Hello Farm to Fork Friends,
The Utah legislative session wraps up this week, and while we’re disappointed that the Utah Farm to School Bill, HB 256, failed in the Senate, we’ll regroup and try again next year. In better news, HB 297, which extended the Local Food Advisory Council through 2027, did pass. Here’s to another five years of local food advocacy! We’re also continuing to celebrate all the fantastic farm to school activities still taking place around the state—like the Nourishing Moab event being put on by Youth Garden Project and Grand County Child Nutrition on March 9th. If you’re in the Southeast part of our state, be sure to stop by from 6-7pm to taste some food, make some food, and learn about all the ways to access fresh, local food around Moab!
What to Harvest This Month
Did you know that mushrooms are typically grown indoors and harvested all year round? And that the largest producer of fresh mushrooms in the Intermountain West is located right here in Fillmore? Mushrooms are a great source of fiber, vegetable protein, and micronutrients—plus they’re delicious! Try out our Harvest of the Season recipe for Beef and Mushroom Tacos with Lime Crema.
Get Involved!
Attend the Utah Farm to Fork Conference
USBE Child Nutrition Programs is holding a Farm to Fork Conference on March 30th at the Utah Valley Convention Center. The conference breakout sessions are geared toward schools and childcare centers, but there will also be a farmer-food service networking session from 10 am-11 am. If you’re a Utah food producer and would like to chat directly with potential buyers, we’d love to have you attend this session! Email kate.wheeler@schools.utah.gov for more details and to get signed up.
Write for our Blog
Did you know the Farm to Fork website has a blog section? (It's right here, this is it). The blog was originally conceived of as a way to share more farm to fork stories from the community, but it’s languishing for lack of content. We’d love to get it going, so if you’ve got a farm to fork story that you’d like to share, let us know. We’re looking for short pieces, between 250-500 words. Pretty much anything related to local food or agriculture education is a good fit—tell us about your winter farmer’s market visit, the farm field trip your kids went on, or a new recipe you tried using local products. Tell us about what you grow on your farm, or how your organization is involved in farm to fork. Send your ideas to contact@utfarmtofork.org.
Webinars & Trainings
What Makes School Gardens Thrive? March 24, 12pm MT
Come learn about two key pieces of research on indicators of building successful school garden programs by Associate Professor Jaimie Davis of UT Austin and Assistant Professor Kate Burt of Lehman College at the City University of New York. Jaimie will share a summary of her research of over 110 school gardens and introduce viewers to a school garden sustainability survey and scorecard. Kate will share an overview of the GREEN Tool, including its domains, as well as initial results and observations from her work identifying how school gardens build a resilient support community. Learn more and register here.
Improving Equity Fannie Lou Hamer is one of our most under-celebrated civil rights icons. She saw farming as a tool to break free from America’s racist, classist foundations. Learn more about her life and the new generations of Black woman farmers she has inspired here.
Job Opportunities Food and Equity Program Manager, Department of Sustainability, Salt Lake City
The Sustainability Department of Salt Lake City is looking for an energetic and passionate Program Manager who will be primarily responsible for community food systems policy and programs. The position coordinates with other city departments and community stakeholders to improve lives and the environment through increasing access to locally grown, ecologically sustainable and healthy food. Learn more and apply here. The application closes March 13, 2022.
Back Farms Garden Leader, Green Urban Lunch Box, Salt Lake City
Green Urban Lunch Box is seeking two Back-Farms Garden Leaders for the 2022 season. Back-Farms connects the community with senior citizens who donate their yard space to grow produce in. This produce is shared between the Garden Apprentices, participating seniors, and Free Farm Stands held at Salt Lake County senior centers. Garden Leaders are responsible for properly building, tending, and harvesting the 10-15 gardens they are assigned to for the entire growing season. In the gardens, they will meet with volunteer Garden Apprentices to teach them skills from our assigned curriculum, and will also track vegetable harvests, take vegetables to the GULB Community Farm, and manage volunteer groups. This is a 20-30 hour/week seasonal position, from April through mid-October. Pay is $15/hour plus fresh fruits and veggies. Learn more and apply here.
Funding Opportunities
Harvest of the Season Microgrants
Harvest of the Season Microgrants are here! Supported by a Specialty Crop Block Grant, these microgrants are intended to remove financial barriers to participating in Harvest of the Season. There are two different microgrants available, and schools, childcare centers, and non-profit organizations that work with children are all welcome to apply. Applications for both grants will be reviewed and awarded on a rolling basis. Successful applicants will have up to one year to spend the money after awards are made.
Garden Support Grant
Up to 10 garden grants will be awarded. The grant includes an AeroGarden hydroponic unit, 16 seed packets, a printed garden guide, and $1000 to cover costs directly associated with starting and maintaining a garden. Apply for the garden grant here.
Local Food Taste Test Grant
Up to 20 grants of $500 each will be awarded. Grant funds may be used to purchase Harvest of the Season items from a Utah farmer or rancher, supplies and equipment for conducting the taste test (including but not limited to napkins, handwipes, portion cups, plates/bowls, hot plates, knives, cutting boards), and cover staff time for procuring and preparing food and holding the taste test. Apply for the taste test grant here.
Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grants
The Whole Kids Foundation Garden Grant program provides a $3,000 monetary grant to support a new or existing edible educational garden located at either a K–12 school or a non-profit organization (501(c)(3) in the US/Registered Charity in Canada that serves children in the K-12 grade range. The application will open on February 14 and closes March 11, 2022. Learn more and apply here.
Utah Outdoor Classroom Grant
The Utah Outdoor Classroom Grant awards up to $10,000 to community-based non-profit organizations or publicly funded K-12 schools to help get Utah’s K-12 students outside— to learn, gain a skill, and enjoy the outdoors. School gardens are the ultimate outdoor classroom! Learn more and apply here. The deadline to apply is March 18, 2022, at 5 p.m.
Be sure to share your upcoming events, grant opportunities, and jobs with us so that we can share them here!
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