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Farm to School
What is Farm to School?
Sponsored by the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the Maryland State Board of Education, the Farm to School program works to bring more Maryland-grown products to school lunches with the aim of educating students about where their food comes from, how it is produced, and the benefits of a healthy diet. What if just one local item was included in the school lunch of all the 950,000 Maryland public school students? Farmers would have additional income, thereby strengthening the local economy and keeping farm land open and productive. Our children would receive the nutritional benefits of fresh, local products as well as the knowledge of why this matters. Also, the financial, environmental, and nutritional costs of transporting food would decrease. We encourage students and parents to continue asking for fresh, local produce in school lunches. Maryland is the only state in the country in which
all of its public school systems have participated in the program according
to the National Farm to School Network. The program also had the support of
more than 30 different Maryland farms providing fresh product to the schools.
It is true example of a successful federal, state, local and private collaboration
that is working. Third Annual Homegrown School Lunch Week - September
13 - 17, 2010
In addition to facilitating the procurement of local Maryland produce for school menus, the program established the annual “Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week” to arrange for educational opportunities between students and farmers, including in-school presentations and other promotional events. Edgewood Elementary in Harford County will host the kick-off event for the Maryland Homegrown School Lunch week on Friday, September 10, 2010. Harford County Public Schools incorporates as much locally grown food into the school system as possible. Last year, Harford County Public School purchased nearly 70-80% of their produce needs within a 50-mile radius during the Maryland growing season. Farm to School Video Contest
The Maryland Department of Agriculture is sponsoring a YouTube video contest
for Maryland school children in order to help raise awareness about the Farm
to School program and to actively engage students in thinking about where their
food comes from. The contest asks the question, "what does local food mean
to you?" The contest deadline is September 20, 2010. The winning video will
be publicly broadcasted and the winning students will receive an iPod Touch,
a Maryland State Park Pass, and a school lunch visit from Maryland Secretary
of Agriculture, Buddy Hance. For more information, see the complete rules.
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