of Education establish a Task Force
to develop a plan for implementing a Farm-to-School Program in the Commonwealth.
The Resolution also asked the panel to determine the best method of providing
information to educational institutions.
The Secretaries convened a Task Force to study the issue and identify solutions
to the challenges inherent in establishing a Farm-to-School program. Getting
food service directors and growers to speak the same language in terms of what
food is available and when and how it will get to the school can be tough. Other
challenges include product liability, the capacity of a school’s kitchen, and
existing laws that prevent government entities from showing preference to a
local supplier.
The Farm-to-School program is administered by VDACS’ Division of Marketing,
which has an Office of Food Distribution that manages the distribution of USDA
donated foods to agencies throughout Virginia, including schools. Virginia
schools currently spend more than six million dollars on fresh produce, and the
Farm-to-School program will open the door for more of that money to go to
Virginia farmers.
The Web site,
www.vdacs.virginia.gov/marketing/farm.shtml, helps communicate information
on the availability of Virginia produce to the state’s schools, both public and
private, universities as well as K-12. Over the coming months, VDACS will update
the Web site regularly to include farmers, schools and distributors interested
in being listed and included in match-making efforts to get more Virginia Grown
produce in schools.
School Food Service Directors and farmers who are interested in participating in
the Farm-to-School program should contact the VDACS Marketing Division at
804/786-3530 or
farmtoschool@vdacs.virginia.gov.
| |
|
