Farm to School: June 2024 Newsletter
Savor Summer & Celebrate Local Food
As the school year comes to a close and the days stretch longer, we at Region Roots and NWI Food Council want to extend a warm welcome to summer! This season brings a bounty of sunshine, outdoor adventures, and of course, delicious local produce.
Before we bid farewell to the school year, we want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved in making the Local Food for Schools a success.
To the dedicated school food service staff, your hard work and creativity in incorporating local ingredients into school meals have nourished countless students.
To our wonderful local farmers, thank you for your commitment to sustainable agriculture and providing schools with fresh, high-quality produce.
We wish you a happy, healthy, and delicious summer!
Local Food for Schools 2023 -2024 Highlights
NWI Community Food Plan & the Indiana Food Vision
In partnership with the statewide Indiana Food Vision process, we are collecting input on what Northwest Hoosiers care about most through the Indiana Food Vision survey.
Take this ONE survey and have your voice heard TWICE!
Input from this survey will be disaggregated by our 7 counties and feed into our regional plan, in addition to informing the statewide vision!
Please take about 10-15 minutes to share about your day-to-day food system experience by clicking the link to the survey.
Your voice will be included in both the NWI Community Food Plan and the Indiana Food Vision!
What is a food system plan?
As defined by the American Planning Association:
“A set of interconnected, forward-thinking activities that strengthen a community and regional food system through the creation and implementation of plans and policies.”
What can a food system plan help northwest Indiana Achieve?
Vibrant local food systems can yield so many benefits: supporting health, entrepreneurship, environmental benefits, celebrate diversity and empower everyone to participate bc we all eat!
UPDATES
Local Food for Schools Program Feedback
Your ongoing collaboration is instrumental in providing students with healthy and delicious meals featuring locally sourced ingredients.
To ensure we continue to meet the needs of our schools and students, we kindly request your participation in the LFS program feedback survey. Your valuable insights will be used to evaluate the program's effectiveness and guide future improvements.
The completion of this brief survey will take approximately five minutes. Your feedback is crucial in shaping the future of the LFS program.
Thank you to those who have completed the survey/survey interview. For those of you who have not completed the survey, Click here to access the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JBJSB6S
Your participation is greatly appreciated!
LFS Funding Availability for Summer Programs:
Reminder: LFS funds are only available for SFAs operating under the Seamless Summer Option. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
SFA’s participating in the Summer Feeding Program can purchase local items from Region Roots Food Hub Schools & Pantries Catalog.
Looking Ahead
We're already gearing up for an exciting next school year with even more delicious local options for our LFS program. We can't wait to share our plans with you soon!
TRAININGS
June 18 -19 Indiana Farm to School Symposium - Hendricks County
The Indiana Department of Education is pleased to invite all Pre K-12 and ECE educators, food service staff, school administrators, farmers , child nutrition professionals, local food advocates, and interested community members to a collaborative learning experience.
RESOURCES
Farm to School Office Hours
Join Farm to School Coordinators from the Indiana Grown for Schools Network and other farm to school and early care stakeholders each month to discuss and find answers to your questions related to local foods. Farm to school office hours are on the third Wednesday of each month from 3:30 - 4:30 PM ET. You can request a monthly calendar hold by emailing Brianna Goode at bgoode@health.in.gov
Questions or feedback about the program?
Would love to hear from you!
Reach out to Veronica Jalomo, Farm-to-School Coordinator,
veronica@nwifoodcouncil.org, (765) 412-6136
