Second Massachusetts Farm to School Convention

Contact: Lauren Wetherbee, 413-253-3844, info@massfarmtoschool.org, 20 Gatehouse Road, Amherst

Join us for the Second Massachusetts
Farm to School Convention on March 15, 2012

We are very excited to announce our second statewide Farm to School Convention to be held on March 15, 2012 at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, MA! Sessions will begin at 9 and end at 4:45. Registration opens at 8:15 and attendance includes a lunch featuring locally sourced ingredients.

This full-day convention will feature leaders in the farm to school movement providing information on everything from creating school gardens to overcoming logistical barriers to local foods procurement to the growing partnerships between schools and community farms.

Come hear how inspiring food service directors, educators, and students are building connections between cafeterias, dining halls, classrooms, and farms in Massachusetts - and learn what you can do to further those connections. Workshop topics include school gardens, innovative distribution strategies, the FoodCorps, successful menu change, farm to preschool programs, and more.

*** Register Now for This Exciting Event! ***

The Convention will feature Curt Ellis, Executive Director of FoodCorps, and Abbie Nelson, former Vice President of the SNA in VT and Director of VTFEED, as well as six workshop tracks:

Models for Successful Agriculture-Based Education 

• Massachusetts FoodCorps: Building and Integrating New School Gardens - FoodCorps members Sarah Rubin, Erin Taylor, Grace Cherubino, Sadie Richards-Brown
• Getting Started in the School Garden - Hope Guardenier, Executive Director, School Sprouts Educational Garden; Karen DiFranza, Hubbardston Elementary School and Quabbin Regional High School; Marian Hazzard, Touchstone Community School
• School Gardens and Curriculum Connections - Francey Slater, Education Coordinator, CitySprouts; Erica Curry, Farm to School Coordinator, Shelburne Farms; Kaila Binney, Island Grown Schools
• School to Farm Composting: Make Local Lunches and Food Events Trash Free! - Deb Habib, Executive Director, Seeds of Solidarity Education Center; Amy Donovan, Program Director, Franklin County Solid Waste Management District
• Taking Agriculture into the Classroom With a Focus on Dairy Farming - Marjorie Cooper, President, Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom; James Cooper, Coopers' Hilltop Dairy Farm; Debi Hogan, Executive Director, Mass. Agriculture in the Classroom 

Farm to School for Very Young Students

• The Kindergarten Initiative in Worcester - Donna Lombardi, Director of School Nutrition, Worcester Public Schools (WPS); Laurie Kuczka, Early Childhood Education Coordinator, WPS; Albert Ganem, Principal, City View School, WPS; Rita Brennan-Olson, Mass. Dept of Elementary and Secondary Education; Maggie Shar, Fertile Ground; Jessica Maillet, Cooking Matters/Share Our Strength; Anne Cody, Mass. Farm to School Kindergarten Initiative Coordinator
• Farm to Preschool is Awesome - Jessica Collins, Director of Special Initiatives, Partners for a Healthier Community; Sara Teece, Food Service Director, Square One; Kathy Treglia, Director of Programs, Springfield YMCA

New Ideas for Locally Grown in School Cafeterias

• Farm to School Procurement 101 - Emily French, Technical Assistance Coordinator, Mass Farm to School Project  
• Local, Fresh and Healthy: Implementing Nutrition Standards with National School Lunch or Breakfast Programs - Mary Joan McLarney, MS, RD, LDN, Special Nutrition Programs Nutritionist, USDA Food and Nutrition Service
• Innovative School Kitchen Partnerships - Brendan Ryan, Food Service Director, Framingham Public Schools; Noli Taylor, Island Grown Schools; Sally Loomis, Fertile Ground
• Using Contracts to Increase Local Foods Purchasing - Noli Taylor, Island Grown Schools; Kim Szeto, Farm to School Coordinator, Boston Public Schools
• Get Fresh in the Kitchen (cooking demonstration) - Didi Emmons, chef, cookbook author, and school food consultant
• Tools for Successful Menu Change - Alden Caldwell, Food Service Director, Concord-Carlisle Public Schools; Vin Connely, Kitchen Manager, Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School; Dawn Olcott, School Nutritionist, Cambridge Health Alliance
• The USDA Foods/Local Foods Connection - Scott Richardson, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Project Bread; Kimberly Clark, Farm to School Coordinator, Kids First Rhode Island
• Local Foods Can Enhance Summer Feeding Programs - Ashley Hall, Senior Manager of Child Nutrition Outreach, Project Bread 

New Strategies for Expanding Farm to School Sales   

• Year Round Sales: Season Extension & Processing for the Institutional Market - John Waite, Executive Director, Franklin County CDC; Liz Buxton, Food Service Director, Mohawk Public Schools; Chelsea Lewis, New England Beef to Institution Project; Glenn Brunetti, Northeast Executive Chef Chartwells K-12
• Getting Product to the School: Innovative Distribution Models - JD Kemp, Founder and CEO, FoodEx; Glenn Brunetti, Northeast Executive Chef Chartwells K-12
• Farmer and Food Service Meet and Greet

Community Connections

• Community Farms and Local Schools Make Great Partners - Wayne Castonguay, Agriculture Program Director, The Trustees of Reservations and Working Group member of the Farm-based Education Association; Tess Sousa, Food Service Director, Weston Public Schools; Melanie Hardy, Farm Manager, Lands Sake Farm 
• Grassroots Farm to School Efforts: Tales of Patience and Perseverance - Karen Di Franza, Founder, Quabbin Compost Club; Glenroy Buchanan, Pioneer Valley/New England Growers Co-op; Ana L. Jaramillo, Child & Adolescent Health & Wellness Coordinator, Holyoke Health Center, Inc.
• Agriculture as a Living Classroom: The Community Harvest Project and the PEACH Club - Kristin Bafaro, Executive Director, Community Harvest Project; José Garcia, Health Instructor, and students from Doherty Memorial High School

New Initiatives in Colleges

• Campus Organizing: The Real Food Challenge Model - Estefania Narvaez, Northeast Coordinator, Real Food Challenge; Erin O'Donell, Northeast Regional Field Organizer, Real Food Challenge
• UMASS Permaculture and Student Farm: Growing a Sustainable Campus - Nathan Aldrich, Auxiliary Services Sustainability Coordinator, UMASS Amherst; Amanda Brown, UMASS Student Farm 

Help us spread the word! Do you have an e-newsletter, an events page on your website, an active Facebook page? Please distribute this flyer and let others know about how to register. Thanks!

Thank you to the Mass. Teachers Association - Education Support Professionals Committee and the New England Dairy & Food Council for being Major Sponsors of our Farm to School Convention, and thank you to Nourse Farms for being a Supporter of our Convention!

If your organization would be interested in learning more about sponsoring the convention, please contact Lauren Wetherbee at 413-253-3844 or lauren@massfarmtoschool.org for more info.