We are thrilled to be producing the second season of, “Farm to School Northeast,” a monthly podcast where we explore the creative ways that local food is getting into school cafeterias and how food system education is playing out in classrooms and school gardens across the northeast region.
Check back each month for a 20-30 minute episode that highlights the innovative work of educators, food service staff, school garden coordinators, policy makers, farmers, and more. From a group of students in Massachusetts who are spearheading district-wide composting, to social emotional learning in the school garden, to a scratch cooking award in Maine and a crepe truck in Vermont, this podcast will inspire, teach, and amplify our farm to school stories. You can listen in on the Massachusetts Farm to School website or wherever you get your podcasts!
Feast Box: From Farmer to School
In Episode 2.6 we hear from Meghan Arquin, a Western Massachusetts farmer who works with Farm Lab and runs their Feast Box program. Farm Lab is part of Momentum Ag, a grant-funded nonprofit coordinating environmentally conscious agriculture across 20 Northeast farms. Feast Box provides free weekly boxes of local vegetables to all students and staff at participating schools. Each box contains seasonal produce from Farm Lab and partner farms, plus simple recipes and farm notes to help families cook, try new foods, and connect with local agriculture.
Early Childhood Nutrition at Vermont's Mountain Village School
In this episode we talk about early childhood education and its connection to farm to school and childhood nutrition with Sarah Tousignant, the Executive Director of the Mountain Village School in Stowe, Vermont. The Mountain Village School is a nature-based independent school for children, birth through kindergarten, with afterschool programs for children in kindergarten through fourth grade. The school believes that early childhood is a crucial aspect of an individual’s development and that nature, community harmony and discovery are the most important attributes of early childhood.
Early Childhood Farm to School: The Power and Curiosity of Our Youngest Learners
In Episode 2.4 we hear from three early childhood practitioners from MetroWest YMCA, who will discuss the connection between farm to school, childhood nutrition, and early education. Maggie Lynch, Director of Nutrition Services, Karley Besozzi, Director of Nutrition Education, and Lindsey Bogot, Farm to School & Food Access Coordinator chat about ways to introduce and engage the youngest learners and eaters in farm to school practices.
Trout Tales: A Grade 4 Project from Sustainability Academy in Burlington, VT
In this episode we have the chance to have all of our burning questions about trout answered by fourth graders from Sustainability Academy in Burlington, VT as we listen to their podcast called “Trout Tales” a project born from a school-wide study of brook trout But before that, we will get some background from educator Julia Marchessault, fourth grade teacher at Sustainability Academy in Burlington, Vermont. Created by the Burlington School District in partnership with Shelburne Farms, the Sustainability Academy at Lawrence Barnes Elementary is a public pre-K to five magnet school in Burlington, Vermont that integrates sustainability into its curriculum.
In this episode we talk with Jen Reese, Science and Garden Coordinator with Amherst and Pelham Public Schools and Garden Educator, Leila Tunnell, who co-lead the Amherst Elementary School Garden Program in Amherst, Massachusetts. The two spoke about the power of garden based learning to inspire joy and help build a more just and sustainable world. Jen and Leila and their community partners believe that garden based learning should be accessible to every student and have built the program around this value in their K-6 year-round garden based learning program.
The Food Project: Dirt Crew Takes the Mic
To start off season 2 we gave the microphone to a group of youth leaders at The Food Project. The Food Project is a Boston-area nonprofit that builds a sustainable food system by bringing together diverse youth and adults to work on farms in urban and suburban settings, growing food for the community and developing youth leadership skills.
The Importance of Farm to School, Buying Local and a Shipping Container Farm in Groton, CT
We had the opportunity to sit down with Ernie Koschmieder, the Food Service Director for Groton Public Schools in Groton, Connecticut to talk about the positive impacts of farm to school on students and families, and we’re going to learn about an exciting shipping container Farm Grant from Connecticut Department of Agriculture and how the Container Farm will be used to increase food access for Groton Public School students.
Talking About Books and Food Systems with Author Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Publisher Philip Lee
Listen to our chat with publisher Philip Lee of Readers to Eaters and author Jacqueline Briggs Martin author of Eva’s Green Garden Life to discuss food and food systems, books and stories.
Youth Activism and The Power of the Plate
Hear from Connecticut high school student and food system activist Zane Tickoo talk about his work and dedication to improve the local food system and support access to healthy food, local economy, and social justice through what he calls “the Power of the Plate”.
Buzz, Flow, and Grow: Exploring STEAM with Bees, Fish and Gardens
Listen to Brian Winslow, a K-4 STEAM teacher from the Southwick School in Northfield, New Hampshire, discuss their dynamic program that includes a greenhouse, aquaponics, an apiary, pollinator gardens and school-wide composting.
Maine's Scratch Cooking Champions
In Episode 5, we sit down with Denise Tapley Proctor, the Food Service Director for RSU 89 in Stacyville, Maine, to talk about the positive impacts of their farm to school program on students and families and their award-winning scratch cooking, which recently received the 2024 USDA Innovation in Preparation of School Meals award.
Hear From: Denise Proctor Tapley, Food Service Director, RSU 89, Staceyville, ME
Montpelier High School: Building Community Through Cooking and Eating Local
In this episode you will hear from French teacher Brigitte Savard and high school senior Veda Gahagan from Montpelier High School in Vermont, to talk about ways they embed food system education into the curriculum. From “Solon Soup for the Soul” named after the school mascot, the Greek philosopher Solon, to a student run crepe truck at the local farmer’s market. Get ready to hear about some creative ways to build excitement and learning.
Middle Schoolers Create a Student Driven Farm
In this episode, we have an opportunity to sit down with Sara Churgin, District Manager of the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, and Margie Brennan, the K-8 Science Coach for Portsmouth School Department to learn about the Portsmouth Ag Innovation Farm, a student-driven community farm education program that fosters student problem solving, authentic learning and community collaboration.
Say Something Kind To A Seed: Social Emotional Learning In The School Garden
In this episode, School Garden Coordinator Fatima Seck shares her vision for school gardens as places to allow all students to flourish. From building positive habits and investment, finding safety and emotional regulation, to practicing gratitude, exploring creativity and expression and building relationships, school gardens can be a vital environment for social emotional learning.
Hear from:
Fatima Seck, School Garden Coordinator, Mel King South End Academy, Boston, MA
What Do We Mean When We Say Farm To School?
Hear from:
Loni Austin, Austin Ridge Acres (MA)
Denise Courtney, Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary & Secondary Education
Lisa Damon, Mass. Farm to School
Dana Hudson, Shelburne Farms (VT)
Rebecca Kelley, FoodCorps MA & RI
Ernie Koschmieder, Groton Public Schools (CT)
Dinah Mack, Mass. Farm to School
Betsy Rosenbluth, Shelburne Farms (VT)
Phone: (413) 253-3844
Email: info@massfarmtoschool.org
