Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:
Nothing Reported
Changes/Problems:Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were the greatest challenges we faced throughout the entire grant period, and the final reporting period was no exception. Key staff turnover and persistent labor shortages within school nutrition programs was another ever-present challenge throughout the grant period. Support was provided to navigate through pandemic meal service and to adapt to the program changes as they came. In OESU, we also had to adapt to the unexpected death of the Bradford FSM, who was a strong and important force in the entire district-wide meal program. The Bradford Farm to School coordinator position also transitioned from someone who had served in that role for several years to a new person. Ultimately, project team partners responded creatively to the disruptions, and continued to provide high-quality coaching, technical assistance, and professional development to the CCSU and OESU communities throughout the grant period. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project placed an emphasis on providing training and professional development opportunities throughout the grant period for various Farm to School stakeholders, including school nutrition professionals, teachers, administrators, and farmers. During our third-and-final year of the project, the following training and professional development opportunities were offered to CCSU and OESU by project partners: Two individual school FTS teams from within CCSU (Peacham & Danville) completed participation in the 2021-22 FTS Institute, a professional learning program that guides FTS teams in developing and implementing a comprehensive Action Plan that connects the "Three C's" of Farm to School (the Classroom, the Cafeteria, and the Community). In May 2022, teams attended an in-person wrap-up retreat at Shelburne Farms where they synthesized their learning over the previous year, and began drafting a new Action Plan for the 2022-23 school year. NOFA-VT, in partnership with the VT Agency of Education hosted a training in August 2022 focused on the new Vermont Local Foods Incentive grant. The training provided an overview of the program, including how to define and identify local products, and how to track local purchases. The training also featured a round-table discussion with School Nutrition Directors who have been successful with local purchasing to share best practices with their peers. HFVT organized a training around school meal application collection and messaging for school foodservice leaders and school administrators ("Running a Successful School Meal Application Campaign," August 11, 2022). The training was attended by multiple staff from CCSU schools and OESU schools and the district office. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
During the third-and-final year of the project, the pandemic has continued to impact many of our original plans. The project team, led by NOFA-VT successfully adapted remaining activities in a manner that still served our overarching goals. Notably during this year, Vermont began implementation of a Local Foods Incentive Grant program (established by the Legislature in 2021), which awards grants to schools that reach local purchasing targets. Also, the Legislature authorized the continuation of Universal School Meals beyond the expiration of the USDA nationwide waivers that allowed for universal meals from March 2020 - August 2022. Project team partners were very involved in supporting the successful rollout of both of these State-funded investments in our child nutrition programs. GOAL 1: Increase the capacity of schools to engage children in experiential learning about food and agriculture. Obj. 1: Assess and create implementation plan for the schools in the district to include technical assistance and professional development Completed in Year 1 Obj. 2: Engage children in experiential learning about food and agriculture including food production, preparation and cooking, and tasting. ACTIVITIES: CCSU and OESU schools continued implementing monthly Harvest of the Month (HOM) taste tests, as pandemic conditions allowed. KEY OUTCOMES: Despite pandemic limitations, experiential learning about food is continuing in most school campuses within both SUs. Obj. 3: Create and implement evaluation and data collection process and evaluation tools. Completed in Year 1 Obj. 4: Two district teams with community partners as coaches participate in the Northeast FTS Institute throughout the 2020-2021 academic year ACTIVITIES: Two individual school FTS teams from within CCSU (Peacham & Danville) completed participation in the 2021-22 FTS Institute, a professional learning program that guides FTS teams in developing and implementing a comprehensive Action Plan that connects the "Three C's" of Farm to School (the Classroom, the Cafeteria, and the Community). KEY OUTCOMES: Teams developed a values-based FTS Action Plan and deepened their commitment to FTS. Obj. 5: Provide curriculum workshops with educators in the school district Completed in Years 1-2. GOAL 2: Strengthen the relationships between schools and local farmers and producers. Obj. 1: Support schools in conducting farm field trips and hosting visiting farmers at schools Completed in Year 2 Obj. 2: Provide Training & Technical Assistance to farmers and producers to sell to schools Completed in Year 2 GOAL 3: Increase school/district capacity to procure, prepare, and serve local foods Obj. 1: Determine needs, timeline, and topics for training for school nutrition professionals to purchase and use more local foods. ACTIVITIES: NOFA-VT provided technical assistance to SUs on Vermont's new Local Foods Incentive grant. CCSU Food Service continued their purchasing relationship with Green Mountain Farm Direct, the local food hub that aggregates and delivers source-identified food from local producers. In OESU, the tragic and sudden death of the Bradford Elementary School Food Service Director caused some disruptions in Farm to School and, specifically, local procurement activities. With the support of project partners and the Farm to School coordinator, several different school campuses continued working together to procure local food. KEY OUTCOMES: Local purchasing systems continue to be strengthened in OESU schools; Specific local purchasing goals identified by CCSU, in conjunction with their Local Foods Incentive Grant. Obj. 2: Conduct workshops and technical assistance for school nutrition professionals ACTIVITIES: NOFA-VT, in partnership with the VT Agency of Education hosted a training on the Vermont Local Foods Incentive grant, and another on featuring Vermont vegetables in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program; Hunger Free Vermont offered customized technical assistance throughout the reporting period. KEY OUTCOMES: School nutrition staff in both SUs are supported both by prof. dev. opportunities as well as technical assistance providers who are able to customize their support to meet the unique needs of each school nutrition program. GOAL 4: Advance the nutritional health of children through assessment of the districts' specific needs and develop customized training plan (through the School Nutrition Leadership Academy) in order to implement successful school lunch and breakfast programs. Obj. 1: Work with District and school level administrators on developing FTS programming and efficient meal programming on a district level ACTIVITIES: HFVT worked with OESU staff in March and April 2022 to identify capacity and plan for summer meals. Due to Bradford's reduced capacity to serve meals over the summer, we identified community partners that could be part of filling the gap with the meal program. Obj. 2: Support schools to create changes to and expansion of their school nutrition programs. ACTIVITIES: HFVT developed a suite of resources for schools to prepare for the 2022-23 school year, with the transition away from operating the Summer Food Service Program and back to the School Breakfast Program and National School Lunch Program. HFVT organized a training around school meal application collection and messaging for school foodservice leaders and school administrators ("Running a Successful School Meal Application Campaign," August 11, 2022). The training was attended by multiple staff from CCSU schools and OESU schools and the district office. Obj. 3: Communicate district-wide policies and programming concerning school meals and FTS. ACTIVITIES: With Vermont continuing Universal Free School Meals, there was a specific need for support around messaging clearly to families how programs were changing and the importance of submitting meal applications even though meals are free. Materials and technical assistance were provided to schools and districts across the state, including to CCSU and OESU. GOAL 5: Increase the number and quality of partnerships between schools and community members and organizations. Obj. 1: Work with MS & HS teachers and students on project based learning projects that address food security. ACTIVITIES: Classroom-based activities were canceled due to the pandemic. Obj. 2: Community members are aware of where they can buy local food directly from farmers, such as CSAs, farm stands, and Farmers Markets ACTIVITIES: NOFA-VT promoted local food access resources with targeted info for each SU community, featuring local farmers markets that accept SNAP, CSAs that offered a subsidized "Farm Share", and other resources. KEY OUTCOMES: Families are increasingly aware of where they can buy local food and what financial support is available to them in and around their communities. GOAL 6: Increase capacity of community partners to provide direct delivery of food, farm, and nutrition education as well as professional development and technical assistance to teachers, school nutrition personnel, and school and district level leaders and administrators. Objective 1: Community partners participate in School Nutrition Leadership Academy (SNLA) process ACTIVITIES: Our community partners have been integral and actively involved in the process of supporting school nutrition professionals. KEY OUTCOMES: GMFTS and VC staff are strengthening their relationships with school nutrition leaders in their communities. Objective 2: Community partners gain skills in FTS professional development ACTIVITIES: GMFTS and VC staff served as coaches for the Northeast Farm to School Institute program, and have been invited to participate in the delivery of various workshops. KEY OUTCOMES: GMFTS and VC staff are demonstrating great aptitude in delivering FTS professional development and follow-up support.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21
Outputs
Target Audience:During the reporting period, we continued to work closely with the Farm to School (FTS) committees from the Caledonia Central and the Orange East Supervisory Unions. The FTS Committees are composed of a diverse stakeholder group, including district and building administrators, classroom teachers, school nutrition personnel, and parents/community members. Together, the two supervisory unions encompass 14 schools, representing 2,916 students from PreK through 12th grades. Each school began the project with varying levels of FTS activity. Changes/Problems:As was the case in Year 1 of our project, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continued to be the most difficult challenge. While we were able to successfully adapt most key activities for remote delivery, we are persistently faced with the reduced capacity our school-based partners have had this year, due to the unprecedented challenges schools are facing due to the pandemic. Since our overarching goal is to embed sustainable FTS programs within our two partner supervisory unions, we wanted to ensure that they can take full advantage of all the professional learning opportunities, customized technical assistance, and coaching support that our project partners are offering. To that end, we are grateful to have been granted a one-year no cost extension to continue our activities through the end of the 2021-22 school year and following summer. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project places a premium on providing professional development and technical assistance so as to embed Farm to School principles and activities across the curriculum and throughout the school day. Our professional learning opportunities and technical assistance are targeted to support schools within the districts to connect the "Three C's" of Farm to School (the classroom, the cafeteria, and the community), and to develop "staying power", so the program can be sustained beyond the initial period of intensive support. Three key training and professional development opportunities were ongoing throughout the reporting period (and will continue into the next reporting period): the Northeast Farm to School Institute, School Nutrition Technical Assistance, and Professional Development for Community Project Partners. Northeast Farm to School Institute. During the reporting period, Farm to School committees from the Caledonia Central and Orange East Supervisory Unions completed their participation in the Northeast Farm to School Institute, a yearlong professional learning opportunity. Teams worked with their community partner coaches throughout the year to implement (and adapt) their action plans that included their goals around local procurement, curriculum integration, utilizing outdoor learning spaces, and cultivating family and community connections. Both teams presented at a year-end virtual gathering in May, sharing their successes and challenges, while also networking with other participating teams. They also updated their action plans to continue their work in the 2021-22 school year. Notably, two individual school teams from within the CCSU applied for, were selected, and began their participation in the 2021-22 FTS Institute! School Nutrition Technical Assistance. Hunger Free Vermont has been offering customized support to Caledonia Central and Orange East Supervisory Union school nutrition programs throughout the reporting period. Due to the pandemic, the School Nutrition Leadership Academy process was not able to be conducted as designed. We determined in Year 1 that it was most appropriate to support CCSU and OESU school nutrition leaders with customized, on-demand technical assistance to support the programs throughout this unprecedented crisis, which abruptly and dramatically reshaped the needs of school nutrition professionals. This tactic continued to be prudent throughout Year 2. HFVT continued to provide promotional support and technical assistance for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and providing meals and other food resources to kids and families, such as using Pandemic-EBT cards. During the back-to-school season, HFVT developed outreach materials to communicate to parents and guardians how to access free school meals, while also helping schools to collect the demographic data they need that is traditionally collected through free and reduced-price meal eligibility applications. Professional Development for our Community Project Partners: see Objective 6, above. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In our third-and-final year of this grant, NOFA-VT, in addition to managing the project team, will continue to provide technical assistance and matchmaking support to increase local food purchasing. We will also expand our focus on supporting families in the CCSU and OESU communities that are experiencing food insecurity by building awareness of our nutrition incentive program (Crop Cash) and our subsidized CSA program (Farm Share) that support low-income households to buy local food directly from farmers, such as CSAs, farm stands, and Farmers Markets. We will continue our efforts to promote direct market channels more broadly within the CCSU and OESU communities, as well as statewide. Together with our partners at Shelburne Farms, we will wrap-up delivery the 2021-22 Northeast Farm to School Institute professional development program, including more virtual workshops, supporting role-specific Affinity Groups, and wrapping up by supporting goal-setting and action planning for the 2022-23 school year. Our community partners, Green Mountain Farm to School and Vital Communities will continue to coach the CCSU and OESU FTS Committees, supporting the implementation of their action plans. Hunger Free Vermont will work with school nutrition leaders and administrators in each SU to review and assess current meal program status and to identify opportunities to increase participation, expand meal offerings, streamline systems, and improve meal quality. We will work with UVM Extension to conduct a final assessment, though it remains unclear still, due to the pandemic, what that will look like. While we are proud of the work we have collectively been able to accomplish so far, it has been very difficult for school staff to dedicate as much time as anticipated due to the many (and constantly changing) stressors related to the pandemic. We will work diligently to accomplish as much as possible, while remaining realistic about our partners' capacity.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Our supervisory union-level approach allows for best practices, systems, professional learning opportunities, and resources to be shared among the schools that make up these supervisory unions. During the second year reporting period, project partners, led by NOFA-VT, have supported the further development of FTS Committees within each SU, and in some cases committees within individual schools as well. The FTS committees include administrators, classroom teachers, school nutrition professionals, as well as parents and community members. While the pandemic has continued to impact many of our original plans, the project team has successfully adapted many activities in amanner that still serves our overarching goal. Teams from each Supervisory Union completed their year-long participation in the Northeast FTS Institute, a professional learning program that guides FTS teams in developing and implementing a comprehensive Action Plan that connects the "Three C's" of Farm to School (the Classroom, the Cafeteria, and the Community). The SU FTS Committees were supported by continued coaching from a regional FTS partner organization (Green Mountain Farm to School and Vital Communities). Each SU continued to receive customized technical assistance from Hunger Free Vermont to promote stable and sustainable operations for their meal programs. School nutrition professionals from each SU had the opportunity to attend an on-farm workshop in their region over the summer. GOAL 1: Increase the capacity of schools to engage children in experiential learning about food and agriculture. Obj. 1: Assess and create implementation plan for the schools in the district to include technical assistance and professional development Completed in Year 1 Obj. 2: Engage children in experiential learning about food and agriculture including food production, preparation and cooking, and tasting. ACTIVITIES: All CCSU schools have implemented monthly Harvest of the Month (HOM) taste tests; Two OESU schools that previously did not collaborate are now working together on offering monthly taste tests and hosted a year-end outdoor garden gathering KEY OUTCOMES: Despite pandemic limitations, experiential learning about food is returning to most school campuses within both SUs. Obj. 3: Create and implement evaluation and data collection process and evaluation tools. Initial Readiness Assessment completed (w/pandemic interruption and limitations) in Year 1 Obj. 4: Two district teams with community partners as coaches participate in the Northeast FTS Institute throughout the 2020-2021 academic year ACTIVITIES: Both CCSU and OESU teams completed their yearlong participation in the FTS Institute. Two individual school FTS teams from within CCSU applied for and were accepted into the 2021-22 FTS Institute program, which kicked off in August 2021. KEY OUTCOMES: Deepening commitment to FTS values and professional learning Obj. 5: Provide curriculum workshops with educators in the school district ACTIVITIES: 2 additional curriculum workshops were delivered to OESU educators during Year 2 KEY OUTCOMES: Educator FTS committee members have a strong foundation in the principles of integrating FTS across the curriculum, and will be well prepared to share their learning with colleagues in their schools. GOAL 2: Strengthen the relationships between schools and local farmers and producers. Obj. 1: Support schools in conducting farm field trips and hosting visiting farmers at schools ACTIVITIES: Teams identified local farm partners that are willing to support educational goals, as well as product sales. Monthly HOM taste tests promoted local producers. KEY OUTCOMES: Engagement directly between students and farmers has continued to be difficult due to the pandemic Obj. 2: Provide Training & Technical Assistance to farmers and producers to sell to schools ACTIVITIES: Hosted on-farm workshops in each region to connect farmers and school nutrition professionals directly to one-another KEY OUTCOMES: Better understanding by both parties (farmers and school nutrition professionals) of the needs, challenges, and opportunities of working together GOAL 3: Increase school/district capacity to procure, prepare, and serve local foods. Obj. 1: Determine needs, timeline, and topics for training for school nutrition professionals to purchase and use more local foods. ACTIVITIES: Despite the challenges the pandemic has posed, both SUs began implementing their plans for expanding their local purchasing. CCSU Food Service expanded their purchasing relationship with Green Mountain Farm Direct, the local food hub that aggregates and delivers source-identified food from local producers. In OESU, two food service directors at different school campuses began working together to procure local food. KEY OUTCOMES: Local purchasing systems are strengthened Obj. 2: Conduct workshops and technical assistance for school nutrition professionals ACTIVITIES: NOFA-VT, in partnership with the School Nutrition Association of VT hosted a series of on-farm workshops for school nutrition professionals in the summer of 2021; Hunger Free Vermont offered customized technical assistance throughout the reporting period. KEY OUTCOMES: School nutrition staff in both SUs are supported both by prof. dev. opportunities as well as technical assistance providers who are able to customize their support to meet the unique needs of each school nutrition program. GOAL 4: Advance the nutritional health of children through assessment of the districts' specific needs and develop customized training plan (through the School Nutrition Leadership Academy) in order to implement successful school lunch and breakfast programs. See Professional Development question for more information on all the objectives below. Objective 1: Work with District and school level administrators on developing FTS programming and efficient meal programming on a district level Objective 2: Support schools to create changes to and expansion of their school nutrition programs Objective 3: Communicate district-wide policies and programming concerning school meals and FTS. GOAL 5: Increase the number and quality of partnerships between schools and community members and organizations. Obj. 1: Work with MS & HS teachers and students on project based learning projects that address food security. ACTIVITIES: Classroom-based activities have been postponed due to the pandemic. Obj. 2: Community members are aware of where they can buy local food directly from farmers, such as CSAs, farm stands, and Farmers Markets ACTIVITIES: NOFA-VT promoted Farmers Markets, Farm Stands, and CSA farms throughout the year in various channels (traditional media, social media, print publications). KEY OUTCOMES: Families are increasingly aware of where they can buy local food in and around their communities. GOAL 6: Increase capacity of community partners to provide direct delivery of food, farm, and nutrition education as well as professional development and technical assistance to teachers, school nutrition personnel, and school and district level leaders and administrators. Objective 1: Community partners participate in School Nutrition Leadership Academy (SNLA) process ACTIVITIES: While we have not been able to conduct our originally planned SNLA activities due to the pandemic, our community partners have been integral and actively involved in the process of supporting school nutrition professionals. KEY OUTCOMES: GMFTS and VC staff are strengthening their relationships with school nutrition leaders in their communities. Objective 2: Community partners gain skills in FTS professional development ACTIVITIES: GMFTS and VC staff are serving as coaches for the Northeast Farm to School Institute program, and have been invited to participate in the delivery of various workshops. KEY OUTCOMES: GMFTS and VC staff are demonstrating great aptitude in delivering FTS professional development and follow-up support.
Publications
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Progress 09/01/19 to 08/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:During the reporting period, we worked closely with the Farm to School committees from the Caledonia Central and the Orange East Supervisory Unions. The FTS Committees are composed of a diverse stakeholder group, including district and building administrators, classroom teachers, school nutrition personnel, and parents/community members. Together, the two SUs encompass 14 schools, representing 2,916 students from PreK through 12th grades. Each school began the project with varying levels of FTS activity. The Caledonia Central SU communities are rural, without ready access togrocery stores- the closestfull-service supermarketare30 miles away, although there are farm stands in many of these towns, and a farmers market in one town. Seventeen percent of children in Caledonia county live in poverty and a quarter of its children are food insecure. Roughly a third of the elementary schools in Caledonia County have 75% of the student population qualifying for free and reduced price lunch. The Orange East Supervisory Union towns have very limited access to fresh local foods. For community members to reach full-service supermarket is over a 45-minute drive for most. It lies in a largely rural agricultural region of the state that includes pockets of extreme poverty and geographic isolation (pop. 183,802; 2,314 farms). Many schools have free and reduced meal eligibility exceeding 50 percent. The adult obesity rate is above the state average at 33%, and 37% of adults suffer from two or more chronic conditions. Changes/Problems:As mentioned above, the COVID-19 pandemic has been the most difficult challenge we have faced so far. While we were able to successfully adapt several key activities for remote delivery, we are persistently faced with the reduced capacity our school-based partners have had this year, due to the unprecedented challenges schools are facing due to the pandemic. Since our overarching goal is to embed sustainable FTS programs within our two partner supervisory unions, we want to ensure that they can take full advantage of all the professional learning opportunities, customized technical assistance, and coaching support that our project partners are offering. Our school partners are very committed to this project, and I think one of the best ways we can support them during this difficult time in making sure they get the most benefit is to explore what our options may be for extending the project timeline. I've already reached out to my program officer to schedule a time for us to discuss some proposed timeline and budget adjustments for the remainder of the project. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?This project places a premium on providing professional development and technical assistance so as to embed Farm to School principles and activities across the curriculum and throughout the school day. Our professional learning opportunities and technical assistance are targeted to support schools within the districts to connect the "Three C's" of Farm to School (the classroom, the cafeteria, and the community), and to develop "staying power", so the program can be sustained beyond the initial period of intensive support. Three key training and professional development opportunities were ongoing throughout the reporting period (and will continue into the next reporting period): the Northeast Farm to School Institute, School Nutrition Technical Assistance, and Professional Development for Community Project Partners. Northeast Farm to School Institute. During the reporting period, Farm to School committees from the Caledonia Central and Orange East Supervisory Unions began their participation in the Northeast Farm to School Institute, a yearlong professional learning opportunity. It began with teams completing the FTS Rubric, a pre-assessment tool, followed by a 3-day virtual kick-off where teams developed integrated action plans that included their goals around local procurement, curriculum integration, utilizing outdoor learning spaces, and cultivating family and community connections. The teams were each paired with experienced Farm to School coaches who will support the implementation of the action plan over the course of the subsequent school year. A series of 20+ virtual workshops were offered to participants throughout the rest of the summer and into the fall, each designed to support the diverse needs of Farm to School committee members. Workshop topics included: Strategies for Values-based Local Food Procurement, Growing STEAM in the Classroom, Farm to School Coordination with an Equity Lens, Communications and Marketing your Farm to School Efforts, Adapting Farm to School Curriculum and Projects for Virtual Learning, and much more.All workshops were recorded and are available for participants to view anytime. School Nutrition Technical Assistance:Hunger Free Vermont has been offering customized support to Caledonia Central and Orange East Supervisory Union school nutrition programs throughout the reporting period. Due to the pandemic, the School Nutrition Leadership Academy process was not able to be conducted as designed. We determined that it was most appropriate to support CCSU and OESU school nutrition leaders with customized, on-demand technical assistance to support the programs throughout this unprecedented crisis, which abruptly and dramatically reshaped the needs of school nutrition professionals. HFVT shifted to focusing on support for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), meal delivery to remote learners, and providing meals and other food resources to kids and families. During the early months of the pandemic, HFVT developed outreach materials to communicate to parents and guardians how to access free school meals. Additionally, they assisted Orange East SU with creating, and beginning to implement a district wide plan for their meal program, including their top priority--expanding universal free school meals across the district. Professional Development for our Community Project Partners: GOAL 6: Increase capacity of community partners to provide direct delivery of food, farm, and nutrition education as well as professional development and technical assistance to teachers, school nutrition personnel, and school and district level leaders and administrators. Objective 1: Community partners participate in School Nutrition Leadership Academy (SNLA) process ACTIVITIES:While we have not been able to conductour originally planned SNLA activities due to the pandemic, our community partners have been integral and actively involved in the process of supporting school nutrition professionals. KEY OUTCOMES: GMFTS and VC staff are building strong relationships with school nutrition leaders in their communities. Objective 2: Community partners gain skills in FTS professional development ACTIVITIES: GMFTS and VC staff are serving as coaches for the Northeast Farm to School Institute program, and have been invited to participate in the delivery of various workshops. KEY OUTCOMES: GMFTS and VC staff are demonstrating great aptitude in delivering FTS professional development and follow-up support. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?NOFA-VT, in addition to managing the project team, will continue to provide technical assistance and matchmaking support to increase local food purchasing. We will also focus on projects that address food security, and building awareness of where families can buy local food directly from farmers, such as CSAs, farm stands, and Farmers Markets. Additionally, together with our partners at Shelburne Farms, we will continue delivering the 2020-21 Northeast Farm to School Institute professional development program, including more virtual workshops, coaching, and wrapping up by supporting goal-setting and action planning for the 2021-22 school year. Shelburne Farms will work with each SU to provide customized support with FTS curriculum integration. Strategies will include: Conducting an audit, or assessment of current FTS curriculum, and opportunities to expand and/or provide greater depth of learning; Hosting grade-level appropriate virtual workshops for educators in both SUs Our community partners, Green Mountain Farm to School and Vital Communities will continue to coach the CCSU and OESU FTS Committees, supporting the implementation of their action plans. Hunger Free Vermont will work with school nutrition leaders and administrators in each SU to review and assess current meal program status and to identify opportunities to increase participation, expand meal offerings, streamline systems, and improve meal quality. The University of Vermont will continue to support the evaluation of our project. While we are proud of the work we have collectively been able to accomplish so far, it has been very difficult for school staff to dedicate as much time as anticipated due to the many (and constantly changing) stressors related to the pandemic. We will work diligently to accomplish as much as possible, while remaining realistic about our school partners' capacity. It is likely that we may request a no-cost extension for our project, so as to ensure our school partners have enough time and capacity to be successful in embedding sustainable FTS programs within their supervisory unions.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Farm to School (FTS) is a comprehensive strategy that connects student learning and experiences in the Classroom, Cafeteria, and the Community. The goal is to help students establish a lifelong positive relationship with food while supporting a more just local food system. The strategies used to achieve this shift are: serving healthy local food in schools,providing hands-on food systems based learning opportunities, and developing meaningful relationships between community partners, farms, schools and students. While many Vermont schools engage in some level of FTS activity, most schools, particularly in rural and isolated parts of the state, struggle to sustain and expand efforts into stable, fully realized FTS programs. Small schools make economies of scale difficult, staff resources are limited, and there is a general lack of funding for training or technical assistance. Our overarching goal with this project is to embed and sustain Farm to School (FTS) programming throughout two rural, low-income Vermont supervisory unions: Caledonia Central SU and Orange East SU. Our supervisory union-level approach allows for best practices, systems, professional learning, and resources to be shared among the schools that make up these supervisory unions. During the first year reporting period, project partners, led by NOFA-VT, have successfully supported the formation of FTS Committees within each SU, which include administrators, classroom teachers, school nutrition professionals, as well as parents and community members. Each team began participation in a yearlong professional learning program, the Northeast FTS Institute, which supported the team in developing a shared mission statement, goals, and a detailed action plan (including many pandemic-induced adaptations). Each SU received customized technical assistance from Hunger Free Vermont to promote stable and sustainable operations for their meal programs. While the pandemic has impacted many of our original plans, the project team has successfully adapted many activities and service delivery mechanisms in a manner that still serves our overarching goal. As we move into the second year of this project, we are confident that our efforts to overcome many of the challenges presented by the pandemic in year one have prepared the project team and the two beneficiary supervisory unions for success in year two. GOAL 1: Increase the capacity of schools to engage children in experiential learning about food and agriculture. Obj. 1: Assess and create implementation plan for the schools in the district to include technical assistance and professional development ACTIVITIES: FTS Committees formed in both CCSU and OESU; Began participating in the Northeast FTS Institute (See prof. dev.section for more info.) KEY OUTCOMES: CCSU and OESU FTS Committees have a solid theoretical foundation, and an action plan to guide them. Obj. 2: Engage children in experiential learning about food and agriculture including food production, preparation and cooking, and tasting. ACTIVITIES: CCSU and OESU team action plans call for activities such as classroom cooking, taste tests, garden-based learning, farm visits and/or virtual farmer chats. KEY OUTCOMES: Students will have increased opportunity for experiential learning. Obj. 3: Create and implement evaluation and data collection process and evaluation tools. ACTIVITIES: University of Vermont graduate student researchers conducted Community Readiness Assessment interviews with community stakeholders.They were unable to conduct all planned interviews, due to interruptions caused by the pandemic. DATA COLLECTED: 4stakeholder interviews SUMMARY STATS/DISCUSSION OF RESULTS: The researchers offered multiple conclusions: "Primarily, varying levels of access to time and financial resources are persistent among the communities involved in the project. The outcome of these barriers are a lack of collaboration across leadership, FTS champions, and school districts. The varying levels of support from key stakeholders in the communities leads to knowledge gaps, miscommunication and lack of integration within schools and across school districts. On the other hand, all of the interviews demonstrated that the schools had a variety of FTS programming representation with stakeholders who are passionate about integrating these programs in a more effective way." Obj. 4: Two district teams with community partners as coaches participate in the Northeast FTS Institute throughout the 2020-2021 academic year ACTIVITIES: See Prof. Dev. question for more info. KEY OUTCOMES: Farm to School committees are prepared to implement their action plan throughout the 2020-21 school year, with support from their coaches and technical assistance providers. Obj. 5: Provide curriculum workshops with educators in the school district ACTIVITIES: 5 curriculum-focused workshops were offered through the Northeast FTS Institute KEY OUTCOMES: Educator FTS committee members have a strong foundation in the principles of integrating FTS across the curriculum, and will be well prepared to share their learning with colleagues in their schools. GOAL 2: Strengthen the relationships between schools and local farmers and producers. Obj. 1: Support schools in conducting farm field trips and hosting visiting farmers at schools ACTIVITIES: Teams identified local farm partners that are willing to support educational goals, as well as product sales. KEY OUTCOMES: Both teams' action plans call for expanded farmer engagement with students via farmer field trips, classroom visits, or virtual farmer chats. Obj. 2: Provide Training & Technical Assistance to farmers and producers to sell to schools ACTIVITIES: No progress during the reporting period, largely due to the pandemic. GOAL 3: Increase school/district capacity to procure, prepare, and serve local foods Obj. 1: Determine needs, timeline, and topics for training for school nutrition professionals to purchase and use more local foods. ACTIVITIES: Despite the challenges the pandemic has posed, both SUs are developing plans and systems for expanding their local purchasing, and are establishing new relationships with local producers and/or food hubs. Both teams' action plans include a goal to increase local food purchasing. CCSU team established a purchasing account with their local food hub, Green Mountain Farm Direct, and have begun buying some local food for various schools within the SU. OESU team has begun purchasing new local products for some of the SU's cafeterias from Crossroads Farm. KEY OUTCOMES: Local purchasing systems are strengthened Obj. 2: Conduct workshops and technical assistance for school nutrition professionals ACTIVITIES: 3 school nutrition-focused workshops were offered through the Northeast FTS Institute. Hunger Free Vermont offered customized technical assistance throughout the reporting period. See prof. dev. question for further details. KEY OUTCOMES: School nutrition staff in both SUs are supported both by prof. dev. opportunities as well as technical assistance providers who are able to customize their support to meet the unique needs of each school nutrition program. GOAL 4: Assess the districts' specific needs and develop a customized training plan (the School Nutrition Leadership Academy process) in order to strengthen school meal programs. See Professional Development question for more information. GOAL 5: Increase the number and quality of partnerships between schools and community members and organizations. Obj. 1: Work with MS & HS teachers and students on project based learning projects that address food security. ACTIVITIES: Classroom-based activities have been postponed due to the pandemic. Obj. 2: Community members are aware of where they can buy local food directly from farmers, such as CSAs, farm stands, and Farmers Markets ACTIVITIES: Work has not yet begun on this, and will be prioritized in year two.
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