Announcing the New Iowa City School District - Farm to School Program

In fall 2010 the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD), and the Johnson County Local Food Alliance (JCLFA) announced the launch of the ICCSD Farm to School Chapter. IDALS has given the chapter $4000 to fund its first Farm to School project this fall.

We kicked off the year with a “Farmer Fair” which was presented to all the students at Longfellow Elementary on Friday, Nov. 19, 2010. It was an afternoon of lively presentations and hands-on activities focused on local foods and local farmers. This project was funded by a grant from IDALS.

Longfellow Elementary was one of four schools in the district that applied for the opportunity to host the first Farmer Fair. We hope to take the program to other schools in the future.

Visit our new ICCSD Farm to School Website for more information.

Iowa Farm to School Program

In 2007, Iowa lawmakers passed Farm to School legislation to establish a program that would:

link elementary, secondary, public and non-public schools with Iowa farmers;
provide schools with fresh and minimally processed Iowa grown food for inclusion in school meals and snacks;
encourage children to develop healthy eating habits and provide them with hands-on learning opportunities, such as farm visits, cooking demonstrations, and school gardening and composting programs.

The Farm to School Program is coordinated by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education and a seven-member Farm to School Council. The Iowa Farm to School Program will reach out to communities to establish strong partnerships.