Funding Farm to School January 13, 2014 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Funding Farm to School

January 13, 2014

Danielle Fleury, USDA Farm to School

Lauren Mancini & Karyn Novakowski, Somerville Public Schools

Sally Loomis, Williamsburg Public Schools

Slide2

Overview

Federal funding streams:USDA’s Farm to School Grant ProgramOther USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) fundsOther USDA Grant and Loan programs

Somerville perspective:

Somerville Farm to School Planning Grant and leveraged resources

Somerville’s

DoD

Fresh and FFVP grant

Williamsburg perspective:

Williamsburg parent committee and school garden coordinator

Snapshot of a successful community fundraising “

farmraiser

”

Slide3

USDA Farm to School Grant Program

Award up to $5.0 million annually, for:Training

Supporting operations;

Planning;

Purchasing equipment;

Developing school gardens;

Developing partnerships; andImplementing farm to school programs.

Slide4

Types of Grants

Planning ($20,000 - $45,000 over 1 year)school districts or individual schools just starting to incorporate farm to school program elements into their operations

Implementation ($65,000 - $100,000 over 1-2 years)

school districts or schools to help scale or further develop existing farm to school initiatives

Support Service ($65,000 - $100,000 over 1-2 years)

state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers, and non-profit entities working with school districts

Slide5

Timeline

January/FebruaryRequest for Applications announced (FY 2016 RFA forthcoming)Late April

Applications due

October/November

Awards announced

Slide6

supply chain development…distribution and storage of local foods…school gardens… menu audits… salad bars… taste testing… curriculum development… farm field trips…advisory groups…

Detailed info on funded projects, by state, is on the website

Slide7

FNS Program Funds

Federal cash reimbursement (nonprofit food service account funds)local foods and school gardens

Fresh

Fruit and Vegetable Program (

FFVP)

local foods and educational opportunity

USDA Foods/DoD

Fresh

local foods

State Administrative Expense (SAE) funds

State-level farm to school trainings, materials, activities

Slide8

School Garden Memo

Federal reimbursement dollars can support school gardensAllowable expenses

Slide9

Other Federal Sources

Know Your Farmer, Know Your FoodKYF2 Compass MapTrack where federal funding is going to support local and regional food systems

Other USDA and federal agency

support

Slide10

Resources

Slide11

USDA Farm to School Toolkit

http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/census/#/

toolkit/module/11

#11 Sustaining Your Program-

grants

, fundraising techniques

Slide12

Somerville Public Schools

Somerville

Culturally rich city with 50 native languages spoken

Lunch served to ~3000 students daily

10 Schools –

PreK

to 12

1 Early Childhood Center

7 K-8 Schools

1 Alternative Middle/High School

1 High School

~5000 students in ~4

sq

miles makes it the most densely populated community in New England

67% free and reduced lunch

Slide13

Somerville Food and Nutrition Services

Salad bars at 7 K-8 Schools and High School

Fresh fruit and vegetable program at 3 K-8 schools

Events: Food Day, Corn Shucking Day

6 schools received Bronze award for HUSSC

Vegetable of the Month

Cafeteria and in-class taste tests

DoD

Fresh

Farm to School Project

Shape Up Somerville Approved

Slide14

Somerville Farm to School Project

Mission of project:

Grow

, cook, eat, repeat

Cultivate

a sense of place

Advocate

for good

food

EMPOWERING MINDFUL EATERS

Purpose of the grant:

Strategically align all of the district’s farm to school efforts

Work with FNS on sourcing local foods for school food program

Offer food education programs

Develop short and long term goals and implementation plan

Funded by a USDA Planning Grant December 2013 – November 2014

Slide15

Somerville Farm to School Programs:Cafeteria, Classroom, Community

Slide16

Funding Farm to School

Funding from within FNS

DoD

Fresh – Local foods

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program – Local foods

USDA Farm

to

School Planning Grant – planning, taste tests, curriculum development, local sourcing, school gardens

Funding through District

Somerville Family Learning Collaborative – Pop up Literacy Workshop

Somerville Community Schools - Cooking Club

PEP Grant – Cooking Club, Food Literacy Programs

School discretionary budget – School Gardens

Partner

funded

programs

Groundwork Somerville – School Gardens

Project Bread – Healthy Summer Harvest

CURRENT FUNDING SOURCES

FUTURE FUNDING GOALS

Funding from within FNS

Increase

DoD

Fresh participation

Add additional FFVP schools

Apply for grants

Create permanent Farm to School Director Position for district

Funding through District

Continue to partner with district departments

Increase individual school investment

Partner

funded

programs

Continue to work with current partners

Cultivate new partnerships

Slide17

Sourcing local with DoD Fresh

Somerville allotted $16,500 to spend through the

Department of Defense (

DoD

) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

Can

use USDA Foods

entitlement

dollars to

buy

fresh

produce via

 

A.T.

Siravo

Choose local items

when available

Slide18

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program

34% of students in district served through FFVP (~1600 students)

Three schools participate

Argenziano

, 2008-2015

East

Somerville, 2009-2015

Winter

Hill, 2012-2015

Provides free fresh fruits and vegetables midmorning

snack

to students 5 days/week

Slide19

Promoting local with FFVP

1. During 4 months of the school year (June, September, October, November) identify snacks that can be locally sourced once per week (Once per month might be more realistic is pilot year)

EXAMPLES OF LOCAL PRODUCE:

June

– strawberries, peas

September/October/November

– apples, carrots, pears, peppers, zucchini

2. Hold planting

days in the spring when students can

plant seeds

of vegetables that they eat as a part of the

FFVP Program.

GOALS

3. Provide fruit and vegetable source information to teachers and students

Slide20

Local Sourcing Obstacles

Funding deadlines/timeframes:

DoD

Fresh funding available October, spend by April

Flexibility to accept different varieties or items

Budget:

Local is more expensive

Fruit

Case Size

Price

Cost Differential

 

 

Non-local

Local

 

Apple

125 ct

$

35.00

$ 40.00

13%

Strawberries

1 case

$ 18.00

$ 25.00

39%

Defining local

Massachusetts Grown

New England Grown

Mid Atlantic Grown

Local to us…..

Local to our vendor…..

?

Vendor communications: Availability report and source labeling

Slide21

Please be in touch!

Lauren Mancini

Director, Somerville Food and Nutrition Services

lmancini@k12.somerville.ma.us

Charlotte Stephenson

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Grant Coordinator

cstephenson@k12.somerville.ma.us

Karyn

Novakowski

Somerville Farm to School Project Director

knovakowski@k12.somerville.ma.us

Slide22

Slide23

Williamsubrg Elementary School Farm To School Program

Started in 2001 as after school program for kindergarten

Grew to provide weekly garden education to all 160 students during school day

At peak size had paid coordinators, multiple special projects, lots of grant $

Intentionally shifted to a smaller, more sustainable program organized by volunteers with most funding from school

Slide24

Williamsburg Peak Budget

Williamsburg Income

Foundation Grants

$16,000

Special Project grants

$14,000

Individuals and major donors

$10,000

Fundraising Events

$2,500

School

$5,000

Total

$42,500

Slide25

Slide26

Creating a Sustainable Program

School put a line item in their budget for garden education. Small at first.

Shift of organizations from outside nonprofit to School PTO

School took on coordination of program

Downsized program to core – garden education, support for local food in school meals, annual harvest feast

New volunteers organize key program elements – fundraising, summer garden care, annual celebration

Slide27

Slide28

Williamsburg Greenhouse Project

Long-time vision of a school greenhouse

Waiting for school renovation gave time to build momentum

Raised nearly $30,000 for structure big enough for an entire class

Broad community support

3 groups raising money for the project

Wonderful volunteer support

Slide29

School Greenhouse Budget

Williamsburg Greenhouse Income

Community Foundation grant

$7,000

Individual donations

$2,100

Local businesses including % profit to greenhouse days

$4,900

Plant People fundraisers

(Surplus from several Mother

’

s Day plant sales)

$6,000

PTO fundraisers

(including sales of local syrup, coffee)

$5,000

School Garden Program fundraisers

(silent auction, half day programs)

$5,000

Total

$30,000

Slide30

Slide31

Lessons Learned

Find fundraising strategies that fit with your community

Build momentum and excitement

Cultivate a core group of volunteers and make the work fun

Don

’

t be afraid to ask

Budget a buffer

Make your project new and exciting for funders

Emphasize how the project or program will be sustained in the future

Slide32

Thank you! Questions?

Slide33

Contact us:

Danielle Fleury

danielle.fleury@fns.usda.gov

Lauren Mancini

lmancini@k12.somerville.ma.us

Karyn Novakowski

knovakowski@k12.somerville.ma.us

Sally Loomis

loomissally@gmail.com