What’s Growing On
What’s Growing On is Working Landscapes’ farm-to-school education program aimed at increasing awareness of locally-grown foods across northeastern North Carolina. In cafeterias and classrooms, we get students, their families, and school personnel excited about healthy, local eating and active living.
What’s Growing On in northeastern North Carolina?
Northeastern North Carolina is a richly productive agricultural region—locally-grown produce and meat are available year-round! Unfortunately, many people living in our region are unable to identify, buy, and prepare seasonal, local crops. To help reconnect our region’s population to the agriculture taking place all around us, What’s Growing On programs are structured according to a yearly calendar, featuring locally-grown vegetables or fruits that are available monthly.
What’s Growing On includes:
Cafeteria events and displays: taste tests in cafeterias encourage kids to try the harvest of the month, while colorful posters feature a different local vegetable or fruit each month.
Classroom and garden activities: Core Curriculum-integrated elementary grade lesson plans and school garden activities make it easy for teachers to incorporate local produce and food systems concepts into instruction.
Training: Working Landscapes staff members provide customized farm-to-school training for child nutrition personnel, teachers, and volunteers, enabling them to become What’s Growing On ambassadors in their own schools.
How can my school district participate?
We believe that farm-to-school initiatives are strongest when they include both procurement (serving local food in cafeterias) and education. Working Landscapes offers complimentary What’s Growing On? materials and programming to school districts who purchase local produce through our Food Hub. Our materials and programming are available to others on a fee basis.
For more information about how your school can participate in What’s Growing On, please contact:
(252) 257-0205, info@workinglandscapesnc.org