Farm to School Webinars

Other relevant resources located here.

Local Proteins

This webinar provides information for schools on how to safely and legally buy locally raised or grown animal and plant proteins, as well as how to credit these proteins for federal meal programs.

Download the slides from the webinar.

Reduced OxyGen Packaging

Reduced oxygen packaging (commonly known as vacuum sealing) is a great way to enjoy local, seasonal foods all year long! This webinar explains the types of reduced oxygen packaging (ROP), and how school foodservice operations can plan to use ROP methods to extend the shelf life of local foods and increase the quantity and types of local foods they purchase.

Download the slides from the webinar.

Local Foods Around the Tray

It doesn’t stop at apples, or even at chicken – local foods can be integrated into all aspects of lunch trays in Minnesota. Come learn more about how you may be able to integrate local foods throughout your school meals, and tips about how to be successful. 

Local Proteins

Purchasing local meat has been a large part of AGRI Farm to School grants – nearly half of purchases in the 2021 school year were for local proteins! Learn all about considerations for purchasing local meat on this webinar. Panelists/Presenters: Sara George, farmer and Renewing the Countryside staffer; Jane Jewett, farmer and director of the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA); Kate Seybold, Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA); Jill Duitsman, Lunchtime Solutions; and Erin McKee, IATP.

Selling to Schools

This webinar, oriented to growers, producers, and food hubs interested in selling to schools, covers considerations and recommendations for selling to schools:

Purchasing Local Produce

Webinar highlighting tips for purchasing local produce for your school program, featuring:

Kate Seybold, MDA
Annalisa Hultberg, University of Minnesota Extension
Rae Rusnak, L&R Poultry and Produce
Erica Olson, Wayzata Public schools.  

Tips & Tricks for Planning Local School Menus

Part of a Farm to School 101 Webinar Series from the MN Farm to School Leadership Team

Webinar Description

Bring local foods to life on your school menus! Learn a variety of ways to incorporate local products into your school recipes, salad bars and cycle menus so they become staple items in your kitchen inventory.

Hear from members of the Farm to School Leadership Team and Minnesota school food service professionals sharing strategies for incorporating more local foods into their school lunch menus. 

Presenters:

• Angela Richey, MPH, RD, SNS, Nutrition Services Supervisor, Roseville and St. Anthony Schools

• Felicia Kittok, RDN, Food Service Director, Becker Public Schools

• Kate Seybold, Regional Marketing Specialist, Agricultural Marketing & Development, MN Dept. of Agriculture

• Sami Burington, Registered Dietitian, Nutrition Program Consultant at Minnesota Department of Education

• Jackie Billhymer, MPH, RD, Farm to Institution Coordinator, University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development

• Erin McKee, Community Food Systems Program Director, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

A collaboration between the MN Department of Agriculture, the MN Department of Education, U of MN Extension, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Buying local foods for your school meals!

Part of a Farm to School 101 Webinar Series from the MN Farm to School Leadership Team

Webinar Description

In this webinar, we will get into the details of where and how to purchase local foods to serve in your school meals, sharing resources, best practices and on-the-ground case studies to help you succeed. Learn a variety of strategies for finding farmers, planning for procurement needs and purchasing safe local food for your school meals.

Presenters

• Rachel Doherty, Farm to School Coordinator at Mesabi East School District

• Jane Jewett, Associate Director, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture

• Annalisa Hultberg, Food Safety Extension Educator, University of Minnesota

Hear from members of the Farm to School Leadership Team and Minnesota school food service professionals sharing tips and tricks to find and purchase local foods! 

A collaboration between the MN Department of Agriculture, the MN Department of Education, U of MN Extension, and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Farmers: Bringing the Farm to School

Find a series of 10 short farmer-focused videos (5-6 minutes) covering Farm to School topics:

Four Part Webinar Series: Farm to Early Care

In this four-part webinar series, IATP’s Community Food Systems team provides technical support and implementation strategies for those working in early care settings to begin (or scale up) a Farm to Early Care initiative. With webinars specifically tailored to both educators and nutrition/foodservice staff, as well as USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) compliance and local food purchasing, these webinars are designed to address the needs of practitioners in any ECE setting. Though designed to address the ECE audience, much of the content is relevant to K12 Farm to School initiatives as well.

Other Resources For Farm to School

Find resources local organizations have created to support Farm to School in Minnesota!

Preparing Local Food

School Foodservice Recipes

Sprout Food Hub’s Recipe Collection, featuring locally available and sometimes hard-to-use produce

The Good Acre’s Farm to School Recipes, including both institutional and at-home versions of recipes

Minnesota’s Harvest of the Month Recipes, with recipes focused on the 12 Harvest of the Month products

U of MN Extension’s Farm to School resource page

This includes a section for foodservice with resources on procuring local foods, as well as other resources.

AGRI Farm to School Website

MDA’s page with the overview of the grant and links to applications (due November 17tg by 4 p.m. CT sharp)

Minnesota Grown FREE Resources to promote local food items

These are free promotional items, including signs and window clings that you can use on the lunch line and in your schools to highlight the local items you serve.

MISA Fact Sheets

These resources address some of the questions on rules around serving local foods, particularly the “Selling of Serving Locally Grown Produce in Food Facilities” fact sheet.

Farm to School & Early Care Office Hours

Register for our monthly Farm to School & Early Care Office Hours, happening the second Wednesday of each month, 2:30-3:30 pm CT 
This is a great place to come to get answers to your Farm to School questions!  

Purchasing Local Foods in Your Cafeteria

Minnesota Grown Wholesale Directory

find farmers local to you

Minnesota Grown Directory

non-wholesale, which might be a good fit for some smaller districts

Food Hubs

If your school is near Little Falls or Lauderdale, The Good Acre and Sprout are both amazing resources to check out.

Potential Funding and Partnership Resources

The AGRI Farm to School grants support Minnesota districts to purchase and serve Minnesota Agricultural Products.

The Statewide Healthy Improvement Partnership (SHIP) may be able to support farm to school with mini grant funding. New grant cycle begins in the late fall usually. Depending on the project, SHIP can sometimes help with stipends, equipment, and community connections. Schools are one key setting SHIP supports, and specifics of support are determined locally.

Reach out to your local SHIP contact for more information. FIND YOUR SHIP CONTACT

Support for Teachers

Consider reaching out to FAC teachers or Wellbeing Coordinators.

Or check out these free resources:

• Harvest of the Month - free resources, recipes, activities, and promotional items featuring 12 Minnesota items

• MN Ag in the Classroom curriculum

• UMN Extension curriculum

• IATP curriculum