[Scpg] Program for Grads of City College and University /Food Corps/ In development: an Americorps school garden and farm to school program

[Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network]

Food Corps/ In development : an Americorps school garden and farm to 
school program

http://www.food-corps.org/

What is FoodCorps?
The vision for FoodCorps is to place volunteers for a yearlong term 
of public service in school food  systems. Service members will be 
assigned to school districts suffering disproportionate rates of 
childhood obesity and other diet-related diseases. FoodCorps members 
will build farm to school supply chains, expand food system and 
nutrition education programs, and build and tend on- campus food 
gardens. The ultimate goal of the project is to increase the health 
and prosperity of vulnerable children while investing in the next 
generation of farmers.

What is AmeriCorps?
AmeriCorps is a program of the Corporation for National and Community 
Service, an independent federal agency. Over 75,000 service members 
(volunteers) serve in communities of need through a network of 
national and local non-profits. AmeriCorps is made up of three 
programs: AmeriCorps state and national, AmeriCorps VISTA, and 
AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps).

What compensation do AmeriCorps service members receive?
AmeriCorps members receive a modest living allowance, student-loan 
forbearance, health coverage, and childcare for those who qualify. 
After successfully completing their term of service, they can also 
receive an AmeriCorps Education Award of up to $5,350.

  What is the Kennedy Serve America Act?
The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was passed in 2009. Among 
many other diverse initiatives, the Serve America Act dramatically 
increased the service opportunities through AmeriCorps by growing the 
number of positions from 75,000 to 250,000 by 2017, with a particular 
focus on education, health, clean energy, veterans, economic 
opportunity, and other

Need
FoodCorps responds to the needs of the current "obesity generation." 
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 
three children born in the year 2000 is on track to develop Type II 
diabetes. For minorities, the prediction worsens to one in two.

The program addresses this multi-faceted epidemic with a mechanism 
that, as philosopher Wendell Berry says, "solves for pattern." The 
simple tool of a schoolyard garden positively addresses six of the 
eight contributing factors to obesity identified by the CDC. Gardens 
that engage children provide better food choices, encourage physical 
activity, reduce sedentary behavior, and lead to healthier 
environments at home, at school, and in the community.

Further, the CDC has singled out Farm to School as part of a 
community based solution to the obesity epidemic.

Building on the leadership of the White House Garden and the USDA 
People's Garden Initiative, the President's Task Force on Childhood 
Obesity, and model programs in states like Montana, Iowa and 
Wisconsin, FoodCorps will help bring healthy food infrastructure to 
the schools facing the most severe challenges of diet-related disease.

Join Us
Imagine AmeriCorps service members building and tending school 
gardens and developing Farm to School programs for public schools 
around the country. Now help us make it happen. Join the planning 
process for FoodCorps, a national school garden and Farm to School 
service program. Sign up below and we'll keep you informed about our 
monthly open conference calls and other ways to get involved.


Vision
The vision for FoodCorps is to recruit young adults for a yearlong 
term of public service in school food systems. Once stationed, 
FoodCorps members will build Farm to School supply chains, expand 
food system and nutrition education programs, and build and tend 
school food gardens.

The ultimate goal of the project is to increase the health and 
prosperity of vulnerable children, while investing in the next 
generation of farmers. 

A 16-month planning process to develop FoodCorps began in January 
2010. A summit of 60 interested stakeholders took place in Detroit 
May 19-20. Open conference calls to discuss the program are held on 
the first Thursday of every month at 5pm ET. For information about 
how to join the open calls and reminders on when they're being held,
sign up here.

The planning process is building toward submission of a proposal to 
implement the FoodCorps concept, to be submitted to AmeriCorps and 
program partners in January 2011. 

Planning Process
FoodCorps is being developed through a 16-month planning process 
supported by an AmeriCorps National Planning Grant, with additional 
funding from the WK Kellogg Foundation. Working under the auspices of 
Occidental College and the National Farm to School Network, a 
five-person planning team is engaged in the following work:
1) Building partnerships with like-minded organizations.
2) Visiting model AmeriCorps, school garden, and Farm to School programs.
3) Convening a May, 2010 summit of leaders and practitioners from 
related fields.
4) Developing program architecture and criteria for site and service 
member selection.
5) Designing training for service members, schools, and collaborating 
organizations.
6) Identifying funding partners to enable the programs on-the-ground 
activities.
7) Preparing our application to AmeriCorps to launch the FoodCorps program.
We welcome your participation in this process.

Model Programs
FoodCorps is the first national AmeriCorps program designed to 
address childhood obesity through school garden and Farm to School 
service. The program has been informed and inspired, however, by the 
many local and regional models that have begun doing this work 
already. We hope you'll contact us if you know of others we should 
include!

Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative:
The Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI) is one of nine 
national projects funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation supporting 
healthy local food systems and creating environments for active 
lifestyles. Identifying schools as the centers of its rural 
communities and youth as the drivers of change, the Initiative came 
to focus on Farm to School in fall 2009. Two AmeriCorps volunteers 
serve as full-time Farm to School coordinators for six pilot schools 
in the NE Iowa region. These service members are the main contacts 
between schools and the FFI Farm to School team. With the team's 
assistance, the AmeriCorps volunteers have created a blueprint for 
the NE Iowa Farm to School chapter that incorporates school gardens, 
food service, and education. The AmeriCorps volunteers:
* Build relationships to support Iowa's local food systems by 
engaging high school students and elementary teachers to deliver 
lessons to elementary school students.
* Lay the foundation for sustainable Farm to School programs by 
offering teacher workshops and food service trainings; and by 
participating in local and state policy level discussions that will 
streamline access and remove barriers to local foods.
* Supply the mortar to reinforce where food comes from by organizing 
school gardens and farm visits providing opportunities for 
place-based education.

Montana Food Corps:
Overseen by a statewide coalition called Grow Montana, the Montana 
FoodCorps places AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers in schools and colleges 
across the state in order to create and develop Farm to Cafeteria 
programs. Each FoodCorps volunteer is placed in one site full-time 
for the whole year, and divides her time about half on the logistics 
of getting locally-grown foods from the farms onto the trays in the 
cafeterias, and about half on outreach and education. Montana 
FoodCorps successes include:

* Salish Kootenai College, a  tribal college on the Flathead Indian 
Reservation, went from spending 0% to 10% of its total food budget 
from seven reservation-area vendors.
* Montana State University, the state's land grant college, started 
an organic student farm.
* University of Montana - Western bought so much local beef that a 
county commissioner proposed building a processing plant in the 
region.

* In its third year, 5 FoodCorps service members collectively 
returned $1.2 million to Montana food producers, and educated over 
2,800 students and community members about the social, economic, and 
environmental benefits of locally-grown food.

Wisconsin AmeriCorps Farm to School Program:

Under the auspices of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, the WI 
AmeriCorps Farm to School program has placed twenty service members 
in ten communities across the state, serving 21 districts.
The goal of the program is to provide an innovative approach to 
decreasing childhood obesity by promoting healthy eating habits in 
students and increasing access to local foods in schools. Two 
half-time AmeriCorps members are provided per site: a local food 
procurement member and a nutrition education member. The food 
procurement member identifies and addresses hurdles school districts 
face when procuring local food including distribution, processing, 
pricing and building relationships with farmers. The nutrition 
education member develops and implements curriculum and wellness 
plans that teach students about healthier eating habits. Examples of 
activities include:

* Working with farmers to increase their marketing and distribution 
capacities by forming a farm to community alliance; creating a 
marketing strategy for farmers that sell food to the school such as 
bulletin boards featuring the farmer; and educating farmers on the 
market opportunity of selling to schools.
* Revitalizing the role of healthy food in school by implementing 
harvest of the month activities; starting and supporting snack 
programs; creating and maintaining student gardens; organizing farm 
tours; inviting farmers to come speak in the classroom; and teaching 
hand's on nutrition education in the classroom, afterschool programs, 
and summer school programs.

  World Hunger Relief:
The World Hunger Relief Farm works in partnership with several 
organizations in Waco, TX. The AmeriCorps service members live at the 
World Hunger Relief farm where they work and receive training in a 
variety of areas. In the mornings, the members apply those skills to 
either livestock or gardening. In the afternoons the AmeriCorps 
members take that training and apply it toward working with children 
in school gardens. The World Hunger Relief farm partners with 4 
elementary and middle schools involved with the Communities in 
Schools after-school program. AmeriCorps members work with the 
students to plant, maintain, and harvest gardens at their schools. 
They integrate a number of different lessons from health and 
nutrition to composting and plant life.  

And More:
Greening of Detroit (MI)
Vermont Food Corps (RI, CT, NH, VT)
Boston Collaborative for Food and Fitness (MA)
Solid Ground (WA)
Healthy Maine Partnerships and the University of Maine Cooperative 
Extension (ME)
Center for Energy and Environmental Education at the University of 
Northern Iowa (IA)
International Rescue Committee: Idaho Office for Refugees (ID)
Organic School Project (IL)
Phoenix Charter School (OR)
Northwest Service Academy (WA)
Minnesota GreenCorps (MN)
LA Conservation Corps (CA)
Silicon Valley Health Corps (CA)
Green Mountain Farm to School (VT)
West Virginia Resource Conservation and Development Area Councils (WV)
New Jersey Higher Education Service Learning Consortium (NJ)
Health Corps (Nationwide)
If you know another model program we should hear about, email us !

Contact Us

FoodCorps
C/O Wicked Delicate
232 3rd Street, Suite B403
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(503) 863-7270
info at food-corps.org

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