December 2008

Local Food Systems Symposium: December 2nd and 3rd, Gail Feenstra, a Davis Farm to School Connection Steering Committee member, participated in the Local Food Systems Symposium. This symposium showcased local food systems projects funded by the statewide UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), an affiliate of the UC Davis Agricultural Sustainability Institute (ASI). These projects demonstrate how partnerships and marketing opportunities can be created in new ways, linking consumers, distributors and producers in rural and urban areas. Gail Feenstra is the Community Food Systems/Nutrition Director for SAREP.

Garden Coordinator Grants Awarded: On December 19th, Davis Farm to School Connection awarded six schools in Davis with the Garden Coordinator Matching Stipend Grant of $500. The school PTA will match the grant, awarding a stipend of $1000 to school garden coordinators at Marguerite Montgomery Elementary, Fred Korematsu Elementary, Pioneer Elementary, Birch Lane Elementary, North Davis Elementary, and Emerson Junior High.

Crunch Lunch Marketing: Free Lunch for You!: This month Davis Farm to School Connection, in partnership with the Davis Joint Unified School District’s Student Nutrition Services (SNS), planned a Crunch Lunch Marketing Program. Crunch Lunch is the name given to the salad bars and hot lunch items in Davis school cafeterias that feature healthy, local, seasonal produce. Each school will receive ten free lunch tickets to be given out to adult role models at the school site. The results will be two-fold: adults will get a chance to appreciate first hand the new delicious lunch items in the school cafeterias, and students will observe these adults enjoying the school lunch, encourage them to try it for themselves.

End-of-Year Letters: Over 300 End-of-Year Letters asking for support for our programs went out in mid December.