July 2020 Utah Farm to Fork Newsletter
Hello Farm to Fork Friends,
It’s officially summer, and farmers markets are open! Many of them accept Double Up Food Bucks, which increase the value of your SNAP dollars. Find more information and a list of participating markets here. Please wear a mask when you visit the market, to keep other shoppers and (and our farmers!) healthy.
What to Harvest this Month
Cherries are doing great this year. Apricots had a tough time with our late spring frost, so if you see any, snatch them up while you can. Zucchini are ready to harvest now throughout the rest of the summer, and if we’re lucky we’ll start seeing tomatoes toward the end of the month.
Get Involved!
Farm to Fork Task Force Quarterly Meeting
Join us for our quarterly meeting via WebEx on July 15 from 2-3:30 pm. We’ll be sharing updates on current projects and discussing plans for the Apple Crunch this fall. You can join the meeting here or by phone at 1-415-655-0002 (meeting number: 133 375 9846 password: 3kmTw2VFVM3).
Webinars and Trainings
The Edible Schoolyard Summer Training at Home
The Edible Schoolyard is offering a free, multi-month summer program of online training and professional development sessions on adapting edible education to remote and home learning. Registration is first-come, first-served, and opens the Monday of the week before the event. The first session took place June 30th, but they are designed to be stand-along events, so mark your calendars for July 14th and 28th, and August 11. Learn more about the different sessions here.
Improving Equity
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Program Closures
We mentioned farmworkers in our May newsletter—they are still essential and still dramatically underserved. When migrant and seasonal Head Start programs close, who cares for farmworkers’ children? The linked blog post from New America explains some of the unique challenges and risks that farmworkers and their families are facing. You can donate to Centro de la Familia to support migrant and seasonal Head Start in Utah.
Job Opportunities
Garden-Based Curriculum Specialist/Seed to Table Educator, Youth Garden Project, Moab
Youth Garden Project is hiring for TWO full time AmeriCorps positions. The Seed to Table Educator position runs August 2020-August 2021, and the Garden-Based Curriculum Specialist is September 2020-September 2021. Full position details and application instructions are available here.
Funding Opportunities
NFSN COVID-19 Relief Fund
Round two of National Farm to School Network’s COVID-19 Relief Fund application is now open. Organizations that seek financial support of their efforts to connect kids and their families to just food through the support of local farmers and food systems are welcome to apply. Organizations that directly serve and are led by Black people and Indigenous people will be prioritized in application review. The application deadline is July 6, 2020. Learn more and apply here. Urban Agriculture and Innovation Production (UAIP) Grants USDA has announced $3 million for grants through its new Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. The competitive grants will support the development of urban agriculture and innovative production projects through two categories, Planning Projects and Implementation Projects. Applications are due July 6, 2020. Learn more and apply here.
Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) Targeted Small Grants Program Grants from $20,000-$200,000 are available for food retail and food enterprises working to improve access to healthy foods in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities. Funding for HFFI is provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), authorized by the Farm Bill. The application deadline is July 10, 2020. Learn more and apply here.
Pure Farmland Pure Growth Project
The Pure Growth Project is an initiative and grant program (ranging from $1,000 to $20,000) that supports community gardens in neighborhoods throughout the country and builds on our longstanding commitment to protect vital American farmland. The application deadline is July 31, 2020. Learn more and apply here.
Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
Farmers, ranchers and other producers can now apply for direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). We recommend reviewing this brief from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition to determine whether applying makes sense for you. You’ll need to contact your local Farm Service Agency to apply. The sign-up window is open now through August 28, 2020, but funding is first-come, first-served.
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