This document summarizes a presentation about farm to Head Start programs in North Carolina and Oregon. It discusses the benefits of connecting preschoolers with local food and agriculture. Examples are given of projects run by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and Ecotrust that work with Head Start centers to provide fresh local food, establish school gardens, and do food-based education activities. Key differences between implementing farm to school programs in preschools versus K-12 are also outlined.
Connecting Local Farms and Preschools Through Farm to Head Start Programs
1. Farm to Head Start in North Carolina and Oregon Emily Jackson, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, North Carolina Stacey S. Williams, Ecotrust, Oregon
10. Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Mission - Our mission is to collaboratively create and expand regional community-based and integrated food systems that are locally owned and controlled, environmentally sound, economically viable, and health promoting. ASAP Vision - Our vision is a future food system throughout the mountains of North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians that provides a safe and nutritious food supply for all segments of society; that is produced, marketed and distributed in a manner that enhances human and environmental health; and that adds economic and social value to rural and urban communities.
11.
12.
13.
14. Roof Top Garden at Battery Park Apts. – Farm to Seniors : Partnership with Council on Aging
15.
16. CHEF FEST Teaching local chefs to cook with children in culturally and developmentally appropriate ways that are also linked to the Standard Course of Study
17. Farm to Head Start Kick Off Event Everyone had a meal together. Then families cooked with a chef, planted the garden, and participated in other educational activities.