2016 Northern Nevada School Garden Conference

Farm to School in Nevada-- What’s Going on?

Introductions Catrina Peters MS, RD – School Nutrition Services Manager, Nevada Department of Agriculture – Nevada Lead, National Farm to School Network Ashley Jeppson – Agriculturalist, Nevada Department of Agriculture Our awesome partners and funders! – Nevada Department of Agriculture, Urban Roots, Desert Farming Initiative, Washoe County Parks and Recreation, United States Department of Agriculture-Farm to School Grant

Why are we here today? Identify resources that can help build or enhance school garden programs Build connections and future collaborations (learn from each other!) Share resources to overcome Farm to School challenges—let’s push this movement forward

What are some F2S challenges? School garden longevity Implementing food safety practices Procurement-formal/informal contracting Knowing best practices for growing in a school garden Funding Curriculum integration

What’s Farm to School?

F2S in Nevada Growing movement! Many (awesome) folks are involved – Non-profits – Farms and Farmers – Distributors and Suppliers – Higher Ed Institutions, Cooperative Extension – Government Agencies

Nevada Department of Agriculture 4 Divisions Animal Industry Division Consumer Equitability Division Plant Industry Division NEW ADDITION: Food and Nutrition Division

Food & Nutrition School Nutrition Services Community Nutrition Food Safety / Dairy Lab Warehouse

Plant Industry Entomology Noxious Weeds Produce Safety Plant Pathology Seed Certification Specialty Crop Grant Program Grant opportunity for F2S!

Plant Industry School Nutrition Farm to School

School Garden Food Safety Program 2012 USDA F2S Grantee Focus on Food Safety

NDA Farm to School Webpage

School Garden Food Safety Guidelines Why is food safety important? We want to be able to eat the produce safely! minimizes food borne illness risks creates habits that can be shared at home one garden could affect all school garden programs

Food Safety Importance Continued…. a food safety program may be requested by a health inspector necessary for incorporating produce into a school meal program “food safety is cool”-Ashley Jeppson

Nevada Farm to School Producer’s Survey

First of all, WHY SEND OUT A SURVEY ? Food Service Directors expressed a desire to purchase local but are UNAWARE OF WHAT IS AVAILABLE

We set out to collect baseline data on… N EVADA GROWN PRODUCE What? When? How Much? EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES Who’s interested?

Received data on: apples – beef – berries – broccoli – carrots – corn – cucumbers - leafy greens – milk – onions – peas – pork – potatoes – squash – tomatoes - zucchini Items with no response: chicken - dairy products - peaches

Producers Map

What did we learn? Producers would like to discuss FORWARD CONTRACTING / FOOD PLANNING with schools Also interested in participating in education activities like Farmer in the Classroom This presents an opportunity for training and technical assistance

Farm to Cafeteria …in Nevada!

How do I Get Involved? “Like” our facebook page

How do I Get Involved? Join our e-newsletter distribution list Click “e-news” on our website – Grant opportunities – Learning opportunities – Conference call announcements Send in submissions if you have them!

Funding Opportunities SCBG USDA F2S Grant List of grant opportunities on NDA page – ograms/Farm_to_School/ Resources/

Generally, there is a lot of interest and support for F2S activities Reach out and get connected to peers and resources

Questions? Ashley Jeppson Agriculture Inspector Farm to School Grant Coordinator Nevada Department of Agriculture (775) Catrina Peters, MS, RD School Nutrition Services Manager Nevada Department of Agriculture Food & Nutrition Division (775)