Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience: FoodCorps works across 13 states and Washington D.C.; however, this project specifically supports our School Nutrition Service Member Pilot program in the following 5 states and communities reaching 241,000 students this year: California: (94,800 students reached) San Francisco Unified School District (San Francisco, CA) Oakland Unified School District (Oakland, CA) Rio Unified School District (Oxnard, CA) Georgia (42,900 students reached) Baldwin County School District (Milledgeville, GA) Burke County School District (Waynesboro, GA) Jackson County School District (Jefferson, GA) Massachusetts (38,200 students reached) Lowell Public Schools (Lowell, MA) (14k students) Springfield Public Schools (Springfield, MA) Michigan (51,400 students reached) Detroit Public Schools Community District: Office of School Nutrition - Farm & Garden Grants Program (Detroit, MI) Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities (Petoskey, MI) New Jersey (13,800 students reached) Bridgeton Public Schools (Bridgeton, NJ) Camden City School District (Camden, NJ) New Jersey Department of Agriculture (Trenton, NJ) We strategically choose to work in schools where a high number of students benefit from free and reduced-price lunches. Typically, at least 84 percent of students in schools we serve qualify for the free or reduced-cost school meal program. Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, or People of Color (BIMPOC) kids face racism, classism and/or food insecurity all over the country. Through our work, we intentionally and primarily serve schools and districts where the majority of their kids are experiencing these systemic injustices - 81 percent of students FoodCorps serves identify as BIMPOC. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Members have received special training on Value Chain Coordination, hosted by the Wallace Center at Winrock International, in addition to access to Chef Ann course work. FoodCorps has also hosted a National Orientation training at the start of the service term and a Mid-Year Gathering in early 2023. There was a special pre-gathering at the Mid-Year Gathering this year for School Nutirtion Service Members to learn about stakholder mapping andmarketing and promoting school nutirtion programs. There was a mix of both external and internal traners, including FoodCorps alumni. Members also receive ongoingstate, site, and remotetrainings. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The FoodCorps evaluatin teamcompleted 1:1 interviews with all School Nutition Service Members in May 2023. These interviews were an opportunity to learn challenges and opportunities around how partnerships were set up, as well as best practices from the pilot for the future. Once synthesized, this learning will be disseminated to all School Nutrition Service Member partners/communities. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As we approach the end of our pilot year, we are building on the learnings from the first year of our School Nutrition Pilot program and strengthening the quality and impact of our district-level school nutrition service. To achieve this, we are focusing on: - Understanding the best role service members play in supporting district-wide initiatives - Designing and implementing a program model that best helps school districts institutionalize food education and nourishing school meals, including developing resources, training and coaching - Expanding the Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, People(s) of Color (BIMPOC) School Nutrition Leadership Network to ensure more BIMPOC school nutrition leaders have the support they need in their work and careers while providing more opportunities for professional mentorship In addition to 1:1 member interviews,members have also received an in-person site visit from program staff and regular check-in calls to check in on implementation progress and make any needed adjustments to the existing service plan, as appropriate.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal 1: 22 FoodCorps' district-level service members in our School Nutrition Pilot program were recruited, trained and placed at service sites where they are increasing access to nourishing school meals in a sustainable and impactful way by providing additional capacity, support and resources to school administrations stretched thin. Service members are actively participating in or leading activities that contribute to more locally sourced ingredients showing up on the tray, engaging student and community voices in creating a mealtime experience that reflects their cultures and identity, and developing hands-on learning resources that can be used by the entire school district. Service members work to: - Amplify student voices' in breakfast and/or lunch menu additions - Foster a school-wide environment celebrating nourishing and nutritious food - Cultivate an inviting cafeteria experience where nutritious foods on the cafeteria menu are promoted and kids are encouraged to try them - Support schools' efforts to serve culturally-relevant meals and share recipes with parents and caregivers to connect the home and school meal experience and the benefits of nourishing school meals for their kids Goal 2: Partnerships plans for all service sites were completed at the end of November 2023. These plans chart the course for year-by-year activities and impact to advance the local visions of our school nutition site partners, in alignment with FoodCorps' vision for change. Goal 3: FoodCorps' Food Operators and Leaders of Color in Schools (FOLCS) community provides opportunities for service members, alumni, and school nutrition professionals, as well as those aspiring to careers in this field, to connect around leadership development, mentorship, and networking. As part of FOLCS, we launched a social network platform (LinkIn) with the intention to use this linkedIn group for network connections, including job postings and engagement questions at least once a week, and sharing resources, including mentorship program updates and upcoming webinars. There is no cost to join or participate in FOLCS. This network is open to all Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, and People of Color who work in school food. We are also hosting ongoing quarterly calls for professional development and an in-person event in June 2023 for connection, brainstorming, and development of the next itieration of the FOLCS network moving into program year 2023-2024.

Publications

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/24/23

Outputs
Target Audience:FoodCorps works across 13 states and Washington D.C.; however, the grant funds from this grant specifically supported our School Nutrition Service Member Pilot program in 8 states (CA, D.C, GA, MA, ME, MI, NJ, OR) reaching 233,675 students. the following 5 states and communities reaching 241,000 students this year: California: (88,740 students reached) San Francisco Unified School District (San Francisco, CA) Oakland Unified School District (Oakland, CA) Rio Unified School District (Oxnard, CA) Washington, D.C. OSSE (Washington, DC) Georgia (13,996 students reached) Baldwin County School District (Milledgeville, GA) Jackson County School District (Jefferson, GA) Massachusetts (37,790students reached) Lowell Public Schools (Lowell, MA) (14k students) Springfield Public Schools (Springfield, MA) Maine (11,654 students reached) ?Lewiston Public Schools - St. Mary's Nutrition Center (Lewiston, ME) Portland Public Schools - Cultivating Community (Portland, ME) Michigan (50,154students reached) Detroit Public Schools Community District: Office of School Nutrition - Farm & Garden Grants Program (Detroit, MI) Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities (Petoskey, MI) New Jersey (23,006students reached) Bridgeton Public Schools (Bridgeton, NJ) Camden City School District (Camden, NJ) New Brunswick School District (New Brunswick, NJ) New Jersey Department of Agriculture (Trenton, NJ) Oregon (8,335 students reached) Klamath County School Disctrict (Klamath Falls, OR) Umatilla School District We strategically choose to work in schools where a high number of students benefit from free and reduced-price lunches. Typically, at least 84 percent of students in schools we serve qualify for the free or reduced-cost school meal program. Black, Indigenous, Multiracial, or People of Color (BIMPOC) kids face racism, classism and/or food insecurity all over the country. Through our work, we intentionally and primarily serve schools and districts where the majority of their kids are experiencing these systemic injustices - 81 percent of students FoodCorps served identify as BIMPOC. Changes/Problems:Some challenges that members reported in their service includedschool districts being resistent to change and difficulty making acutal menu changes. "Historically the kitchen manager, at their central kitchen, has kinda decided what's taste-tested, how it's prepared. I kinda came in thinking I might have some sway to suggest things. And at times I did suggest things. But it was pretty apparent that they just have a thing they do. They kinda do the same - when it's dairy, they do the cheese curds... Like, they're doing a blueberry bread for May that they always do. So, they have - it was kinda clear that they didn't want suggestions for new items" - SNSM at a medium district "But I think for certain chefs or kitchen leads it is easier for them to stick with what they know. Like, pizza, and mac and cheese. And things that they know kids will eat and they'll get good participation for. And then I feel like they have tried to do, like, new menu items that have just not gone over well. So it's easy for them to just give up on it if no one's gonna try it." - SNSM at a large district What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training provided included: Chef Ann ServSafe Manager certification Social Media in the lunchroom Difficult conversations training Support from state staff Support from site supervisor or site team Big picture content on school food, food systems, and equity at National Orientation How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Learning was shared across our national network, paving the way for rich collaboration and deep learning opportunities within and between geographies. This is significant because the ideas generated, thought partnership that occurs, and sharing of successes and challenges are helping districts across the country see both what is possible for school meals and what is necessary to create the change districts want to see. School districts are learning from each other's wins and areas for growth which ultimately leads to kids winning in cafeterias, gardens and classrooms around the country as access to food education and nourishing meals increases. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Goal !: FoodCorps recruited and trained 21 School Nutrition Service Membersto implement service activities that supported district school meal quality and food education goals. We placed these members with 13 school districts, 3 community based organizations and 2 state agencies partners. Of the 13 school districts, 8 are considered large districts/states, 6 are medium sized districts, and 6 small districts.A primary component of School Nutrition program included engaging student voice and choice through district-wide community engagement activities with menu planning and ingredient testing. Opportunities to try new foods, voice their perspectives, and exercise agency in what they eat, empower students to continue making positive choices about the foods that nourish their bodies. Additionally, tastings and recipes that affirm and celebrate cultural identities help cultivate a sense of inclusion and belonging for all students. By bringing needed capacity to school meal programming at the districts served, we are investing in a future for kids with increased access to delicious and nutritious school meals that provide the nourishment needed to thrive in the classroom and beyond. Goal 2:To better understand what long-term success for partnership with school district food service programs looks like, FoodCorps created a new tool in support of multi-year goal setting and progress monitoring. Through establishing co-created multi-year goals with our partners, rather than bringing our own external agendas, we can be confident that the added capacity our programming brings can be more effectively utilized to support community developed goals. This process includes annual metrics to measure our progress against, and annual work plans for each service member. Together, we completed mid-year and end-of-year qualitative and quantitative assessments to monitor our progress. In addition to providing an improved method for monitoring progress with school leaders, this new tool also helps us in answering the following questions over time: (1) Is change happening at the district level on the identified priorities? (2) How and how much change is happening? (3) Is change being sustained over time?? Goal 3: Of the 21 School Nutirion Service Members engaged in this project, at the end of their term 43% said they want to work in school nutirion in the future, 24% said they are not sure what they want to do, and 33% said that they do not want to work in school nurition. Quotes from members interested in pursuing leadership roles in the school nutiriton field include: "I could see myself doing this job forever. Like I would love to just do this." and "I think FoodCorps helps you really invest yourself into a vision that you see forward. And there are a lof of different players doing this good work."

Publications