Lots of Learning at 4th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference

Posted On: Apr 01, 09

Our Program Director and Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator for ‘AINA In Schools just returned from a great conference: Going the Distance & Shortening It, the 4th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Portland, Oregon. They got to meet farm to school advocates from throughout the U.S., along with representatives from Canada. On their first day, they toured Abernathy Elementary School’s gardens and ate a delicious school lunch made entirely from scratch. They also participated in trainings on program evaluation, workshops on school gardens and using online social networking, and more.

As state-level representatives to the national farm to school network, our Kokua staff presented an update of progress on farm to school in Hawai’i and got to hear about what’s happening in other western states as well. Oregon has some big news—last year the state passed legislation to start a state farm to school program and have a full-time position in the Department of Education focused on farm to school!

One of the highlights of the conference was meeting Dr. Susan Rubin, founder of Better School Food. She provides resources to parents seeking to improve school food for their children. We know that’s a hot topic for many of you, so check out her site!

To learn more about the national farm to school movement and get access to excellent resources on farm to school, go to www.FarmToSchool.org.