Non Technical Summary
This project will work with the Troy School District (TSD) and Genesee Joint School District (GJSD) in Latah County, Idaho, to increase their capacity for food, garden, and nutrition education among primary and secondary students. Latah County, an underserved rural area supported mainly by crops such as wheat, lentils, peas, oats, and barley, faces significant disparities between food access and food consumption despite its extensive agricultural activities.Access to local food in school meals has been very limited at the two school districts as the height of the growing season in the study area falls out of school days, and no network exists linking local food producers with school systems.Needs for better food and nutrition education are also strong in TSD and GJSD.The proposed project will address these needs by i) increasing access to local food in TSD and GJSD, ii) providing experiential learning opportunities through school gardens to increase fruit, vegetable, and legume consumption and foster business/leadership skills, iii) developing integrated educational curriculums to improve student's food, garden, and nutrition knowledge.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
806	5010	3020	90%
724	6099	1010	10%

Knowledge Area
724 - Healthy Lifestyle; 806 - Youth Development;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other; 5010 - Food;

Field Of Science
3020 - Education; 1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Goals / Objectives
The long-term goal of the project is to bring together stakeholders from various parts of the food system to increase the consumption of local food, expand the capacity for food, garden, and nutrition education within the Troy and Genesee School Districts in Idaho, and foster higher levels of community engagement between farms and schools and preparing students to be the next generation of leaders in the food and agricultural sectors.Supporting objectives include:Increasing access to and consumption of local food products in elementary and secondary schools by linking local producers with school snacks and weekend meals;Enhancing agricultural knowledge and fostering business, leadership and problem-solving skills among students through school garden and farmers market activities;Developing and evaluating integrated curriculum to reinforce food and nutrition-based learning throughout the school environment.The project will facilitate school districts to purchase/distribute locally-grown fresh produce for school-day snacks, and pulses for hummus and soup kits for weekend meals among students.The project will also expand the existing school gardens as outdoor classrooms for experiential learning, assist with at-home gardening activities, foster business and leadership skills through kids-led farmers market activities, and develop curriculums to improve students' knowledge of food, nutrition and sustainability.The project aligns with FASLP's goals to increase students' agricultural knowledge, improve children's nutritional health, address food waste and loss, and develop leadership skills, knowledge, and qualities necessary to prepare students for future careers in food, agricultural and related careers.

Project Methods
Objective 1:Purchase fresh produce from local growers to provide healthy fruit and vegetable snacks for students in the two school districts.Collaborate with local pulse producers and associations to provide soup and hummus kits to students for weekend meals.Develop a producer-school network in Latah County, Idaho, for future collaborations on farm-to-school programs.Objective 2:Expand existing school gardens to serve as outdoor classrooms for experiential learning on fruit and vegetable production.Assist with at-home garden activities.Develop business and leadership skills by selling fresh produce from school and home gardens at local farmers markets and community events.Create kid-led promotional activities at local farmers markets to increase knowledge of local food and healthy diets.Objective 3:Expand existing "4-H Fridays" to include "Food with Farmers" to engage more students with local food production and healthy diet choices.Develop evidence-based curricula to improve food and nutrition knowledge among primary and secondary school students.Create curricula to engage high school students as effective teachers in food and agriculture service learning.Evaluation PlanWe will conduct formative evaluations annually to review progress, success, and challenges, using the data to improve programs and develop reports. Both qualitative and quantitative methods will be employed to measure outcomes.?