Ohio Farm to School Newsletter: Updates & Scholarship Opportunities

OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION Ohio Farm to School Newsletter National, Regional and State Updates January 2018 Conference Scholarship Applications Now Open 9th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference The National Farm to School Network is now accepting applications for scholarships to the 9th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, which will take place in Cincinnati, Ohio, April 25-27, 2018. This event is the top national training and networking event for farm to cafeteria professionals working to improve community health, build economic opportunities for farmers and producers, and ensure long- term sustainability for local food efforts nationwide. To ensure the conference reflects the full diversity of the movement, scholarships are prioritized for farmers and farm support organizations, farm to college / hospital practitioners, early care and education providers, food service professionals, persons of color, and youth (through age 22). Learn more and submit your application at www.farmtocafeteriaconference.org. The deadline to apply is Feb. 12, 2018 at 8pm ET. National Farm to Cafeteria Conference Cincinnati, OH Important Dates: Contents: Early bird registration: Jan. 29 - March 9, 2018 Farm to School Update .. Page 2 Success Story .. Page 3 Registration closes: April 9, 2018 News ................ Page 4 Sponsors Page 5 Conference: April 25-27, 2018

Ohio Updates SNAP-Ed Supports Farm to School Activities in Ohio By Carol Smathers Ohio Farm to School Director The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) provides free nutrition education to SNAP participants and individuals eligible to receive SNAP benefits. Funded by the Food and Nutrition Service of the US Department of Agriculture and administered by through the Ohio Department and Jobs and Family Services, SNAP-Ed is taught by nutrition educators at Ohio State University Extension. The goal of the program is to improve the likelihood that families and individuals who receive SNAP benefits will make healthy food choices and choose active lifestyles. Building Capacity for Obesity Prevention PSE Readiness Assessment The Building Capacity for Obesity Prevention Project (BCOP) is a partnership between Case Western Reserve University (CWU) Prevention Research Center for Healthy Neighborhoods; The Ohio State University SNAP-Ed program; and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Creating Healthy Communities (CHC) Program. The aim of this project is to develop tools that SNAP-Ed and CHC practitioners can use to prioritize, select, and sustain four different nutrition-related policy, systems, and environment (PSE) interventions. Resources for targeted interventions in four areas, including Farmers Markets, Healthy Food Retail, healthy eating policies in childcare, and Farm to School, are available on the BCOP website at PSEreadi.org. SNAP-Ed programs use a variety of approaches such as multi-level interventions and community and public health strategies, in addition to individual or group- based nutrition education to deliver effective, evidence- based nutrition education and obesity prevention programming. The SNAP-Ed Toolkit: Obesity Prevention Interventions and Evaluation Framework includes Farm to School as an evidence-based policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change intervention for obesity prevention. PSE changes make healthier choices more available, accessible, acceptable, and appealing. They complement education efforts that help individuals identify and select healthy options. In Ohio, SNAP-Ed supports farm to school education and PSE change activities in many ways. The PSEREADI.org website features an extensive compendium of worksheets, tool-kits, videos, and other resources. Among these resources are a series of 20 videos that feature public health and SNAP-Ed practitioners as well as community leaders from across Ohio who tackled obstacles and/or leveraged resources related to implementing one of the four community nutrition interventions. Three of the videos focus directly on Farm to School. County-Level Partnerships Extension Educators and SNAP-Ed staff help maximize resources by leveraging partnerships at the local level. Michel Treber, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator in Pickaway County offers this example: Pickaway County is developing a Green Team that will focus on gardening projects, Farm to School and getting youth involved in this movement. The health department is the lead on this with input from OSUE, FCFC, local churches and other agencies. BCOP has developed a survey assessment called PSE READI. This online tool will enable practitioners or community teams to assess their organization's or community's readiness and capacity to implement a community nutrition PSE. Users will receive a set of three recommendations and resources tailored to their needs. The PSE READI assessment is free, and users can track their team's progress by taking it multiple times. The Ohio Farm to School Advisory Group provided feedback to help the BCOP team understand factors for successful implementation of Farm to School interventions and operationalize them into measureable indicators. The PSE READI tool underwent beta testing during fall 2017 and will be available for widespread use this summer. Continued on page 4 Our SNAP-Ed program is working with local Head Start programs to expand their gardening program. We plan to provide small tools that Head Start can utilize in their efforts. We have been in contact with the local vocational school to see if they could assist with building raised beds for a section of the playground that is against a fence. We hope to get the Master Gardeners involved in the Green Team effort. Ohio Farm to School Newsletter

Ohio Success Story Rural Action Helps Provide Local Foods to Schools By Caitlin Bond, Farm to Institution to School VISTA for Rural Action Since its inception in 2005 the Chesterhill Produce Auction a social enterprise of Rural Action in Morgan County has served as an intermediary between sellers, including Amish and non-Amish growers, and buyers, ranging from community members, institutions, food banks, restaurants, and starting in 2008, local schools. to serve fresh, local apples, watermelon, pears, tomatoes, yellow peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower in their cafeteria. A valuable outcome of this fresh local produce was creation of one job to prepare these foods for use in the cafeteria. Partnerships with local schools have expanded and improved every year. In 2017, Rural Action Farm to School has worked with four local school districts, reaching thirteen local schools. Trimble also incorporated locally purchased produce that was processed, frozen and packaged by Culinary Students at Hocking College and Tri-County Career Center. Trimble received a total of 248lbs of frozen product including tomato sauce, chopped onions, and chopped green peppers. The frozen produce was an exciting addition to fresh produce, as Billie Jo worked with her cooks to incorporate these ingredients onto their menu. The spaghetti sauce they prepared from these ingredients was well received by the students, and was a great start for developing a process to incorporate local produce during the winter months. Six of these schools qualify for 100% free/reduced lunches for their students, one school has 66% of students receiving free/reduced lunches, and the remaining six schools, all within one district, range from 19-75% of their students receiving free/reduced lunches (2). In an effort to increase their capacity to provide access to fresh, local foods for the benefit of student health, as well as supporting local growers and the local food economy, Rural Action applied and received grant funding through Athens County Job and Family Services (ACJFS) in 2017 for the purchase of fresh, local produce to be distributed to area schools. According to Billie Jo the school was pleased to participate in the Farm to School program. We loved being able to provide our students with good healthy fruit and vegetables from the local farmers and our students enjoyed getting some produce they normally did not get on a regular basis. Serving more than 800 students on a daily basis is a rewarding task for the nine cooks at Trimble Local School District. Through a partnership with their food service director, Billie Jo Limo, and her cafeteria staff, Rural Action has been working towards increasing their access to fresh produce for more than two years. In 2016, with funding from the Sisters Health Foundation of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Trimble was able to increase their capacity to prepare fresh produce through the purchase of much needed kitchen equipment. Sources: The Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs Ohio University (2010 January). Chesterhill Produce Auction: A Rural Appalachia Case Story. Retrieved from http://ruralaction.org/wp- content/uploads/2011/05/CPA_casestudy-ordered.pdf Billie Jo wanted to provide fresh, local produce to her students and has done all she can to make that a reality. She has been, and continues to be a champion for her students and for Farm to School. Just in the four months since receiving ACJFS funding, Rural Action purchased more than $2,300 of fresh produce from local farmers through the CPA and delivered over 900 pounds to Trimble Local Schools. Billie Jo and her staff were able Ohio Department of Education Office for Child Nutrition (2016). Data for Free and Reduced Price Meal Eligibility 2016-2017 [Data file]. Retrieved from http://education.ohio.gov/Topics/Other-Resources/Food- and-Nutrition/Resources-and-Tools-for-Food-and- Nutrition/MR81-Data-for-Free-and-Reduced-Price-Meal- Eligibile OSU Extension Ohio Farm to School Newsletter

News Senator Sherrod Brown s Office Visits Local Matters Program Columbus-based nonprofit Local Matters and NNEMAP Food Pantry welcomed Joe Gilligan, Central Ohio Regional Director with the office of US Senator Sherrod Brown, to a Cooking Matters class on November 30. Cooking Matters is a nationally-recognized program developed by Share Our Strength that leads participants in learning about budget and health conscious cooking as a tool for increased food security and overall health. In a statement about Local Matters work with partners like NNEMAP, Senator Sherrod Brown shared: All Ohioans deserve access to healthy, affordable foods. I m proud to support efforts to give central Ohio families the fools they need to prepare nutritious meals. Senator Sherrod Brown is an active proponent of food education and access, aligning with Local Matters mission. This October, Senator Brown introduced the Local FARMS Act to the US Senate, where it currently awaits review. The bill advocates for local farmers, local economy, and an overall increase in access to healthy, local foods. SNAP- Ed continued from page 2 Children s Books about Food and Ag Celebrate Your Plate! Social Marketing Campaign OSU Extension s SNAP-Ed program will launch a Celebrate Your Plate social marketing campaign this spring. The campaign s goal is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among SNAP-eligible Ohioans by complementing direct education efforts with social marketing. It is designed to change how participants think about fruits and vegetables, including increasing their understanding of the importance of eating produce, knowledge of ways to prepare fruits and vegetables, and awareness of places to get fruits and vegetables in each county. The website (www.CelebrateYourPlate.org ) includes low-cost recipes and videos. Celebrate Your Plate messages and resources align with Farm to School objectives. Shopping tips urge participants to use fruits and vegetables that are in season and shop at farmer s markets to find seasonal produce, noting that in-season items can be easy to get, have more flavor, and cost less. Links to directories of farmers markets and community gardens are included. Most recipes use ingredients that can be grown or raised in Ohio. Food Tank has compiled a list of 25 children s books that can help stimulate food and agriculture awareness across all ages. From learning about where food comes from and the hardworking hands that grow it, to the importance of vibrant ecosystems, to cultural food diversity, these books make great gifts for hungry young minds. Go to: https://foodtank.com/news/2017/12/childrens-books- growing-minds/ On-going resources: Finding farms in and around Ohio that sell directly to the public through local farmers' markets, CSA's, and on-farm sales, visit OEFFA s Good Earth Guide http://www.oeffa.org/search-geg.php GroundWorks Community URL: www.edweb.net/schoolgardens Ohio Proud is a resource for identifying local farms and food producers: http://www.ohioproud.org/ National Farm to School Network http://www.farmtoschool.org/about Check out the www.psereadi.org and www.CelebrateYourPlate.org websites today! They contain valuable Farm to School information for everyone! Ohio Farm to School Newsletter OSU Extension

Ohio Farm to School Newsletter Thank you to all of our partners and supporters! Authors: Carol Smathers, Ohio Farm to School State Lead Amy Fovargue, Youth Wellness Program Coordinator For Ohio Farm to School inquiries or to submit information, e-mail farm2school@osu.edu Follow Ohio Farm to School on Facebook CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis. For more information: go.osu.edu/cfaesdiversity.