Farm to School and Garden Education

We are currently raising a generation of children who are largely disconnected from how food is made, many of them unable to identify fruits and vegetables and most of them unclear that food comes from somewhere other than “the supermarket.”

There are many reasons to engage children in growing, harvesting and cooking food. This generation of children also struggles with diet-related diseases and obesity; and while no one has yet cracked the code on how to reverse these trends, some studies have indicated that food literacy, healthy school lunches and building healthy habits early on can make a difference for children’s health.

Whether you’re a principal, a teacher or a parent, there are resources available to help you get involved with farm to school. You can always connect to others in your region to find out about their successes and strategies by looking at the National Farm to School Network or find many different resources for students, teachers or parents at The Center for Ecoliteracy’s website.

You can also get specific tips and resources to:

• Start a school garden. Check out some of the many excellent educator resources created by Life Lab.
• Incorporate food and gardening education into your classroom. Take a look at the comprehensive Nourish Curriculum, developed in partnership with the Center for Ecoliteracy.
• Get local food into your school’s cafeteria. Use this guide from the National Farm to School Network to get started.
• Become a garden and food educator. Consider serving a year with FoodCorps, or working or interning with one of the many local organizations around the country, like Edible Schoolyard , The Food Project or Community Groundworks.