Schools, Food and Gardening:
Cultivating a Healthy Future
April 21, 2007
and
Schools and Food:
Innovation, Opportunity and Wellness
April 1, 2006
Resource Guide
Download Resource Guide (204 KB pdf)
This resource guide was prepared by Baum Forum and Slow Food USA for Schools, Food and Gardening: Cultivating a Healthy Future (NYC), held on Saturday, April 21, 2007.
Resource Guide Contents:
> Wellness Policy: Legislation and Tools
> for Development
> The Classroom/Curriculum
> The Lunchroom
> Outside the Lunchroom: Cooking, Gardening, and After School
> Funding
> Vending
Wellness Policy: Legislation and Tools for Development
http://actionforhealthykids.org/resources_wp.php?page=goals
An excellent guide to the wellness policy of each state.
http://www.angrymoms.org/
Texas Agricultural Secretary Susan Coombs said that it will take 2 million angry moms to change the school lunch program. TWO ANGRY MOMS is a film in the making that follows leaders in the fight for better school food. It’s a movie. It’s a movement. Join the two angry moms and sign up to have the film shown in your community.
http://www.californiaprojectlean.org/resourcelibrary/
Policy guides and community tool kits to help improve the school nutrition and physical activity environment. Included are a series of policy briefs on critical issues that affect the school nutrition and physical activity environment. New in Policy in Action section: Implementing & Evaluating Your Local School Wellness Policy. These resources were developed for use with adolescents, teachers, school administrators, and community members.
http://www.cspinet.org/schoolfoodkit/
Center for Science in the Public Interest’s Nutrition Policy Project is working with concerned citizens, health professionals, government officials, and other nonprofit organizations to strengthen national, state, and local policies and programs to promote healthy eating and physical activity to help reduce illnesses, disabilities, and premature death.
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/programs/wellness_policy.html
The Federal government has mandated that all public school districts create a Wellness Policy that will set and maintain standards for health and nutrition in public schools. In collaboration with the Chez Panisse Foundation and The Center for Ecoliteracy, Slow Food USA has written a Model Wellness Policy Guide to assist community members in writing these policies.
http://www.familycookproductions.com
For over 10 years, FamilyCook Productions (FCP) has supported community empowerment through nutrition, culinary, and food systems education. Our evidence-based “School Community Food Assessment” is a FREE wellness policy implementation tool available for download off our website. Currently over 60 Family Cook Productions programs are operating in New York State, Maryland, and DC with new communities in development.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/wellnesspolicy.html
These website and web pages serve as a clearinghouse of information on the Local Wellness Policy. This website is a part of United States Department of Agriculture: Food Nutrition Service.
http://www.frac.org
The Food Resource Action Center is a nonprofit and nonpartisan research and public policy center working to eradicate hunger is the United States. This website provides information about school lunch policy as well as downloadable informational reports.
http://www.frac.org/html/news/wellness_guide2006.html
FRAC is pleased to announce the availability of School Wellness Policy and Practice: Meeting the Needs of Low-Income Students, a guide for anti-hunger advocates, parents and school community leaders that addresses the special concerns of low-income students in local school wellness policies.
http://www.state.ct.us/sde/deps/Student/NutritionEd/index.htm
The Connecticut State Department of Education recently published the Action Guide for School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies (February 2006). This Action Guide provides comprehensive guidance for school districts on developing and implementing local policies to promote healthy eating and physical activity. It will assist school districts with meeting recommended state (Connecticut) and national guidelines and the School Wellness Policy requirements of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Public Law 108-265).
http://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/fn/childadult/school_model.html
This website is a model nutrition policy put together by the state of New Jersey.
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The Classroom / Curriculum
http://www.agclassroom.org
This webpage is an amazing resource for teachers. This USDA run website provides an extensive resource list for agriculture in the classroom and K-8 educational materials as well as downloadable curriculum guides.
http://www.aiwf.org/site/days-of-taste.html
AIWF Days of Taste is a discovery-based program for fourth and fifth grade children to learn about food and how it weaves its way through daily life from the farm to the table.
http://www.californiaprojectlean.org/resourcelibrary/
Features interactive lessons that integrate nutrition and physical activity into language arts, math, science, social studies and more.
http://www.ceeonline.org/curriculum/search_results.cfm?Category_ID=27
This is an excellent list of curricula from The Center for Environmental Education Online. CEE Online’s curriculum library offers lesson plans for classes of all ages.
http://www.cerp.cornell.edu/aitc/
New York’s Ag in the Classroom program is a partnership between Cornell University, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, the NYS Education Department and the NY Farm Bureau. It is geared for youth, educators and consumers. Look for Ag Literacy Day.
http://www.csgn.org/curriculum.php
California School Garden Network’s curriculum section includes more than 100 garden-based lessons. Much is downloadable.
http://www.familycookproductions.com
Family Cook Productions exists to bring families together around delicious, fresh food while positively impacting their health and well-being. Family Cook Productions offers three field-tested, school-based curricula teaching culinary skills and basic nutrition in the fun framework of international cultures and offer a training certificate program to certify educators in skills necessary to teach these curricula.
http://www.foodlandpeople.org/
Project Food, Land and People’s science and social sciences-based curriculum, Resources for Learning, and other resources. This nonprofit is implemented by a group of state coalitions.
http://www.foodstudies.org
A wonderful collection of curriculum integrating academic disciplines with food, nutrition, culture and the arts. Home of award-winning Food is Elementary curriculum created by Dr. Antonia Demas that teaches children about food and nutrition through dynamic multi-cultural lessons that engage all the senses.
http://www.lifelab.org
A popular, hands-on science elementary school curriculum from Life Lab Science Program. Website also includes workshops, events, and project models.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/k-12.htm
Sustainable Agricultural Resources for Teachers. K-12. US Dept of Agriculture site includes: resources, contacts, books and articles.
http://www.nehbc.org/education.html
Farm to Table: A Curriculum Connecting Agriculture to Our Everyday Lives, New England Heritage Breeds Conservancy, Grades 4-8.This collection includes 28 lesson plans that explore the way that food reaches our tables. It is especially rich in information about livestock and agricultural products that come from animals.
http://spoonsacrossamerica.org/pg/7
The Dinner Party Project is a dynamic family-focused food education program involving children (10-12 years old) in the entire process of producing a dinner party for parents at a school or community center.
http://www.tc.edu/life/
Linking Food and the Environment (LiFE) is an upper elementary and middle school inquiry-based science and nutrition program with four modules: Growing Food, Farm to Table & Beyond , Food & Health, and Choice, Control, & Change (C3). National Gardening Association is publishing LiFE modules during 2007 and 2008. When students participate in LiFE they learn to critically think about food, food system and personal health issues to develop a sense of agency where they connect, think about, and act on what they learn in the classroom in their everyday lives.
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The Lunchroom
http://www.calhoun.org/page.cfm?p=48
In the fall of 2002, Calhoun hired Chef Bobo from the French Culinary Institute to revamp the school’s lunch program. The goal? To offer students, faculty and staff a nutritious alternative to the institutional food traditionally offered. The “experiment” has been a resounding success and has received national attention. Dubbed “Eat Right Now,” Calhoun’s lunch program is aimed at providing students with healthier meals while building a deep understanding of the importance of a well-balanced diet.
http://www.ceeonline.org/food/
Explore this comprehensive site on Healthy Food in Schools to discover why it is important for our children to have a healthy diet and how you can help redesign food experiences at your school.
http://www.chefann.com
Chef Ann Cooper is a “renegade lunch lady” who helps schools restructure their meal programs to offer more locally grown, sustainable, healthy foods. Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children by Ann Cooper and Lisa Holmes (Harper Collins, September, 2006) offers inspiration and food for thought, plus over 100 delicious kid-friendly recipes. Her website contains links, information about her work and how to contact her.
http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/cwh/PDFs/Dollars_and_Sense_FINAL_3.07.pdf
The University of California, Berkeley, The Center for Weight and Health, Dollars and Sense: The Financial Impact of Selling Healthier School Foods. This examines the financial impact of implementing nutrition standards for foods and beverages sold on school campus outside of the school meal program.
http://www.ecoliteracy.org/programs/rsl.html
The Center for Ecoliteracy presents a comprehensive guide, Rethinking School Lunch, for revamping school lunch programs by addressing issues of health, education, and well-being. Also available on the website is the Thinking Outside the Lunchbox series, an on-going collection of lectures extending the scope of the Rethinking School Lunch guide.
http://farmtoschool.cce.cornell.edu/
Based at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, the Cornell Farm to School Program provides resources for extension educators, food service directors, farmers, parents and students to support efforts to forge and strengthen farm to cafeteria connections in New York K-12 schools, colleges and universities. Communications are maintained through listserves, newsletters, and our active website.
http://www.farmtoschool.org
A fantastic resource for developing a farm to school program. Website includes a resource pack, evaluation tools, links to established programs, events schedule, and funding opportunities. The publication, Going Local: Paths to Success for Farm to School Programs with case studies from eight states (California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Oregon), provides a snapshot of the diverse ways in which farm to school is making a difference nationwide.
http://www.feedmebetter.com/
The UK’s popular chef Jamie Oliver’s Feed Me Better Campaign is all about making radical changes to the school meals system and challenging the junk food culture by showing schools can serve fresh nutritious meals that kids enjoy eating.
http://www.foodchange.org/nutrition/schoolfood.html
The SchoolFood Plus Initiative is making significant institutional changes in NYC lunchrooms and classrooms: local foods are procured, food service staff are trained to prepare recipes using these foods, and students in classrooms learn the value and importance of these foods. FoodChange manages this Initiative, along with its partners: NYC Department of Education, SchoolFood, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets, and Teachers College, Columbia University.
http://www.foodsecurity.org
Website for the Community Food Security Coalition. A great resources providing support for establishing a farm to school program (http://www.foodsecurity.org/farm_to_school.html). Great list of organizing tools as well as case studies and funding links.
http://www.healthylunches.org/
New York Coalition for Healthy School Lunches works to promote optional plant-based entrees, healthy snack foods, farm to school programs, and nutrition education to encourage healthier choices.
http://www.naturalovens.com/Better_Health/Schools/index.php
Appleton Central Alternative School of Appleton, WI in Partnership with Natural Ovens Bakery of Manitowoc, WI has put together a 14-minute film about the effects of changing the school’s lunch program. The website also has links to research and curriculum created by this program.
http://nature.berkeley.edu/cwh/activities/LEAF.shtml
The Linking Education, Activity and Food (LEAF) program awarded grants to 16 middle and high schools in 9 California school districts. The schools were instructed to implement policies to promote the consumption of California grown fresh produce in accordance with the Buy California initiative of 2002. The schools also were encouraged to develop and implement an array of related policies to improve student nutrition and fitness. This is a report on the pilot project highlighting the economics of school food reform.
http://www.opt-osfns.org/osfns/default.aspx
New York City Department of Education, Office of SchoolFood homepage.
http://www.organicvalley.coop/culture/school_lunch/
Mission: School Lunch is Organic Valley’s compendium of tips, articles, resources and other materials to support their School Lunch Lottery, an awareness raising educational tool for communities.
http://www.prideofny.com/farm_to_school.html
New York’s Farm to School program resources and New York Harvest for New York Kids information center for 2006. This celebration is an opportunity for schools and communities to learn about New York agriculture, enjoy locally-grown foods, and inspire healthy food choices. Cafeterias feature NY farm products; classrooms do food-tastings; students visit farms and farmers’ markets, or harvest their school gardens.
http://www.soilassociation.org/foodforlife
The UK’s Soil Association’s Food For Life program includes practical work to get fresh, seasonal, unprocessed, local and organic ingredients into school meals and national policy work.
http://www.StirItUpAmerica.com
The “Stir It Up” campaign is a new national movement of people working together to ensure all children have access to healthy food and physical activity in schools and at home. A key goal of the campaign is to generate letters of support for the school foods reform bill that will be sponsored by Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Arlen Specter (R-PA), and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) and Chris Shays (R-CT). “Stir It Up” is sponsored by Parents’ Action for Children, a national non-partisan organization that mobilizes parents to advocate policies that put children and families first.
http://www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc/faqs/ria_063.asp?section=6&click=1
World Hunger Year attacks the root causes of hunger and poverty by promoting effective and innovative community-based solutions that create self-reliance, economic justice and food security. WHY’s Farm to Cafeteria program was created to improve the nutritional status of America’s children while providing an important new sales outlet for small and medium sized farmers.
http://www.yale.edu/sustainablefood
The website for the Yale Sustainable Food Project includes information on the project’s mission and history, the sustainable dining program at Yale, the Yale Farm, and activities related to food and agriculture at the University.
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Outside the Lunchroom: Cooking, Gardening and After School
http://www.added-value.org/index.php
Added Value is a non-profit organization promoting the sustainable development of Red Hook by nurturing a new generation of young leaders. They work towards this goal by creating opportunities for the youth of South Brooklyn to expand their knowledge base, develop new skills and positively engage with their community through the operation of a socially responsible urban farming enterprise.
http://www.ahs.org/youth_gardening/index.htm
American Horticultural Society’s Youth Gardening website. National database of children’s gardens and extensive resources.
http://www.cerp.cornell.edu/aitc/KGF.html
The main goals of Kids Growing Food are to increase appreciation and understanding of agriculture, nutrition and the food system by getting students involved in food gardening—at school, or very close by—and to create “garden classrooms” that provide authentic experiences and help educators meet state and national Learning Standards.
http://www.csgn.org/
The California School Garden Network is a collaborative effort of a number of private and government partners. This very comprehensive site provides endless resources for garden educators and inspiration for all.
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/new_york_city/
Cornell University Cooperative Extension in New York City: Advancing New York City Through Research. Nutrition & Health Program: Helps New York City residents of all ages make informed decisions related to food and nutrition, health, fitness, resource management, food safety, parenting and health care. Family & Youth Development Program: Addresses the developmental needs of youth and offers individual families and young people support through positive life choices and opportunities. Urban Environment Program: Develops and implements educational programs such as Garden Mosaic (http://nyc.cce.cornell.edu/environment/gardenmosaics.php) using innovative, science-based, hands-on learning strategies that enable diverse audiences to take action on local environmental needs.
http://www.edibleschoolyard.org
The Edible Schoolyard is a project in which is wholly integrated into the school’s curriculum and lunch program. It involves the students in all aspects of farming the garden – along with preparing, serving and eating the food – as a means of awakening their senses and encouraging awareness and appreciation of the transformative values of nourishment, community, and stewardship of the land. The websites includes curricula, tool kits, supplies, grant information, and technical support.
http://www.esynola.org/
The Edible Schoolyard, New Orleans, at the Green Charter Middle School and New Orleans Charter Middle School is seen as a way to stimulate effective public education.
http://www.familycookproductions.com
FamilyCook Productions (FCP) supports community empowerment through nutrition, culinary, and food systems education by embedding multiple programs in communities far and wide through sound curricula and our FamilyCook Certification Training. These programs are increasingly being sought out by public health agencies (including the NYC DOH/MH) as well as public school districts as an effective means to family-wide behavior change to combat the obesity and diet-related diseases. Our family strengthening programs are also active in the child welfare community.
http://www.foodchange.org/nutrition/schoolfood.html
FoodChange provides CookShop® programming for persons from age 5 to 95, in schools, after-school programs, and CBOs throughout the city. The curricula focus on the hows and whys of cooking, the food system, and the benefits of nutritious eating.
http://www.foodforthoughtojai.org
Food For Thought Ojai Is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization created by parents, farmers, health and educational professionals, and environmentalists to bring healthier, fresh food to our school children, while raising awareness and support for local farms and the environment.
http://www.food.gov.uk/healthiereating/nutritionschools/bus/
The Cooking Bus, developed as part of the UK’s Focus on Food Campaign to promote practical food education in the schools. This mobile state of the art kitchen is the setting for hands-on cooking workshops in schools and community centers.
http://www.gardenmosaics.cornell.edu/
Garden Mosaics is a project that combines science education with gardening, intergenerational mentoring, multicultural understanding and community action. Great science and action project resources as well as interactive components.
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl/
Resource for garden based learning, from seed to harvest, for youth and adults from the Cornell University Department of Horticulture. Great activities, lesson plans, publications, and evaluation resources.
http://www.kidsgardening.com
National Gardening Association’s site. Information, youth garden grants, resource directory, school garden registry and more. Adopt a School Garden Program lets you support a school garden in your community; NGA provides guidance: http://assoc.garden.org/ag/asg/
http://www.kidsregen.org/
Part of the Rodale Institute’s Youth Educational Program, this interactive site is oriented to kids, families, and educators. The scope is broad: from gardening and farming to food and nutrition, fitness and health.
http://www.schoolgardenwizard.org/
A solid how-to guide for school and other gardens. Created through a partnership between the US Botanic Garden and Chicago Botanic Garden. Oriented to teaching and planning.
http://schoolmeals.nal.usda.gov/Cooking/index.html
This website, a part of the Healthy School Meals Resource System offers recipes and menus, as well as links to expert chef’s ideas and chefs in your area who are interested in partnering with kids organizations.
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/education
Slow Food in Schools is a national program that embraces, unifies, and promotes the efforts of school gardens, cooking classes, and taste education projects organized by Slow Food convivia (chapters) across the country. Slow Food in Schools is committed to providing children with meaningful connection to food by planting seeds, harvesting crops, preparing meals, and rejoicing in conviviality. Slow Food in Schools supports its projects by providing resources and information that ensure their longevity and help integrate them into the larger community.
http://www.slowfoodusa.org/education/harvest_in_harlem.html
Harvest Time in Harlem project is a Slow Food in Schools program teaching inner city students to have an appreciation of wholesome foods through hands-on classes. The program provides students with the tools and resources to be able to make quality food choices in their neighborhoods and nearby stores. This year, Harvest Time in Harlem has been focusing on the importance of family and food by inviting parents and guardians to participate in the program alongside their children.
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/growingschools/
The Growing Schools website has been designed to support teachers in using the ‘outdoor classroom’ as a resource across the curriculum for pupils of all ages. Another great resource from the UK. See “The Year of Food and Farming,” a national program designed to reach children in every school from September 2007- July 2008.
http://www.thegrowingconnection.org
The Growing Connection (TGC) is a grassroots project developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the American Horticultural Society. The project links people and cultures in a revolutionary campaign that introduces low-cost water efficient and sustainable food growing innovations hand in hand with wireless IT connectivity. School gardening programs and community gardens in the U.S., Ghana, Mexico and Nicaragua grow vegetables in an EarthBox system that becomes a common growing platform for all participants, providing a sound educational foundation, and offering hundreds of families, both in America and abroad, a concrete opportunity to earn income and climb out of desperation.
http://www.urbanharvest.org/school/index.html
Urban Harvest is a nonprofit organization in Houston, Texas. This link takes you directly to All about School Gardens, the Outdoor Classroom, a universal primer on getting started as well as profiles of several projects.
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Funding
http://www.kidsgardening.com/healthysprouts1.asp
Healthy Sprouts Awards. Supporting Awareness of Nutrition and Hunger: As a way to encourage the growth of health-focused youth gardens, NGA recognizes outstanding programs via the Healthy Sprouts Awards, sponsored by Gardener’s Supply. These awards support school and youth garden programs that teach about nutrition and the issue of hunger in the United States.
http://www.kidsgardening.com/YGG.asp
Youth Garden Grants. NGA awards Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered, outdoor garden programs that emphasize of or more of the following elements: educational focus or curricular/program integration, nutrition or plant-to-food connections, environmental awareness/education, entrepreneurship, social aspects of gardening such as leadership development, team building, community support, or service-learning.
http://www.epa.gov/teachers/grants.htm
Environmental Protection Agency offer excellent funding sources targeted to environmental education.
http://www.neetf.org/Grants/index.htm
The National Environmental Education and Training Foundation’s Challenge Grant Program was designed to create leverage for non-federal investment in environmental education.
http://www.k12grants.org/grant_opps.htm
Federal and State grant opportunities for schools as well as a connection to foundations around the country. This site is part of http://www.schoolgrants.org, a site set up to help, find, and write educational grants.
http://www.fdncenter.org/
The Foundation Center provides education and training on the grantseeking process. They collect, organize, and communicate information on U.S. philanthropy while conducting and facilitating research on trends in the field. The website is set up to help to strengthen the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about U.S. philanthropy.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/wellnesspolicy_funding.html
This website helps find funding for a Local Wellness Policy. This website is a part of United States Department of Agriculture: Food Nutrition Service (http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Default.htm).
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Vending
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/vending.htm
This webpage, part of National Conference of State Legislatures website, looks at the issue of vending machines in schools. It documents each state’s policies and activities related to vending machines.
http://www.stonyfield.com/MenuForChange/HealthyVendingProgram/
MFCHealthyVendingMachines.cfm
Stonyfield has created the country’s first organic and all-natural healthy vending machine program in schools, in partnership with nutrition educators, school administrators, parents, students, and other food companies.
http://thefoodtrust.lightsky.com/php/programs/school.food.beverage.reform.php
The Food Trust’s Healthy Beverage Toolkit is designed to help parents, teachers, food service professionals, school administrators and community leaders confront the epidemic of childhood obesity.
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