From our inbox via Washington State’s Farm-to-School Director, Tricia Kovacs.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2009 – Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a new initiative to better connect children to their food and create opportunities for local farmers to provide their harvest to schools in their communities as part of USDA’s ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative. USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) will team together and form ‘Farm to School Tactical Teams’ to assist school administrators as they transition to purchasing more locally grown foods. The agencies will also issue updated common-sense purchasing guidance to schools so they can buy fresh, locally grown produce for students eating through USDA’s school nutrition programs. READ FULL RELEASE HERE.
Dedicated to connecting farms to families, Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food is a relatively new endeavor put forth by the USDA. Here’s a Youtube video of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack with more information.
