CALL FOR APPLICANTS: SchoolFood Garden to Cafeteria Pilot

Dear School Gardeners, Community Gardeners and Farmers, and Friends of School Gardening:

NYC Department of Education, SchoolFood and NYS Department of
Agriculture & Markets are seeking applicants for the SchoolFood
Garden to Cafeteria pilot project.

Garden to Cafeteria is a collaboration of NYC Department of Education,
SchoolFood; NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets; Cornell
Cooperative Extension; GreenThumb; Added Value; and more than 20
community based organizations to incorporate student-grown food into
the school menu.

Through this application process, twenty to 25 school and community
gardens/farms will be selected to collaborate with SchoolFood to grow
vegetables and herbs that will be featured on the lunch menu as part of
a fall harvest celebration during NY Harvest for NY Kids Week next fall
on October 1, 2 or 3.

Research has shown that when students grow a vegetable, they are more
likely to eat it. The objective of Garden to Cafeteria is to increase
students’ healthful eating by promoting consumption of plant-based menu
items and connecting kids to local food and farming. This effort is an
extension of the SchoolFood Plus Program and past successful farm to
school events. The project also celebrates existing school gardening
and farming programs and will hopefully inspire new ones throughout NYC.

Pilot schools and gardens will receive gardening technical assistance,
coordination support, and resources for a successful harvest event.

The deadline for applying is Friday, June 6th. The application is attached. Please email your completed application to christina.grace@agmkt.state.ny.us.
If you would prefer to complete and return the application by mail,
you can print the document or we are happy to mail one to you. Please
return your completed application to:

Garden to Cafeteria Pilot
c/o Christina Grace
NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets
55 Hanson Place
Brooklyn, NY 11217

Please contact christina.grace@agmkt.state.ny.us/718-722-2834 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Billy Doherty, NYC Department of Education, SchoolFood
Chris Grace, NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets