state agency HAPPENINGS
BY ASHLEY HELLER SCHOOL NUTRITION SPECIALIST INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Winter is here , which means bundling up in coats, scarves, and hats in order to brave the colder weather. The last thing on your mind is probably spring, gardening, and farm to school, but now is the time to start your planning! Whether your school has a well-established farm to school program or this is a new endeavor for you, thinking ahead now can help your school really dig into what farm to school has to offer for you and your students! build your team Building a team is a crucial first step to ensure long term success with farm to school programming. This team will look a little different at every school. It can include food service staff; teachers who specialize in agricultural studies, family and consumer sciences, health, biology, or nutrition; school staff who run gardening or culinary clubs; local producers; community organization members; PTO/PTA representatives; and other faculty or community members that have a passion in local foods or gardening that want to make an impact in the schools. Make sure to reach out to a wide variety of individuals or make a public posting to school staff in order to build a robust team. This team should meet regularly to discuss what projects the school is working on, develop future plans, troubleshoot issues, etc. establish your goals With your farm to school team, you will want to establish specific goals. When you are planning out your
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