Ohio State University to Host Farm to School Workshops

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Educators, farmers, food producers, businesses and anyone else interested in creating or expanding a Farm to School program can learn from the experts on how to do so during a series of Farm to School workshops April 29, 30 and June 10.

Ohio State University Extension will host the Farm to School workshops as part of its goal to continue to expand the successful program, which works to increase students’ access to healthy foods and to help them learn more about food, health, nutrition and agriculture, said Carol Smathers, an OSU Extension field specialist and the program’s director.

Farm to School is a national program, which in Ohio is led by OSU Extension and is supported by numerous agencies, foundations and industry organizations. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

Part of a national network, Ohio’s Farm to School Program has projects and partnerships in all 88 counties. Leadership of the program transitioned from the Ohio Department of Agriculture to OSU Extension in 2011. The Farm to School program works to ensure that students pre-K through college have increased access to nutritious food grown by local farmers.

The workshops are designed to inform participants about the benefits and opportunities for Farm to School programs and how to go about implementing a Farm to School program, Smathers said.

The workshops will also teach participants how to: identify food safety practices for using local foods in school food service; identify resources for connecting local producers with local school food service; use direct marketing tools to develop networks for procuring and supplying local foods, she said.

Workshop sessions will include:
• What’s happening with Farm to School
• Purchasing local foods for schools
• Food safety
• Making connections with local producers
• The education connection

Registration for the workshops can be done online at http://farmtoschool.osu.edu/events/workshops/.

Workshop dates, locations and costs are:
• April 29 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn, 6165 Levis Commons Blvd in Perrysburg, Ohio. Registration is $30 and includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and resource materials. Contact: Jan Meyer, Ohio Action for Healthy Kids Zone 1, 419-327-8969 or email at [email protected].

• April 30 from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Mt. Orab Elementary School, 474 W. Main Street, Mt. Orab, Ohio. Registration is free and includes dinner. The deadline to register is April 20. For more information, contact Jenny Even at 513-946-8987 or e-mail at [email protected].

• June 10 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hocking College, 3301 Hocking Parkway, in Nelsonville, Ohio. Registration is $25 and includes lunch. For more information, Ruth Dudding at [email protected].

More information about the Farm to School program can be found at http://farmtoschool.osu.edu. Other workshops will be held Sept. 26 and Oct. 24. More information about those workshops including registration costs and deadlines will be available soon.