Statewide News

USDA Celebrates One Year Anniversary of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 - USDA - Wed, Jan 4th, 2012

First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today highlighted the achievements of the historic Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, one year after the legislation was enacted to combat child hunger and obesity and improve the health and nutrition of the nation's children.

Scaling-up Connections between Regional Ohio Specialty Crop Producers and Local Markets: Distributio - Inwood, Shoshanah, Jill Clark and Jeff Sharp - Thu, Oct 6th, 2011

This Ohio State University report explores the opportunities for scaling up distribution of local fruits and vegetables to retail outlets in Ohio by using conventional distribution methods.

Shumlin plan would trade USDA staples to local foods - Andrea Suozzo - Thu, Oct 6th, 2011

Governor Shumlin of Vermont campaigns for federal funding for fresh fruits and vegetables in schools

Local Cooking Experts Star at Statewide School Nutrition Conference - Jeff Hudson - Tue, Aug 9th, 2011

About 100 food and nutrition professionals from across the state gathered Thursday at UC Davis to learn how to make tastier, more nutritious school lunches. The key message? Use fresh, locally grown ingredients, tangy spices and ethnic recipes that reflect the diversity of California’s population.

Local Preschoolers Learn To Tend A Garden - - Mon, Aug 1st, 2011

Video featuring the Farm to Pre-School program of Community Health Improvement Partners in San Diego, CA.

California Authors: Connecting the Dots From California Fields to Our Dinner Tables - Georgeanne Brennan - Tue, Jul 26th, 2011

California, children do not need to be served reheated processed food manufactured in Kentucky or Missouri when they are surrounded by some of the most, if not the most, productive orchards, fields, farms, ranches and dairies in the world. Let's reconnect our children and ourselves to our rich agricultural landscape through creating a true California school lunch.

USDA Seeks Ways to Boost Farm-to-School Programs - Steve Karnowski - Fri, Jul 22nd, 2011

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a new report on what works in farm-to-school programs, what doesn't and what the agency can do to help them work better. The report was put together by a USDA team that traveled to 15 school districts across the country and comes as officials, including first lady Michelle Obama, are promoting the importance of healthier food for kids.

Santa Cruz City Schools Tries to Make School Food Cool - Shanna Mccord - Mon, Jun 27th, 2011

The Santa Cruz school district is taking another stab at getting more kids to eat cafeteria food with a new marketing plan ready to launch in the fall.

Michelle Obama announces Let's Move! Child Care tools for daycare centers - Jeneba Ghatt - Fri, Jun 24th, 2011

Michelle Obama unveiled the Let's Move! Child Care while visiting children at CentroNia, a bilingual child care center in Washington DC.

In San Diego, Gary Petill and Vanessa Zajfen make a great team with kids’ interests at heart - Meredith Modzelewski - Tue, May 10th, 2011

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), is now asking farmers around San Diego to plant food especially for SDUSD: last month, the district sourced 8,000 lbs of broccoli from one farm, and now two growers are collaborating to grow enough organic cilantro for the district.

USDA Expands Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables for Schools Across the Nation - USDA Food and Nutrition Service Office of Communications - Fri, Mar 25th, 2011

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that, as authorized by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill), USDA will expand assistance to state agencies for schools operating USDA's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) in the 2011/2012 school year.

Local School Tests a Program to Serve More Local Produce - Cassandra Morris - Wed, Dec 15th, 2010

Mountain Avenue Elementary School was the site of a California Farm to School pilot program last week that brought locally grown fruits and vegetables to the school cafeteria's salad bar.

USDA removes major barrier to Michelle Obama’s salad-bar initiative - Ed Bruske - Wed, Dec 8th, 2010

First Lady Michelle Obama announced last week that a new public-private partnership, Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools, would make it possible for as many as 6,000 salad bars to be installed in U.S.

Bringing the farm to school - Megan O'Neil - Tue, Dec 7th, 2010

Nutrition education and healthy lunches have become an increasingly important priority at Glendale Unified in recent years. This week produce, which came from independent farms in Carlsbad, Fillmore, Tehachapi and Goleta, was being served to Mountain Avenue students as part of Farm to School, a two-week pilot program run by the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College.

Grateful Gleaning at Organic Farms - Beth Huizenga - Mon, Nov 29th, 2010

Novato school district's Miguel Villareal and Helge Hellberg, executive director of Marin Organic and the creator and host of "An Organic Conversation,"have added a new twist to the normal Monday afternoon gleaning by inviting families and children to ride free buses, provided by NUSD, out to the farms to help harvest. The idea was for the kids to learn something about their food, or maybe earn community hours.

Stick a Fork in It: Pass The Child Nutrition Act - Debra Eschmeyer - Tue, Nov 23rd, 2010

We are preparing for the most thoroughly planned meal in America, and it's not Thanksgiving dinner. It's school lunch. For the last two years, advocates, lobbyists, politicians, and celebrities from Rachael Ray to Michelle Obama have worked to craft a bill that will daily affect the lives of the 31 million children who clamor to the nation's school cafeterias to quell their grumbling bellies. For this bill to pass, over the next few days we the people must prove to our elected officials that the Child Nutrition Act is a national priority.

Nourish Middle School Curriculum Guide - Free Download - WorldLink and the Center for Ecoliteracy - Tue, Nov 9th, 2010

The Nourish Middle School Curriculum Guide offers a rich set of resources to open a meaningful conversation about food and sustainability. Beautifully designed and brimming with big ideas, the materials contain a viewing guide, six learning activities, action projects, student handouts, suggested resources, and a glossary

Bring the Farm to the School - Judi Gerber - Wed, Oct 6th, 2010

As the school year gets underway, many parents are no doubt dreading the usual barrage of requests to sell fundraising items for their child’s school, most of which are neither healthy, environmentally sound, or even wanted: candy, wrapping paper, and yet another magazine subscription.

Good people doing great things - - Mon, Feb 16th, 2009

Yolo Community Foundation, a nonprofit organization, hosted the Yolo County Philanthropy Day Awards last week at the Heidrick Ag History Center. Ten Yolo County Nonprofits participated. Thirty-seven awards were given.

Memorial held for woman who promoted agriculture - - Mon, Feb 16th, 2009

Sheri Rudd Klittich was involved in the Farm to School program, which connects local growers with the school lunch program, and the Ag Futures Alliance, where she worked to advance sustainable agriculture in the county.

Let - Sierra Club Santa Lucia Chapter - Mon, Feb 16th, 2009

According to Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, "A study of 57 countries with about 13 million farmers has shown 50 to 100 percent increases in yields where farmers are using local resources and organic sustainable methods." Sounds good to us. Let's put the policies in place that will give us that kind of food security.