Thanks to a $99,985 USDA federal grant award from the Patrick Leahy ‘Farm to School’ Grant Program, students in the Greater Johnstown School District will have the opportunity to enjoy even more locally-sourced foods as part of their school day meals this coming school year.
The awarded funds will allow Greater Johnstown School District’s School Lunch Director Erika Winney to work with multiple local farms to increase accessibility to locally-sourced and minimally-processed foods served in school cafeterias. Fresh produce will also be added to the district’s Backpack Program, which currently serves more than 40 families with weekly backpacks filled with food.
As part of the grant, students will have the opportunity to participate in agricultural education activities like maintaining school gardens where they will plant and harvest produce to be used in taste tests and for school snacks. Students will be able to explore various career opportunities through scheduled classroom visits from local agricultural businesses. Teachers and students will take field trips to local farms and other familiar locations like Roger’s Orchards, where students will be able to pick and taste fresh apples. The District expects approximately 900 K-8 students to participate in these trips.
Johnstown was one of 154 recipients nationwide to be awarded a ‘Farm to School’ grant. Johnstown’s Assistant Superintendent Alicia D. Koster will serve as the Project Director on behalf of the District and Rebecca Ferry, Owner/Operator of Dreamroad Farm in Johnstown (https://dreamroadfarm.com/) will act as the grant program’s project coordinator. The grant application was written, in part, by members of the Capital Region BOCES Grants & Development Service.
“With her vast experience and connections related to agriculture and farm to school, Rebecca will be a tremendous asset in our efforts to implement a ‘Farm To School’ program at Johnstown,” Koster said. “We are fortunate to have her on-board and be able to tap into her expertise and network of local farmers and agricultural businesses to arrange meaningful opportunities for our students over the two-year grant period.”
Koster also noted, “We are excited to start work under this grant and implement activities that will increase awareness and understanding of the benefits of locally-sourced foods and expose our students to the career potentials that exist in the agricultural field. Everyone at Johnstown is looking forward to nourishing a strong local ‘Farm to School’ network and work with our community partners to highlight and expand the importance of agriculture in our area.”
Winney joined Johnstown as its Food Service Director in 2022 and during her time in the District, has prioritized incorporating locally-sourced foods into student’s meals. “This grant will allow us to provide healthy, fresh and nutritious options to our students in every single meal they have in our buildings. It is also very rewarding to know we will be supporting our local farmers and small business owners by featuring their products in our meals, and helping to educate students and families about why it is so important to buy locally grown products,” she said.
The ‘Farm to School’ movement began in the late 1990s when a handful of schools across the country started responding to the rising levels of processed food in their cafeterias. Every year, the USDA awards competitive ‘Farm to School’ grants that support planning, developing, and implementing farm to school programs. This year, a record-breaking $14.3 million was awarded in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants, helping 1.9 million children eat more tasty, nutritious foods in school, while supporting farmers and producers in their local and regional communities.