Farm to School events and funding opportunities for spring

Can you feel the excitement of spring harvest in the air? The Growing Minds staff certainly can! We are anxiously watching the school gardens, farmers markets, and farm stands for the first local ripe strawberries of the season. With plans for strawberry salsa, strawberry muffins, and strawberry smoothies, we can hardly contain ourselves! Check out our strawberry recipes for some inspiration!

Come join us for ASAP’s Local Food Fest! We’ll be hosting Farm to School read-alouds with Spellbound, The Buncombe County Library, and Malaprop’s at 3,4,and 5pm. There will also be a kids’ tasting and activity area, including face painting. Please share with parents at your school or bring your own family! (There will be fun activities for adults, too!)

Since their opening in 2009, Posana Cafe has celebrated their anniversary each May by holding a special fundraiser for ASAP’s Growing Minds Farm to School program. This year is no different! Posana will have a special Appalachian Grown dinner menu from which local food lovers can order. The proceeds from that menu will support connecting farms and schools and give children positive experiences with local food. Please join us for a special dinner at Posana! The fundraiser is May 16^thfrom 5-9pm. More details can be found at our From Here website.

This year’s Farm to School conference will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2013. We’ll be returning to the Sherrill Center on the campus of UNC Asheville for a full day of workshops, speakers, and delicious local food. Check out photos and presentations from last year to get a taste of what you can expect.

Each month we highlight a different Growing Minds resource available to teachers. This month we’re highlighting our video resources. Our videos are a great way to see Farm to School in action! You can learn the story of Growing Minds, watch a cafeteria taste test, a classroom cooking lesson, or take a virtual field trip to Shared Blessings Farm.

As always you can view all of our resources for May including lesson plans and recipes via the Get Local section of our website.

Annie's Grants for Gardens are provided to K-12 school gardens nationwide that connect children directly to real food. Two types of grants are provided. “Getting Started: Funds for Your New Program” offers grants of $500 to start brand-new school garden programs. “Digging Deeper: Funds for Your Existing Program” offers grants of $1,500 to enhance current school garden programs. Visit the company’s website to learn more about the program.

The Green Education Foundation and Gardener’s Supply Company have teamed up on an exciting funding opportunity for established youth garden projects nationwide! The organizations are calling on schools and youth groups to submit chronicles of their garden projects in a race to win a $1,000 prize. The award is designed to support the continued sustainability of an exceptional youth garden program that has demonstrated success, and has impacted the lives of kids and their community.

Up to $4,000 per year is available to any qualifying K-12 school enrolled in Fuel Up to Play 60. (It’s free to enroll). The competitive, nationwide funding program can help your school jumpstart and sustain healthy nutrition and physical activity improvements. This grant would be a great opportunity to implement a monthly taste test of a seasonal, local product in your school cafeteria!

With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, we know you all will be busy with school gardens, testing, grading, and wrapping up things in your classrooms. Thank you for all you do to bring Farm to School to your students!

Brittany Wager
Growing Minds Program Coordinator
ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project)
306 West Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 236-1282 x 103
www.asapconnections.org