Farm to School Innovation Spotlight: Welcome to the Food Miles Project - Connecting local farmers, students, and community in Dodge County

By: Alissa Pantuosco 
Alissa Pantuosco is a Farm to School Contractor at Georgia Organics. 

The Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant provides Georgia public school districts with the resources and support systems they need to expand their garden and nutrition education programs. Applications for the 2024-2025 Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant are now open.

To inspire ideas, we wanted to highlight a unique project that connects students with the Georgia agriculture industry. During last year's mini-grant cycle, Dodge County decided to get creative with their project, going above and beyond to enhance local farmer connections. The project included farm field trips to six local farms with 24 middle and high school students through the Food Miles Project.

Photo credits: Alisha Hall, Dodge County School Nutrition

Behind this project is Alisha Hall, Dodge County's School Nutrition Director. With the opportunity to interview Alisha, we got an inside perspective of the relationships, benefits, and connections behind the Food Miles Project, asking questions regarding the planning and process that brought this project to life.    

In 2024, where many cafeteria meals are heat-and-serve, Alisha noticed there is frequently a missed connection between students' understanding of where their food comes from and the appreciation of the hard work that goes into putting food on the table, starting with the farmers. Alisha decided to develop the Food Miles Project, which offered students an opportunity to visit local farms. These students were given behind-the-scenes tours of farm operations for them to learn about food production and careers related to agriculture and increase their exposure to locally grown commodities.   

Alisha held an application process for students to apply for the program if they were interested in learning more about agriculture and farm-to-table. Twenty-four students applied and were part of the Food Miles Project - a school bus journey to local farms, experiencing how far the food travels to get to their plate

Photo credits: Alisha Hall, Dodge County School Nutrition

The farms visited were intentionally picked to include variety in agriculture, including: 

• A farm that specialized in hydroponic lettuce (later used in their school lunch salads) 

•  A hatchery fish farm 

•  A dairy farm 

• A blueberry farm   

• And fruits and vegetables farms   

 The students experienced firsthand the effort and detail that goes into regenerative agriculture and the benefits of local procurement in terms of nutritional quality and supporting the local economy. Alisha mentioned that after the Food Miles Project ended, she continued to see students become spokespeople for Dodge County's school lunch program, encouraging classmates to eat cafeteria meals as they continue to source local ingredients. Other benefits of the project were that students found opportunities for themselves, some even getting part-time job opportunities to work on farms!   

Photo credits: Alisha Hall, Dodge County School Nutrition

If you are interested in starting your own type of Food Miles Project like Dodge County, Alisha shared advice regarding logistics and planning: 

• Make contacts and coordinate in advance with farmers, teachers, and parents  

• Start with a small group of students who are interested in agriculture   

• Pack a lunch for farm field trip day!  

• Make it fun and educational   

Alisha was eager to share their proudest accomplishments to inspire other school nutrition programs. Building a community in Dodge County and surrounding counties with farmers gave them a new list of vendors to shop from, purchasing over $7,600 in food from participating farms. This not only supported local farmers but also had a positive impact on school nutrition. For example, they incorporated blueberries from Anna's Garden Blueberry Farm, encouraging students to create blueberry recipes to add to the cafeteria menu. As the farmers showed off their operations and increased exposure, they stated that seeing students motivated to learn about local farming gives them hope for the future.   

Photo credits: Alisha Hall, Dodge County School Nutrition

 When you have an idea that benefits the next generation, farmers, and the local community, your mini-grant project can be the perfect opportunity to go for it! Now's your chance to join the next cohort of mini-grant awardees and create memorable, impactful experiences for your students – apply now! 

For more information about Dodge County School Nutrition Services, visit https://www.dodge.k12.ga.us/departments/school-nutrition. You can also follow updates from Dodge County Schools on Facebook (Dodge County Schools).

To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.   

Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant Spotlight: Farm to School Excitement Grows in Emanuel County School Gardens

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.

Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered to sponsor the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods  

• Include culturally responsive food and education 

• Include organic and/or sustainability-focused garden education 

• Increase local food procurement 

• And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways. 

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here. 

We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Emanuel County School District. Kim Hooks, the district’s Farm to School Coordinator as of July 2022, has been hard at work building gardens for all the schools in Emanuel County!

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

Kim Hooks has been an environmental science teacher for 30 years. She shifted her focus to farm to school in 2020 after realizing how dramatically the Pandemic impacted the health and well-being of her community. Kim reflected, “When COVID hit, it sent a message that we need to be aware of and connected to where food comes from. It became apparent because of all the supply chain issues... and the fact that people were becoming food insecure. If the pandemic taught us anything, it is not to take our farmers and health for granted.” 

Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, Kim was determined to expand farm to school programming in Emanuel County. One of her goals was to build a garden at every school in the district so that students could have the opportunity to grow their own food and learn about nutrition. This year’s mini grant helped Kim to repair gardens that had deteriorated during COVID and build new gardens at schools that had never had them. 

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

Through garden education, students have enjoyed hands-on, interactive lessons that have encouraged meaningful, lasting connections with their environment. In one school community, students learned the importance of composting by getting their hands dirty (literally!). The students were surprised to discover how warm the compost was, which led to a discussion about how compost is made and how it can sustain plant life. They were so excited that ‘the compost was alive,’ which really sparked their curiosity and lifted their enthusiasm for the garden.  

Now that the Emanuel County school gardens are established, Kim hopes to increase the size of the gardens to grow produce for more taste tests.  The Farm to School Innovation mini grant project has impacted hundreds of Emanuel County students. Throughout the project, taste tests of school garden-grown spinach and collard greens were offered to over 200 students. Nearly 500 students have participated in gardening activities, growing some items that were ultimately served in the cafeteria.  

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

As a farm to school veteran, Kim recommends getting teacher buy-in to connect gardening activities to classroom learning. While she recognizes it can be overwhelming to be a first-time gardener, Kim encourages the folks to just give it a try! Kim believes, “Failure is not a bad thing. If it fails, it is a lesson. Once a few students stepped on some plants, and they died, but it was a valuable lesson for them. Farm to school is a lot of trial and error!” 

Photo courtesy of Kim Hooks, Emanuel County School District

Emanuel County’s farm to school efforts are thriving, and we can’t wait to see how they continue to grow! 

To learn more about Emanuel County School District visit their website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@_emanuel.k12). 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).  

Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant Spotlight: New American Students in Hall County Connect with Their Roots

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.

Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered for the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods  

• Include culturally responsive food and education 

• Include organic and/or sustainability focused garden education 

• Increase local food procurement 

• And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways. 

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here. 

We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Hall County School District. Horticulture teacher, Michelle Conable, has been using the mini grant funds to develop farm to school efforts at the Newcomer Academy.  

Image courtesy of Michelle Conable, Hall County Schools

The Ivester Early College, a college dual enrollment campus, provides a unique learning opportunity for New American students by hosting the Newcomer Academy program at their Jones Learning Center. This program invests in New American students by preparing them for life in the United States and developing their talents and skillsets. The Newcomer Academy consists of nearly a third of the school’s population, with most students from countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico.  

Michelle Conable, an educator in the Newcomer Academy, noticed the impact of food insecurity on the student’s’ health and well-being. A 2020 study by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) found that in the United States, nearly 59% of New American households' experience ‘not [having] enough food to eat’, a number that ‘jumps to 78%’ for households with a family member who is an American, migrant, and/or immigrant seeking status. For New American families, not having enough food is a result of economic hardships in the face of head of households working to provide and the challenges they are navigating with social services like SNAP. In addition, many of their new US communities lack culturally relevant foods available close by.  

To address these challenges, Michelle developed more garden education opportunities for students at the Newcomer Academy. This curriculum would foster a sense of community, while creating access to and excitement for fruits and vegetables. Michelle applied for funds from the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant to purchase the plants and gardening supplies that would make this program possible.  

Many of the students already know a little bit about farming or gardening from their home countries and have transferred their knowledge to their new community through this project. Although the garden lost some crops this year due to weather, they were able to learn from the experiences and change their approach accordingly. Some of the fruits and vegetables students encountered here are different from their home countries, but they also grew some produce that was more familiar to them. For instance, while visiting a plant sale, one student was ecstatic to find a plant that is used for medicinal purposes in their country. The gardening project has provided a meaningful chance for the exchange of cross-cultural knowledge and appreciation. 

Image courtesy of Michelle Conable, Hall County Schools

For students at the Newcomer Academy, the garden project has given them the ability to connect more with their new community and to make their own food choices. Fresh fruits and vegetables are not usually available in the school cafeteria. However, the Newcomer Academy’s Garden has helped to change that by supplying the cafeteria with some of the produce from their garden. Students even used their harvest to make Pico de Gallo which was shared with the community.  

Images courtesy of Hall County Schools

The project at Newcomer Academy has shown the significance of gardening education for New Americans. It is a means for folks to connect with their roots while growing into their communities. Keep up the good work, Hall County! 

To learn more about Hall County School District visit www.hallco.org or follow them on Facebook and Instagram (@_hcsdofficial). 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).   

Farm to School Innovation Mini-Grant Spotlight: Dawson County Gives School Greenhouse a Facelift

By Yaza Sarieh 

Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator. 

Georgia Organics, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) and Newman’s Own Foundation have partnered for the second annual Farm to School Innovation Mini Grants. These funds support farm to school initiatives in eight Georgia school districts that:  

• Increase access to local, fresh, organically grown foods,  

• Include culturally responsive food and education, 

• Include organic and/or sustainability focused garden education,  

• Increase local food procurement 

• And/or benefit Georgia certified organic farmers in other ways.  

To learn more about the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant, click here. 

We are pleased to highlight mini grant awardee: Dawson County School District. School Nutrition Director, Scott Richardson, has been leading a collaborative mini grant project at Kilough Elementary School. 

All photos courtesy of Dawson County Schools.

The greenhouse at Kilough Elementary School was in bad shape when Scott Richardson arrived in Dawson County a few years ago. Even though it was run down, Scott recognized that the greenhouse would be a place where agriculture education would thrive. To get the ball rolling, Scott applied to the Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant and received funding to rehab the space for the community to grow food.  

With the greenhouse revamp underway, interest and investment in the project has taken off, with many staff members at the school beginning to take the lead on lessons and maintenance tasks. The greenhouse has even gone beyond the Kilough school walls. Local high school students have joined the project through their Future Farmers of America (FFA) Agribusiness Management class, supporting hands-on activities such as amending beds, testing soil samples, installing irrigation/sprinkler systems and building large hydroponic tables. 

All photos courtesy of Dawson County Schools.

For Kilough students, the greenhouse has become a place where they learn life-long lessons about food and nutrition. During one activity, students tasted celery grown in the greenhouse and compared it to celery supplied by the cafeteria. Because the school had waited too long to harvest the greenhouse celery, it was considerably more sour than normal. After the taste test, one student commented, “Now I know why my mom buys food from Walmart,” which led to a discussion on where food comes from and why it can taste different. The greenhouse has provided these students with hands-on learning experiences that are more memorable and impactful than a typical lesson.  

One of the biggest takeaways Scott has from this journey is the importance of community engagement in farm to school. Scott believes that you must build a community around farm to school projects to ensure buy-in and to sustain the efforts. Getting as many folks into the greenhouse as possible, including students, teachers, parents and reporters, has helped Scott to develop excitement and support for the project. 

The greenhouse in Dawson County has provided community members from all around the district with opportunities for hands-on food education and leadership. Scott hopes to use the lessons from this mini grant project to build greenhouses in all schools throughout the district. We cannot wait to see how farm to school in Dawson County will grow! 

To learn more about Dawson County School District visit https://www.dawsoncountyschools.org/. 

To learn more about Georgia Organics visit georgiaorganics.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube by searching (Georgia Organics).