Department of Agriculture

F2S RESOURCES

1. USDA Office of Community Food Systems Resources, The USDA Office of Community Food Systems has updated their resources for procuring local food! Be sure to check out their wealth of guides, fact sheets, and webinars to learn more
2. Research Shows Farm to School Works
3. Integrating Local Foods into Child Nutrition Programs
4. Selling Local Food to Schools: A Resource for Producers
5. How Cooperative Extension Professionals Can Support Farm to School Programs
6. Effective Strategies State Agencies Can Use to Support Community Food Systems
7. School Gardens: Using Gardens to Grow Healthy Habits in Cafeterias, Classrooms, and Communities
8. Bringing Tribal Foods and Traditions into Cafeterias, Classrooms, and Gardens
9. Gardens in Tribal Communities
10. Farm to Preschool: Local Food and Learning in Early Childcare and Education Settings
11. Farm to Summer: Why Summer Meal Programs are Ripe for Local Foods and Agriculture Based Activities
12. CACFP Meal Pattern Training Tools, USDA

The new CACFP meal pattern is coming, and these four infographics will help you successfully update your menus to align with the new meal pattern.

13. GREEN Tool offers evidence-based guidance for school garden success, Lehman College

This is one of the first evidence-based guides for planting and nurturing sustainable school gardens, including characteristics of gardens that help to play an enduring role in the life of the school.

14. How the quality of school lunches affects students’ academic performance

Brookings Institute

This story looks at how school nutrition impacts educational achievement, focusing on the quality of food served. In years when a school contracts with a healthy lunch company, students at the school score better on end-of-year academic tests.

15. FUNDING
    1. USDA Farm to School Grant Program
    2. USDA Grants and Loans that Support Farm to School Activities
16. PROCUREMENT
    1. 10 Facts About Local Food in Schools
    2. Decision Tree: How Will You Bring Local Foods into the Cafeteria with Your Next Food Purchase?
    3. Geographic Preference: What It Is and How To Use It
    4. USDA Foods: A Resource for Buying Local
    5. Using DOD Fresh to Buy Local
    6. Local Meat in Child Nutrition Programs: Increasing Opportunities for Small and Mid-Sized Livestock Ranchers and Fishermen

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HAWAIIAN HARVESTS

• Enjoy the Bounty of Hawaii with growing, buying, & eating seasonal harvests
  • Hawaiian Harvest Poster (https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hawaiian-Harvest-Poster_KHF.pdf )
  • Hawaiian Harvests – Seasonality Chart (https://hdoa.hawaii.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Hawaiian-Harvest-Buy-Local-Seasonal-Chart_BLIM-poster.pdf )

 

 

SCHOOL GARDEN & FOOD SAFETY – BEST PRACTICES

 

• IN THE GARDEN: – develop a school protocol to address the RLWD risk with their school’s integrated pest management (IPM) strategy (include custodians, garden coordinators, and others as appropriate).

1. NEVER TOUCH SLUGS/SNAILS– always use gloves and chop-sticks, tongs, or a plastic bag to move snails/slugs;
2. TRAP SLUGS/SNAILS– make a slug/snail trap by cutting open a trash bag, wet & fold, then place a rock/brick on top labeled “DO NOT TOUCH – SLUG TRAP” to be checked periodically.
3. PROPERLY DISPOSE OF SLUGS/SNAILS – Make a “SLUG JUG”- in 1 gallon jug w/ a lid, mix 1.25 c. salt in ½gallon water, clearly mark it “Slug Jug”, and dispose of all slugs/snails in the jug.  Dispose of a full slug jug by pouring out where you don’t want anything to grow (slugs/snails and any diseases they are carrying will be killed w/in 48 hours). DON’T JUST SMASH SLUGS/SNAILS – it only spreads parasitic contamination.

 

• BEFORE YOU EAT FOOD:

1. CHECK – Carefully check fruits and vegetables during harvest for bugs/slugs (don’t eat anything that has a slug/snail on any part of the produce);
2. WASH– Wash your fruits veggies thoroughly (see each leaf), and always wash your hands with soap & water;
3. PROPERLY PREPARE – where there is concern about contamination, cook until 165 °F, or freeze for 48 hours before preparing.

 

• GOOD FOOD SAFETY RESOURCES:

1. Hawaii Farm to School & School Garden Hui’s School Garden Safety – Best Practices & Resources
2. CTAHR’s Student & Food Safety: Best Practices for Hawaii School Gardens
3. CTAHR’s Student & Food Safety: Best Practices for Hawaii School Gardens – GAP Checklist
4. UH Hilo’s Rat Lungworm Disease Coloring/Activity Book
5. UH-CTAHR’s Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) RLW Info Page
6. RLWD Frequently Asked Questions
7. State of Hawaii DOH RLWD info.
8. Hawaii Farm Bureau RLWD Updates & Resources
9. CTAHR – GO  GAPS & Farm Food Safety Resources