Mass. Farm to School attends the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference

This past spring both Rachel Harb and Lisa Damon attended the 9th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference in Cincinnati, OH. Read below to learn more about there experiences at the conference. 

Observations from Rachel Harb:

This spring I had the good fortune of joining a nationwide cohort of farm to school advocates, organizers, movers and shakers, and all-around food lovers for the 9th Annual Farm to Cafeteria Conference and the National Farm to School Network annual meeting in beautiful, downtown Cincinnati, OH. Most notably, I was happy to see that this year’s conference organizers emphasized racial equity and inclusion in the food system, acknowledging that not all people have felt represented or included in the farm to school movement. In fact, my favorite workshop  was called “Seeing Racial Equity: Developing a Racial Equity Lens in Farm to School/ECE.” The focus was on how to begin a conversation around the role that racial equity plays in dismantling systems of oppression in the farm to school movement and its broader application to the food system as a whole. It was a moving and powerful session.

I also had the chance to speak on a panel entitled “Summer Meals: The Wild, The Crazy, The Complicated Web” and was joined by Marissa Watson (VT) and Dawn Crayco (CT). The three of us discussed how our respective states integrate local food and nutrition education into Summer Meals that nourish children. I presented on several successful case studies in Massachusetts where Summer Sites partner with farmers’ market managers to serve summer meals. In these cases, the markets serve as “open sites” so any child under 18 would be eligible to receive a free meal. It’s an exciting win-win partnership because it can attract more kids and families to both the farmers’ market and the summer meal site. For anyone interested in learning more about this, I’ll be giving an encore presentation on a National Farm to School Network webinar at 2 PM ET on Thursday, July 12, 2018.

Observations from Lisa Damon:

Massachusetts Farm to School (MFTS) is fortunate to be a Core Partner within the National Farm to School Network to represent Massachusetts farm to school efforts, and learn from our peers and colleagues in other states. Attending the National Conference is always a fantastic opportunity to hear about other programs and efforts happening across the country that lends itself to enhancing programming back here in Massachusetts. With over 1,000 attendees, this year’s conference offered workshop tracks on a wide variety of topics and themes. I was particularly excited to attend the track of workshops focusing on farm  to school state policies. As MFTS looks towards enhancing state level policy efforts here in Massachusetts it was helpful to hear about the grant programs, additional reimbursement legislation, and programmatic policy being implemented in other states. It was particularly valuable to learn about the advocacy and coalition building process from Vermont, Michigan, and Oregon that helped build momentum towards passing specific legislation. I’m excited to return to my work here in MA with a broader perspective and new energy to propel farm to school work forward in Massachusetts.