By Diana Pena
Diana Pena is a CDC Public Health Associate serving as the Farm to School Coordinator at the Georgia Department of Public Health. She also supports the Georgia Organics Farm to School team in our work to achieve Georgia Farm to School alliance and Farm to Early Care and Education strategic plan goals.
Georgia Organics and the Georgia Department of Public Health (GA DPH) have partnered to establish the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant Program. These funds support farm to school initiatives that:
Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown food
Include culturally responsive food and education,
Increase local food procurement,
And/or benefit Georgia-certified organics farmers in other ways.
To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant Program click here.
We are excited to highlight Mini-Grant Awardee: Fannin County School System. Martha Williams, Director of Nutrition and Wellness and agriculture teacher Seth Davis (pictured below) are leading the Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant project at Fannin County Middle Schools.
All images were provided by Martha Williams
After receiving information about this grant, Mr. Davis came up with a new agricultural endeavor that can strengthen their program at FCMS: vermicomposting.
Vermicomposting is important because it boosts nutrients available to plants and enhances soil structure and drainage.
One of the challenges Fannin County Middle Schools had was purchasing and receiving the vermicomposting equipment. Martha reports, “in a time of supply chain deficits, this program took longer to initiate than expected.” Despite this challenge, Martha states that, “the success of the program highlights the worth of the endeavor.”
Martha shares that the students of FCMS, “loved being part of the process and look forward to seeing what the worms are doing each day.” She even says, “some of the fertilizer is being used to grow cilantro for a Taco Tuesday taste test.”
Martha and Mr. Davis are hoping to continue this vermicomposting project and extend this opportunity to other students in FCMS! Martha shares that she and Mr. Davis are working together to expand their vermicomposting system beyond the classroom activities and hope to, “[include] some of the cafeteria’s waste stream for his nutrient source. The by-products of the vermicomposting will be used as fertilizer when potting plants for FCMS greenhouse.”
Lastly, Martha shares, “we are excited to foster this symbiotic relationship between man and the environment. Fueling Georgia’s future while providing meaningful, hands-on experiences is an awesome opportunity for all stakeholders!” Keep up the good work Fannin County!
To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org, and follow us on social media @GeorgiaOrganics and at facebook.com/GeorgiaOrganics. To learn more about Fannin County School System visit: www.fannin.k12.ga.us and to see updates of their ongoing Mini-Grant follow them: https://www.facebook.com/fannincountyschoolsystem/