Farm to School Curriculum ConnectionsKaryn Novakowski, Somerville Public SchoolsChris Mancini, Groundwork Somerville Sarah Lindsay, Groundwork Somerville

Mass Farm to School Conference, January 13, 2015

Somerville Schools

Somerville

Culturally rich city with 50 native languages spoken

Lunch served to ~3000 students daily at SPS

10 District Schools: PreK to 12 (5000 students)1 Charter School: Prospect Hill Academy

~78,800 residents in ~4 sq miles makes it the most densely populated community in New England

67% free and reduced lunch at SPS

Somerville Food and Nutrition ServicesSalad 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

USDA F2S Planning 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

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

Funding Farm to School in Somerville

Mission

• Grow, cook, eat, repeat

• Cultivate a sense of place

• Advocate for good food

Mission and Goals

Project goals: -Educate eaters about mindful eating and food systems - Serve fresh, flavorful, nutritious locally grown, seasonal foods in school meals and snacks - Develop school gardens as a viable resource for Somerville schools and community- Support local farmers and the local economy - Create a tangible link to the city of Somerville's urban agriculture, healthy living initiatives

Somerville Farm to School ProgramsCafeteria, Classroom, Community

• Cafeteria Taste Tests• In Class Taste Tests• One time garden lessons• One time special events: Ag Literacy

Week, Food Day, Corn Shucking Day• Series lessons• Afterschool programs: gardening,

cooking, arts, food justice• Community events: SFLC Raising a

Reader

Somerville Farm to School Programming

A Tale of Two Apples• 56% of students (~1800 students)• 7 schools: 1 Early childhood center & 6 K-8 schools• Single item tasting

Cafeteria Taste Tests

In Class Sensory Taste Test21% of students participated (560 students)7 K-6 schools

June: Strawberry spinach saladSeptember: Baba ganoushOctober/November: Moroccan Carrot Salad

One off garden lesson: Garlic planting

Day Topic Activity Recipe

1 Fall alphabet garden Garden treasure hunt, Create a garden alphabet book

N/A

2 What plants need to grow

Read a book, Plant a seed N/A

3 Parts of the plant 1 (Stems)

Stem experiment Hummus and veggies

4 Parts of the plant 2 (Roots and Leaves)

Root exploration, leaf exploration

Moroccan Carrot Salad

5 Parts of the plant 3 (Flowers and Fruits)

Pumpkin seed exploration N/A

6 Wrap up N/A N/A

Series Lessons: First Grade

Curriculum adapted from Project Bread Healthy Summer Harvest

Afterschool ProgrammingSowing seeds Seedling farm In the garden

Community education eventsSomerville Family Learning Collaborative Raising a Reader

Mission: Groundwork Somerville strives to bring about the sustained regeneration, improvement and management of the physical environment through the development of community-based partnerships which empower people, businesses and organizations to promote environmental, economic and social well-being.

Healthy Education Green JobsSustainable Community

Series Lessons: Farm to School CurriculumPart I: Early Spring – Garden Curriculum Day 1: Comparing food-growing capabilities of different regions in the USDay 2: Farms and Farmers in MADay 3: Assess conditions in schoolyard garden (space, sun exposure, etc.)Day 4: Make planting plan for gardenDay 5: Start seedlings

Part II: Late Spring - One-day farmer’s visit to the

classroom- Plant seedlings in school garden- Farm field trip

Part III: Early Fall- History of Corn curriculum is delivered in class- Harvest in school garden- Corn shucking and eating event!

Education: Maple-sugaring themed curriculum is delivered in Somerville’s public 2nd grade classrooms

Harvest: Sugar maples are tapped on Tufts campus, sap is collected

Boil Down: Collected sap is made into syrup in a fun and educational 2-day event at the Somerville Growing Center (the first day is a field trip for 2nd graders, the second day is open to the community)

Maple Syrup Project

- Creation of urban growing sites and garden spaces at schools

- Involvement of community/school in building process

Garden Builds

After School Programs- Preparing school garden for a new season- Garden maintenance- Planting (bulbs in Fall, seeds in Spring)- Building and maintaining a compost bin

Contact us!Karyn NovakowskiSomerville Farm to School Project DirectorSomerville Public Schoolsknovakowski@k12.somerville.ma.us

Chris ManciniExecutive DirectorGroundwork Somervillechris@groundworksomerville.org

Sarah LindsayMassLIFT-AmeriCorps Service Learning Coordinatorsarah@groundworksomerville.org

Mass Farm to School Conference, January 13, 2015