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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 Office of P-20 Education Policy |
The New York State Education Department, Child Nutrition Program Office is thrilled to announce that we have partnered with Cornell Cooperative Extension, Harvest NY, to host the first ever NY Farm to School Summit with the theme:It takes a Village; Cultivating Community in Farm to School !
The inaugural Summit will take place in Syracuse, NY, at the OnCenter, this November 21st and 22nd with optional pre-Summit field trips on November 20th.
The Summit will have sessions for all Farm to School stakeholders including farmers and producers, food service directors, educators, school administrators, and more! Sessions will be wide ranging, and suitable for both beginners and experienced Farm to School participants.
To foster NY business-to-business relationships, Day 1 will feature a large trade show, exclusively featuring:
- Producers of NY food products, with the opportunity for participants to sample products.
- Support service organizations, to aid in the development of Farm to School programs and initiatives.
This exciting event will increase the capacity of child nutrition program operators to purchase and serve local NY foods in their school meals programs and will offer ample opportunities for developing partnerships between schools and local farmers/producers. The conference will surely result in many collaborations between schools and farms that will benefit everyone and increase the use of local products in school meals.
Summit planning and development is being guided by a Steering Committee comprised of representatives from the following organizations: American Farmland Trust, Cornell Cooperative Extension Harvest NY, NY Agriculture in the Classroom, NY Farm Bureau, NYC Mayors Office of Urban Agriculture, NY Department of Agriculture & Markets, NYS Education Department, NY School Nutrition Association, and Our Core.
Call for Proposal!
The Farm to School Summit Steering Committee is currently seeking proposals, due by May 1, 2024, for high-quality educational workshops that allow for information sharing and peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
Workshops should be tangible, practical, and give attendees a call to action. They should also align with the summit theme: It Takes a Village: Cultivating Community in Farm to School.
For more information and to submit a workshop proposal click here: NY Farm to School Summit Call for Proposals: Due May 1, 2024
Topic suggestions include:
- Equity: Food sovereignty, food justice, incorporating culturally relevant foods into school meal programs
- Marketing/Promotion: NY Thursdays, Harvest of the Month, Sharing your Farm to School story, social media
- Policy: Advocating for Farm to School funding and policy
- Procurement: Collective bidding, geographic preference, specifying NY products in local food solicitations, updates to small purchasing threshold
- Incorporating local foods into school meal programs: Menu planning with local foods in mind, balancing entitlement and local purchases
- Youth empowerment: Empowering students to become school food change makers
- Community engagement
- Education: Learning gardens, food system education, field trips
- Finance: Tracking local purchases, strategic use of entitlement, leveraging grants
- Selling local foods to schools: Engaging with school districts, identifying what products are the right fit, preparing to sell to schools
Stay tuned for additional details that will be released in the coming months!
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
