LOVE LOCAL: The Benefits of Farm to School
The Farm to School program is very important! Effort is made to help teach children where their food comes from, how it grows, and how it fuels their bodies. In addition to the improvements in each child, farm to school is also an economic opportunity for local farmers. The financial opportunity grows more opportunities for farmers and growers beyond our Department's purchasing. This increased the family and community engagement, creates jobs, and strengthens the local economy. More information is available on the National Farm to School Network website.
The National Farm to School Network has released a game called "Build Your Own Meal" - learn the real world impacts of what it takes to serve Farm to School! Play the game at this link.
Farm to School News
Three Sisters Lesson (click here) - Corn, Beans, and Squash lesson provided by community partner, Wello
For Educators and Families - find interesting ideas for incorporating gardens and produce into your classroom or home at rootedwi.org/ - Be sure to sign-up for their newsletter too!
Farmer Biographies
Seasonal Harvest
Most summer produce, cherry tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, fresh melon, and more
Richland Hills
Sliced Apples
Green Bay Area Public School District Wordpress Blog Post
History of Farm to School in GBAPS
Green Bay Area Public Schools is partnering with Wello to bring comprehensive Farm to School to Green Bay students!
Comprehensive Farm to School is an evidence-based strategy to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, improve health and support academic achievement among participating students.
Everyone wins with Farm to School! Children acquire the skills necessary to make healthy food choices; once established – schools save money and increase meal participation and farmers are exposed to an expanding market, keeping money in the local economy.
Through an application process, four pilot sites were selected to participate in Farm to School beginning in the 2013-2014 school year: Aldo Leopold Community School, Danz Elementary, Howe Elementary, and Webster Elementary Schools. These Pilot Sites received a Harvest of the Month Program complete with fruit and veggie taste testing in the cafeteria and/or classrooms, monthly take-home newsletters, a monetary stipend and ongoing support to develop or upgrade a sustainable school garden, and guest appearances by local farmers and chefs.
Expanding the initial project, classrooms may also have the opportunity to go on farm field trips! GBAPS Food Service is also hard at work to increase local food offerings on the menu at all schools throughout the district.
As the project expanded, all schools were included in Farm to School programming. Our Food Service Department found that it was most beneficial to begin sourcing all produce for the district locally, as much as possible. Because of the number of meals during the school year, providing local produce during the summer for all meals is most reasonable, although some produce is sourced from local food hubs during the school year.
During the COVID19 pandemic, Southwest High School's Agriculture Department received grant funding to purchase Fork Farms. These student-led vertical farms provide lettuce grown at Southwest High directly to Southwest High students! Expansion of more intentional purchasing of local produce for school year meals began in the 2022-23 school year. Hyperlocal sourcing, such as Southwest High, and local producers and growers provide thousands of pounds of fresh produce to our students daily.
Wello is excited to partner with GBAPS on this exciting effort and we hope to see the Farm to School Program continue to grow in years to come! For more information, watch for updates of the Food Service webpage or visit Wello's School as Food Systems page!