These garden projects will cultivate healthier, lifelong eating habits by enhancing student’s learning experience and raising awareness about the benefits of locally grown foods.
FARM TO SCHOOL INNOVATION MINI GRANT SPOTLIGHT: Expanding Garden Education Potential in Monroe County
The 2024 Farm to School Innovation Mini Grant program is underway, and we are excited to start sharing some of the wonderful work that awarded school districts have been up to!
GET READY TO PAR-SLAY THE DAY!
WE ARE PEPPER TOGETHER! Highlights from this year’s October Farm to School Month Campaign
Pepper Palooza was a state-wide campaign to get kids eating, growing, and participating in pepper-themed activities, and because of your participation and support, it did!
GEORGIA ORGANIC'S PEPPER PALOOZA CAMPAIGN RECAP: Farm to School Made Easy for Teachers
IT’S PEPPER PURCHASING SEASON: 12 Georgia Farms to Support by Locally Sourcing your Organic Peppers
Georgia is having a Pepper Palooza!
By Yaza Sarieh
Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.
Graphics created by Ana Maria Paramo
For the past ten years, Georgia Organics has coordinated a statewide campaign to get kids eating, growing, and learning about a new fruit or vegetable during October Farm to School Month. Over the years, this campaign has encouraged millions of Georgians to get excited about local fruits and veggies – even the ones that have a bad rep!
Our 2022 October Farm to School Month campaign, Spinach To Win It, reached over 700,000 Georgia students. Check out all our previous fruit and vegetable-themed campaign materials here.
This year’s October Farm to School Month campaign is celebrating PEPPER PALOOZA!
Graphics created by Ana Maria Paramo
Peppers are awesome because they not only grow and thrive right here in Georgia, but they are also found in cuisines all over the world.
When you sign up for October Farm to School Month: Pepper Palooza at bit.ly/pepperpalooza, you’ll automatically receive access to our free electronic toolkit full of pepper-themed materials. From lesson plans to classroom & cafeteria recipes, plus school garden resources and everybody’s favorite: merch – this campaign is going to be pepper than ever. It’s downright spicy!
To get peppered for Pepper Palooza, we asked some Georgia Organics staff to share some of their favorite pepper meals:
“I love to eat peppers in all kinds of salsas and hot sauces, which I eat on everything. I also love all peppers on pizza.”
“I love to eat Muhammara, which is a red pepper dip from the Middle East. It is great with pita bread or vegetables! When you sign up for Pepper Palooza, you can get a free kid-friendly Muhammara recipe!”
“I love this recipe from the New York Times: Skillet Chicken with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles.”
“My favorite way to eat pepper is in a non-traditional Italian sausage and peppers recipe. I like to char my onions with red and yellow bell peppers, then add fresh garlic and fresh oregano with chicken sausage. It’s a very simple and yummy recipe.”
“I’ve been snackin’ on jalapeños frescos since I was 4 years old – my favorite way to enjoy a spicy, healthy snack! When I decided I wanted to step away from a career in professional theatre, I never dreamed that farming and agriculture would be my next big step. For my first growing season this spring, I decided to stick to my love of peppers & grow six different varieties to see what new peppery dishes I could explore…on my list to try are: Sofrita, a traditionally Puerto Rican soup featuring aji dulce peppers (ajicitos) & Peperonata (Sweet Bell Peppers With Olive Oil, Onion, and Tomatoes) – using doe hill golden bell peppers – and my own hot sauce using habanero, jalapeno & aji amarillo chili peppers, all home grown from USDA Organic seed sourced from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange.”
Speaking of eating peppers, we have some BRAND NEW resources and activities specifically tailored for school nutrition! As part of our toolkit, we have different cafeteria recipes and promotional materials that will get everyone pumped for peppers. Additionally, when districts serve peppers at least once a week during the month of October, they are eligible to win a very special prize! Check out the requirements and contest information here.
Courtesy of Emily House, Gainesville, GA
Courtesy of Samantha Tarvin, Walker County
And speaking of contests, don’t forget to share all of your fun pepper activities for our social media contest! Use #pepperpalooza in your social media posts for the chance to win a fantastic prize. Social media winners will be selected each week and highlighted in our weekly engagement e-mails throughout October. At the end of the month, one lucky winner will receive a grand prize – so don’t snooze on the palooza!
What are you waiting for? If you haven’t signed up already, REGISTER NOW to get this Pepper Palooza started!
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).
Pepper Get Ready – How to Get your Pepper Plants Started for October Farm to School Month
Georgia Organics Conference Recap: Community Collaboration Session on the Use of Storytelling to Improve Social Awareness, Grow Leaders, and Foster Belonging in a School Setting
By Yaza Sarieh
Yaza Sarieh is the Georgia Organics Community Collaboration Coordinator.
Active Inclusion Session - Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism
In mid-February, the annual Georgia Organics Conference & Expo created space for community members to learn from each other and reinvigorate impactful connections at the Perry National Fairgrounds. On a rainy Thursday morning, the Community Collaborations track kicked off with a session titled: Active Inclusion – How telling our collective stories improves social awareness, grows leaders, and fosters belonging in the community, facilitated by Sagdrina Jalal, Founder of SageD Consulting, and Rukia Rogers, Founder of the Highlander School of Atlanta. This interactive workshop provided participants with tools to help them transition from an understanding and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion to implementing strategies that support the changes they desire.
Sagdrina Jalal - Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism
Rukia Rogers - Photo by Jenna Shea Photojournalism
Both Sagdrina and Rukia are Social Justice Activists and Educators with extensive experience supporting leaders to develop their impact through the use of storytelling and authentic engagement. They started the experience with a commemoration and acknowledgment of the Muscogee tribe and African American slaves who were stewards of the land that we occupy. This reflection transitioned into a discussion about mission-driven programming, using The Highlander School of Atlanta as a case study.
One of the core principles of the Highlander School’s mission is that children are “active discoverers and constructors of their own knowledge,” and that “they have the right....to be a part of the decision-making process.” To fulfill this mission, Rukia talked about how the school must constantly and rigorously reflect on the ways their mission and values are present in daily activities. For instance, when students encountered an unhoused person asking for food, they started to ask questions, and expressed a desire to help enhance food equity in their community. Educators allowed the students to take the lead, and so they made bowls for unhoused people to eat from, and they inspired the creation of a community garden accessible to everyone in need. This is just one example of how stories can reflect and communicate the values and missions of an organization in meaningful, tangible ways.
The Highlander School - Photo by SageD Consulting
The example of the Highlander School was a segway into the interactive portion of the Active Inclusion workshop. For this portion of the session, Sagdrina used her background as the Founder of SageD Consulting to coach participants on effective messaging of their missions. Sagdrina emphasized that effective messaging cultivates community-centered networks and amplifies diverse voices. Some of the factors she encouraged participants to consider were adapted from the Anti-Racist Farmer’s Market Toolkit and include:
Who are the sponsors, partners, and collaborators?
What are those partner organizations’ values?
Where does your organization advertise? What are the advertisers’ values?
Does the organization have community partnerships that benefit the most vulnerable members of the community?
These questions are crucial for communicating the message consistently, and ensuring that it represents and resonates with the intended audience. Session participants then engaged in a small group campaign activity to create messaging campaigns that related to a shared topic and values. This learning opportunity proved to be a strong start to the conference, as participants collectively practiced how to promote healing, belonging, and equity in this setting and beyond.
Interactive Activity - Photos by Jenna Shea Photojournalism
To learn more about Georgia Organics, visit georgiaorganics.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn by searching the handle @GeorgiaOrganics or Georgia Organics.
To learn more about SageD Consulting, visit www.sagedconsulting.com, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram (@sagdrina), and LinkedIn.
To learn more about The Highlander School, visit www.thehighlanderschool.com, or follow them on Facebook, Instagram (@rukiarogers), and LinkedIn.
DECAL CELEBRATES FARM TO ECE EFFORTS IN WARE COUNTY
Guest blog contributor Morgan Chapman
Morgan Chapman is the Nutrition Education Specialist at the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL).
In recognition of Farm to School and Farm to Early Care and Education Month, the Nutrition Services Division of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) visited a site in Ware County, GA to celebrate Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) efforts.
A happy Head Start start student digs into their yummy taste test! All images courtesy of the author.
On Thursday, Oct. 20, the Nutrition team visited Ware County Head Start Center. There, we learned about Georgia Organics’ Waycross Family Farm Share Pilot — funded through a Community Transformation Grant that DECAL awarded — to address childhood food insecurity for children ages birth to five in Waycross, Georgia.
The Head Start staff and Georgia Organics team showed parents how to plant spinach and Swiss chard seeds, all while discussing food education. Both teams encouraged families to register for the Family Farm Share.
As a pilot program, Family Farm Share delivery lasts six weeks and responds to community needs and preferences for fresh food. Participating families receive a low-cost bag of locally-grown produce each week. This support is possible through a partnership between WayGreen, Georgia Organics, and local farmers.
Parents and DECAL staff connect over seed planting, meal prep and conversation.
Staff members were happy to connect with parents and engage their children through food education and taste-testing of blueberries and watermelon. DECAL staff visited Head Start, Early Head Start and Inclusion classrooms led by Ms. Carol Clarke.
Classroom educators welcomed Clarke, who serves as the training and literacy specialist with Action Pact. The children were thrilled to engage through food-based learning, taste-testing plump blueberries, and sharing their opinions. Staff members also took a tour of the Head Start Center’s garden beds and rooted for the children participating in a bean bag race!
After the taste test, students were encouraged give their opinions about the locally-sourced foods.
To wrap up the visit, DECAL staff had the opportunity to see how the Family Farm Share was sorted and packaged.
The week’s share box included eggs, Satsuma oranges, Fuyu persimmons, collard greens, corn, microgreens (sunflower), red kale, mini sourdough bread, and North Georgia apples.
Our visit confirmed that the Farm to ECE and the Family Farm Share is a win-win for the Head Start community, local farmers, and the youngest learners.
DECAL, WayGreen, and Georgia Organics team members have successfully partnered to support Ware County’s Farm to ECE efforts.
Learn more about Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) at decal.ga.gov.
You can also follow them on Instagram (@brighfromthestart), Twitter (@GADeptEarlyCare), and Facebook (@georgiaDECAL).
Contact their Nutrition Education Specialist Morgan Chapman through their website instructional supports directory.
Visit georgiaorganics.org to see all of what we do and follow us on social media @georgiaorganics for updates and weekly happenings.