Center for Ecoliteracy

Congratulations to the Fresno Unified School District Nutrition Services team! The Center for Ecoliteracy was honored to facilitate a resolution from Senator Anna Caballero recognizing their California Food for California Kids Award! Led by Nutrition Services Director Amanda Harvey, Fresno Unified has taken feedback from students and families to make significant strides in providing more menu choices and food that students love, increasing the quality of those meals along the way. Staff provided a tour of the Fresno Unified central kitchen, a facility that helps the district serve over 13 million free #SchoolMealsForAll each year. Guests enjoyed a school lunch featuring local Chicken Posole, Chana Masala, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Thank you to school nutrition champion Senator Anna Caballero for lifting up the importance of fresh and local food in school meals, and to the Fresno Unified team for hosting a fantastic event. You are changemakers! #CAFoodForCAKids ?? Fresno Unified School District

Four bean chili and cornbread, Greek chicken drumsticks and flatbread and bean, and cheese pupusas are just a few of the delicious items on the menu this month at Mount Diablo Unified School District. The district in Concord, CA has long been a leader in shifting to healthier, scratch-cooked school meals using local ingredients. Food & Nutrition Services Director Alexandra Emmott and Center for Ecoliteracy Executive Director Alexa Norstad recently talked about the benefits of the district’s farm to school programming with KRON4 Digital: building lifelong healthier habits, learning about food systems and the environment, and — of course — incorporating fresh and local produce into school meals. Watch the full video: https://lnkd.in/eKun8xmM?

Register now! https://lnkd.in/gvgchXiy

LINKS ARE NOW LIVE! I'm HIRING! CDFA's Farm to School Team will add TWO new operations experts who know how to SCALE IMPACT, BUILD SYSTEMS, and EMPOWER STAFF to make lasting change in the school food system. Positions are fully remote but must be located in either Northern California or Southern California. Travel will be required to visit + support regional staff + CA Farm to School Network activities. Position salary starts at $6,963/month, with higher starting salary available for candidates with prior experience working for the state of California. Northern California Operations Manager - https://lnkd.in/g9e7_Xfd Southern California Operations Manager - https://lnkd.in/gZGRSNu3 Context -- California leads the nation in progressive school food policies and programming. Since the pandemic, the state has invested in universal free meals, school kitchen infrastructure and training, healthy school food apprenticeships, green schoolyards, plant based meals, scratch cooking in schools, Organic school food, and of course, farm to school. In addition, the state maximizes federal funding opportunities like Local Food for Schools and the USDA Farm to School grant program to increase reach + impact. With these new investments, CDFA's farm to school program has grown quickly. In the last 18 months, the program added 16 regional staff positions, announced $52.8m in grant awards, hosted a statewide conference, secured $100k in federal funding to host future regional events, visited the White House with the Office of First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom to table + present to federal leaders as part of the White House Challenge to End Hunger and Build Healthy Communities, and continued efforts to implement the California Farm to School Roadmap. These new staff positions will provide key backbone structure for the farm to school network, enabling the program to better track + scale impact, develop resources, collaborate across regions and agencies, and effectively support our growing team of regional staff. If you would like to learn more about the roles, please send me a DM or email me at [email protected]. Please see comments below for "live" links to the roles in case the posted links aren't working for you. Thank you!

Deadline Friday! School Nutrition Directors, we value your input! Submit the survey: https://lnkd.in/gz_n6iNQ

Register now for our next School Food Innovator Series on December 4 ?? The Center for Ecoliteracy is celebrating 10 years of the California Food for California Kids Network! Join us to recognize Network leaders transforming school food, get inspired by #FarmToSchoolMonth events from across the state, and learn strategies for featuring more #CAGrown fruits and vegetables on your menu. December 4, 2024, 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. PT https://lnkd.in/gvgchXiy #CAFoodForCAKids #FarmToSchool #CAFarmToSchool

Add Your Voice: Help Shape School Nutrition Policy in California ?? The Center for Ecoliteracy advances policy solutions that transform TK–12 school food systems. We invite school nutrition leaders to share their priorities for school nutrition policy in California. Please complete our survey by November 22: https://lnkd.in/gz_n6iNQ Your responses will: ?? Shape our policy and advocacy priorities for 2025 ?? Guide our California Food for California Kids? programs and resources ?? Support storytelling and advocacy communications tailored to California policymakers

Engaging students in #FarmToSchool ???? Elk Grove Unified School District organized a Collective Action Day during #FarmToSchoolMonth for high school students to learn about California-grown fruits and vegetables, taste test new school lunch menu items, and how California farms make an impact with sustainable practices. We were delighted to join with partners @elkgroveunified @cdfafarmtofork @cadepted and the office of @senatorashby for this successful event! #F2SMonth #CAFoodForCAKids #CAFarmToSchool @cdfanews @cafarmtoschool @cdfafarmtofork

Celebrating Thriving Foodways ?? Santa Ana Unified School District hosted a vibrant #FarmToSchool festival, "Growing Together: Farms, Schools, and Community / Creciendo Juntos: Granjas, Escuelas y Comunidad". Alexa Norstad, Executive Director, and Crystal Whitelaw, Senior Program Manager, joined our Santa Ana Unified School District partners for hands-on food education, taste tests of seasonal California fruits, a farmers market, lotería, and more. It was wonderful to be in community with #SAUSD! #CAFarmToSchool #CAFoodForCAKids?#FarmToSchoolMonth?#F2SMonth @cdfanews?@cafarmtoschool?@cdfafarmtofork?@cuyamaorchards

The Center for Ecoliteracy is celebrating ?? years of the California Food for California Kids? Network! ?? Amy Haessly, RD, of @fuesdschoolmeals, has partnered with us over the past decade and is embarking on our latest project to engage TK-K students in learning about #CAGrown fruits and vegetables. California Food for California Kids has been at the forefront of transforming school food for a decade. Our inclusive model empowers school nutrition professionals to lead change with support from their peers. This year, the Network has grown to over 140 public school districts reaching 40% of California students with more fresh and local school meals and experiences connecting the classroom, cafeteria, and garden. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/gBaZPcjR #CAFoodForCAKids #FarmToSchool #SchoolMealsForAll @cafarmtoschool #CAFarmToSchool