State Agriculture Commissioner Announces More Than $1.5 Million A...

WHAT: In celebration of Farm-to-School Month,NYS Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball will visit C R Weeks Elementary School, joining staff, students, and local farmers, to highlight the school's sourcing of New York farm products and announce the awardees of the Department's latest round of its Farm-to-School Grant Program.

Following the announcement, Commissioner Ball will join students for a tour of the elementary school's garden and a special New York Taste Test of an Apple Crisp Parfait, featuring New York oats, yogurt, and apples.

WHEN:Wednesday, October 9 at 10 a.m.

WHERE: C R Weeks Elementary School

440 Foley Road

Windsor, NY 13885

WHO: State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball

Erin Summerlee, Food and Health Network Director, Rural Health Network of SCNY

Julie Raway, Registered Dietitian, Broome Tioga BOCES Food Services

Beth Roberts, Executive Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension Broome County

Senator Lea Webb

Allison Russell, Owner, Russell Farms

MORE: New York's Farm-to-School program, now in its ninth round, promotes the purchase and use of New York State grown food in meals served in cafeterias of K-12 schools. With over 700 school districts in New York State, there is great opportunity to see the many benefits of farm-to-school programs expand across the State, including improving student health and well-being; strengthening the local agricultural economy by providing new markets for farmers; and building healthy communities. Since the launch of the Farm-to-School program in 2015, $8.7 million has been awarded to 142 projects, benefiting school districts in every region across the State.

The Broome-Tioga Farm-to-School Program was recently awarded $100,000 through the ninth round of Farm-to-School funding, which will build on a longstanding collaboration between the Rural Health Network of South Central New York (RHN), Broome-Tioga BOCES (BT BOCES), Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County (CCE Broome), 15 participating school districts, and local farm and food business partners to increase the volume and variety of New York State farm products purchased and served in school meal programs, and to build capacity across the program to ensure long-term sustainability and impact. The program aims to connect small-to mid-scale and historically underserved food producers with K-12 markets, provide opportunities for students to learn about local agriculture and food systems, and increase their access to healthy, local foods while expanding training opportunities and resources for school food service staff and increasing the availability of minimally processed local products for school meals.

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