Your list of events and other opportunities of interest to Minnesota Grown members. (Topics will be removed six months after the opportunity has passed.)
Farm to School Opportunities
Posted 10/15/2019
October is National Farm to School Month—a time to celebrate the connections happening all over the country between children and local food. In the last USDA Census, 268 Minnesota school districts said they participate in farm to school activities.
Whether you are on a first name basis with the school nutrition professionals in your area or not, now is a perfect time to strengthen or build new relationships with nearby schools. In Minnesota, there are two statewide events currently planned for Farm to School Month.
- On October 3, schools across the state will kick off the school year with Minnesota Thursdays, serving a locally-sourced meal.
- On October 10 students and adults of all ages across the Great Lakes Region will celebrate the sixth annual Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch. Everyone is welcome to participate by crunching into locally grown apples at noon to celebrate eating healthy and eating local.
In 2018, over 1.5 million people joined in the celebration, including 211,553 apple crunchers in Minnesota from 543 sites.
These two statewide events and farm to school in general are additional market ventures for your farm business. To learn more about these opportunities, go to z.umn.edu/f2smonth. To learn more about selling your farm products to schools, check out this USDA factsheet.