Contributors: Kristine Cahall-Dosch, Maddie Chera
Twenty-two Northern Kentucky schools participated in a Farm to School (F2S) challenge as part of the national Farm to School Month celebration in October. Participating schools received education and promotion kits from the Northern Kentucky Health Department to facilitate conversations around nutrition and agriculture.

October has been recognized as National Farm to School Month since 2010, when the National Farm to School Network advocated a month-long recognition before Congress. The month of October serves a time to celebrate the connections between children and local food. From taste tests in the cafeteria and nutrition education activities in the classroom, to farm visits and school garden harvest parties, communities across the entire United States take part in the celebrations.
The Northern Kentucky Health Department promotes a localized F2S program called the KY Farm to School Challenge. “They are encouraged to do a TASTE, GROW & LEARN activity. Some are doing taste tests, some are serving on the line, some are doing farm field trips,” said Monica Smith, a Community Registered Dietitian who leads the NKY Health Department’s F2S initiatives. Teachers, food service providers, and administrators are invited to sign-up for the challenge and in return receive F2S kits that include bulletin board kits, resources of where to source local food appropriate for the school cafeteria, word searches, Feed Our Future farmer trading cards, apple cutters, handouts, and much more.

Green Umbrella’s Food Policy Council partners with the NKY Health Department to supply Feed Our Future educational materials included in the promotional kits. These materials were developed by Feed Our Future and Green Umbrella to highlight regional farmers who supply our tristate schools. F2S initiatives have been a backbone project of the Food Policy Council over the past 7 years to promote local food purchasing as a method to reduce carbon emissions from food miles and creating a resilient food system.
Want to learn more about the F2S movement? Check out the National Farm to School Network or contact kristine@greenumbrella.org to learn more about what’s happening in our region.