From the 204 taste tests served in Fulton County to the district-wide Children’s Farm Day for all third graders in Tift County, school districts across Georgia are using Farm to School programs to teach core curriculum, support their local economies, fight obesity and other preventable, food-related diseases, and increase the amount of local food they serve to their students.
On Monday State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge, Commissioner of Agriculture Gary Black, Public Health Commissioner Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, and Georgia Organics Board Chair Mandy Mahoney honored 30 districts with the Golden Radish Award, which is given to school districts in Georgia who are doing extraordinary work in farm to school.
During the 2013-2014 school year, these farm to school programs:
Served local food in school meals over 1,240 times
Held 3,864 taste tests of fresh, local food to students
Taught nearly 700 garden, food and nutrition lessons to students
Tended 255 edible school gardens
Hosted 370 hands-on cooking activities with students
Incorporated farm to school into 115 staff professional development opportunities
13 schools districts have farm to school incorporated into a district-wide policy or procedure
The Golden Radish Award recognizes school districts for all aspects of farm to school, from local food procurement to hosting taste tests to gardening with students, and is awarded at Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorary Levels.
“When children are offered fresh, locally sourced foods, they are more prepared for learning today, and more likely to continue healthy habits tomorrow,” said Dr. Barge. “At the same time, their school is supporting local agriculture, which has been and will continue to be an anchor of Georgia’s economy. It’s a positive thing from so many angles.”
“With these great farm to school programs, including our Feed My School for a Week program, students discover the role agriculture plays in their daily lives,” said Commissioner Black. “These programs not only provide children more healthy alternatives and promote local producers, but also bring communities together for a great cause.”
“Poor nutrition can cause health problems, overweight and obesity,” said Dr. Fitzgerald. “Half or more of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, and farm to school programs have been shown to increase student consumption of these foods. The Georgia Department of Public Health has been a long-time partner and supporter of Georgia’s farm to school efforts and we’re pleased to see the movement’s leaders recognized today.”
“We are so proud of the school district leaders being recognized through the Golden Radish Award,” said Georgia Organics Board Chair Mandy Mahoney. “In reviewing the applications, it’s clear that farm to school programs are popping up all over Georgia, and that Georgia school districts are committed to continuing to grow and support thriving programs.”
The award publicly recognizes and honors school districts for their hard work in the variety of farm to school programs they offer students. Districts were evaluated on their work in ten different activities of farm to school.
The 30 school systems being recognized are:
Gold Level
Atlanta Public Schools
Burke County Public School System
Carrollton City Schools
City Schools of Decatur
Clarke County School District
Habersham County Schools
Jackson County School System
Laurens County Schools
Silver Level
Bibb County School District
Bleckley County School District
Fulton County Schools
Bronze Level
Commerce City Schools
Dougherty County School System
Forsyth County Schools
Grady County Schools
Savannah-Chatham County Public School System
Tift County Schools
Honorary Level
Barrow County School System
Cobb County School District
Crisp County School System
Decatur County Schools
DeKalb County School District
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Hall County Schools
Madison County School District
Marietta City Schools
Newton County Schools
Peach County Schools
Rabun County Schools
Richmond County School System