October is National Farm to School Month

by | Oct 6, 2015 | 5 Ag Stories, News, Uncategorized

(Des Moines) — Understanding where your food comes from is very important and that?s why congress designated October as National Farm to School month.

What Iowa schools plan to teach children?.

Congress designated October as national farm to school month in 2007 as a way to educate children on the importance of food nutrition.

Tammy Stotts is the Farm to School Coordinator for the state of Iowa.

She says there is a huge connection between what students and kids will eat and understanding how it?s grown.

?Farm to School is a great way for that to happen. A lot of students may not have exposure to fruits and vegetables at home and if they can try something different at school that is a great opportunity. Today?s students are tomorrows consumers and if we do not let them experience local food and goodness and freshness and making a connection, it is harder for them to do that as adults,? Stotts said.

Stotts says one activity Iowa schools are participating in is the program ?A is for apple?.

?It is a program Iowa has offered since 2008. It is a great way for classroom teachers to get some locally grown apples. They can incorporate that into their teaching as well as money to go to the orchard to buy locally grown apples and then to make those connections,? Stotts said.

She says as part of that program the Midwest great apple crunch is October 22nd where they are asking students to take a bite out of an apple at noon to celebrate Farm to School month.

Other activities encourage students to participate in growing school gardens to understand how their food is grown and that way they be more likely to try it.