World Vision USA’s Post

Schools benefit from farm to school investmentA historic investment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is helping connect more Virginia students to agriculture by building healthier communities and lifelong learning opportunities. Virginia will benefit from a record-breaking $14.3 million investment in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants awarded to 154 projects in 43 states, Guam and Puerto Rico. These funds will help 1.9 million children eat more nutritious foods in schools while supporting farmers in their communities. “Farm to school is a huge win for children, schools, farmers, producers and communities,” said USDA Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “When schools have access to fresh, local food options with homegrown flavor, they can serve delicious, healthy dishes that kids are excited to eat, while also supporting the local economy.” Farm-to-school programs help child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods into meals served through USDA’s National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids. They also create opportunities for students to learn about nutrition and agriculture through hands-on experiences. “When we support children in establishing good eating habits, we’re setting them up to reach their full potential,” said Cindy Long, USDA food and nutrition service administrator. Since the program’s inception in 2013, USDA has awarded more than $98 million in Farm to School Grants, funding more than 1,200 projects that have reached more than 28 million students. “These grants continue our work to address both food insecurity and nutrition insecurity, ensuring that we’re not only feeding kids, we’re feeding them well,” Vilsack added. Virginia’s 2024 recipients are Healthy Harvest Food Bank, Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission, United Charitable and the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation. Funding will help launch the Healthy Harvest Fresh regional farm-to-school initiative in the Northern Neck and Upper Middle Peninsula. The aquaponics production facility will provide fresh greens to schools and offer students a cross-curricular educational program. The investment also will help implement the Rappahannock-Rapidan Farm to School Gap Analysis and Pilot Program, which aims to use Carver Food Enterprise Center’s commercial kitchen for a monthly delivery of local, healthy entrees or side dishes to students in Rappahannock County Public Schools. ng awarded to United Charitable in Ashburn will aid ReTreeUS in a multi-state effort to implement school orchard programs. The project aims to enhance student access to local produce and agricultural education opportunities in school orchards. The Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind in Staunton will partner with VSDB Foundation to enhance the school’s edible school garden. The project increases students’ access to local foods, advances educational opportunities and improves comprehensi

A primary school in the Eastern Cape is facing severe challenges in providing meals to its learners, with the current budget allocation of just R3.05 per child proving insufficient. Despite the efforts of dedicated staff, who spend significant time sourcing affordable food, many children are left without adequate nutrition. This situation underscores the need for innovative solutions to food security. Read More: https://lnkd.in/d7kkaDwR Hemp hearts, containing 35% protein (more than chicken) and all 9 essential amino acids, could be a game-changer. Consuming just 15 grams of locally grown hemp hearts daily could offer a sustainable solution to improve food security in South Africa. Bezos Earth Fund UN World Food Programme WFP #SchoolMeals #EasternCape #FoodSecurity #HempHearts #SustainableNutrition #SouthAfrica #BezosEarthFund #UNWFP #NutritionSecurity #InnovativeSolutions

🌍 Investing in school meals: A pathway to a brighter future! 🍴📚 Did you know that just $8 can provide 10 school-going children with meals? For many children, this meal is a source of nourishment and a powerful incentive to attend school and learn. Why school meals matter: 🌟 Every $1 invested in school feeding yields $9 in economic returns, making it one of the most impactful investments for a sustainable future. 🌟 School meals support the whole community by providing an important safety net and strengthening food systems and economies. At the World Food Programme (WFP)World Food Programme, we work with governments worldwide to ensure every child has access to nutritious school meals. Together, we can build a future where no child goes to school hungry. Want to join this journey of change? Explore how you can contribute: 📍 Learn more about WFP School Meals https://lnkd.in/dnjdSHG6 📍 ShareTheMeal School Feeding Campaign https://lnkd.in/dmBpwiRG ShareTheMeal. Let's nourish minds and create brighter tomorrows, one meal at a time. 🍽️✨ #ZeroHunger #SchoolMeals #WFP #SharetheMeal

🍂 This #Thanksgiving season, we’re reflecting on the power of partnerships and collaboration. At GCNF, we’re grateful for our global partners—like FAO, World Food Programme, and Research Consortium for School Health & Nutrition—that play a vital role in supporting #SchoolMeals across the globe. In 2018, GCNF launched the Global Survey of School Meal Programs, the first effort to collect standardized data directly from governments on school feeding programs worldwide. With data from over 160 countries, this survey has become an invaluable tool for helping school feeding partners and governments understand how countries are financing, implementing, and evolving their school meal initiatives. Support from The Rockefeller Foundation and USDA has helped make this important work possible. Read more to learn how the work of GCNF and key partners drives global progress toward ensuring every child receives a nutritious meal at school! 🥣 https://lnkd.in/gi-7JxSW

Planet-friendly school meals: opportunities to improve children's health and leverage change in food systems https://lnkd.in/eSbvRF-z Food systems are facing a global crisis. Most countries are falling behind rather than progressing toward achieving the seven global nutrition targets set for 2030,1 while unsustainable food production and consumption patterns have contributed to depletion and pollution of natural resources and climate change, further compromising food security and nutrition.2 Children are disproportionately affected with 1 billion children at high risk of food insecurity.3 Low-income countries will be the most affected by these changes despite having contributed the least. Planet-friendly school meals, defined as programmes delivering equitable and healthy foods for children, produced in ways that do not pollute or overexploit natural resources and protect biodiversity, are a platform to tackle some of these food system challenges. School meals, mostly state-funded, reach 418 million children every day worldwide4 offering an opportunity to improve diet quality, and ultimately nutrition and health, and act as a catalyst for food systems transformation contributing to meeting global climate, food, and biodiversity goals.5 There is increasing recognition of the importance of good nutrition in the healthy development of school-aged children.6 Regular provision of school meals improves school enrollment, attendance, and attainment, and lowers dropout rates, especially for girls, reduces socioeconomic disparities, and in low-income settings and households acts as a social safety net by reducing food insecurity and supporting family budgets.4 Combined with holistic food education, planet-friendly and nutritious school meals can foster healthier and more sustainable food practices.7 Planet-friendly school meals can create demands for systemic changes to food systems, including more ecological, agrobiodiverse, and equitable food production, regenerating land and protecting biodiversity.5 #schoolfeeding #schoolfeedingprograms #childhealth #obesity #obesityprevention #sustainablefood #sustainablefoods #sustainablefoodsystems #sustainablehealthydiets #healthysustainablediets #planetaryhealth #biodiversity #agrobiodiversity #nutrition #nutritious #nutrition #nutritioneducation #dietitians #nutritionists #nutricionistas #agroecology #regenerativeagriculture #regenerativefarming

My kind of school meals: for everyone & healthy for our food system. The Lancet Planetary Health. (2024, November 18). Planet-friendly school meals: Opportunities to improve children’s health and leverage change in food systems. The Lancet Planetary Health. https://lnkd.in/euCFiPQW "Planet-friendly school meals, defined as programmes delivering equitable and healthy foods for children, produced in ways that do not pollute or overexploit natural resources and protect biodiversity, are a platform to tackle some of these food system challenges. School meals, mostly state-funded, reach 418 million children every day worldwide offering an opportunity to improve diet quality, and ultimately nutrition and health, and act as a catalyst for food systems transformation contributing to meeting global climate, food, and biodiversity goals." See the whole opinion piece in the link.

Leveraging CACFP for Farm to Early Care and Education: Growing Wins Across Early Childhood and Food System Sectors (January 2024) https://lnkd.in/e5AB-qfg “When combined, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Farm to Early Care Education (Farm to ECE) activities can have an extraordinary impact on children, child care providers, and local communities. Leveraging CACFP for Farm to Early Care and Education: Growing Wins Across Early Childhood and Food System Sectors aims to support child care providers to access CACFP and utilize it for eligible Farm to ECE actitives by highlighting the mutually beneficial synergy between these initiatives. The report also provides recommendations for stakeholders to boost participation in these vital programs. Increased access to and use of CACFP and Farm to ECE activities is a pivotal cross-sector approach to improving children’s equitable access to fresh, nutritious foods to reduce hunger.”   LEVERAGING CACFP FOR FARM TO EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION: Growing Wins Across Early Childhood and Food System Sectors (January 2024)   https://lnkd.in/eVUMfWsh #childhealth #childnutrition #schoolnutrition #farmtoschool #farmtotable #foodsystems #foodsystemtransformation #sustaianblefoodsystems #foodaccess #foodequity #localeconomy #hunger #foodinsecurity #foodsecurity #nutritioneducation #foodpolicy #nutrition #dietitans #foodhubs #communitysupportedagriculture #gardens #gardening #schoolgardens #schoolgardening Marissa Bell, MPH, RD, LD

A primary school in the Eastern Cape is facing severe challenges in providing meals to its learners, with the current budget allocation of just R3.05 per child proving insufficient. Despite the efforts of dedicated staff, who spend significant time sourcing affordable food, many children are left without adequate nutrition. This situation underscores the need for innovative solutions to food security. Read More: https://lnkd.in/dpG3S6ND Hemp hearts, containing 35% protein (more than chicken) and all 9 essential amino acids, could be a game-changer. Consuming just 15 grams of locally grown hemp hearts daily could offer a sustainable solution to improve food security in South Africa. Bezos Earth Fund UN World Food Programme WFP #SchoolMeals #EasternCape #FoodSecurity #HempHearts #SustainableNutrition #SouthAfrica #BezosEarthFund #UNWFP #NutritionSecurity #InnovativeSolutions

School canteens are an important platform for nutrition education and present an opportunity for farm to fork vegetable consumption 🥗 🧒Introducing more healthy and locally produced vegetables into school canteens can have numerous benefits for students, promoting better nutrition and helping to establish healthy eating habits from a young age. Sourcing local vegetables can reduce costs and support local growers. While this seems like the ideal solution for growers, children, and the wider community, there are several hurdles that the industry is working to overcome. 🎤AUSVEG spoke to Shadia Djakovic, Nutrition Lead and Senior Project Manager for the Healthy Kids Association about the levy-funded project they’re running called ‘For the Love of Veg’ or 'Education and tools for canteen managers to increase vegetables in primary school canteens and vegetable consumption by children.' 🥕The project aims to develop practical tools and educational resources to increase vegetable inclusion in primary school canteen menus and increase vegetable consumption by children in school canteens across the country 🏫 This project MT22006 is funded by Hort Innovation using the vegetable and onion industry research and development levies and contributions from the Australian Government. #AUSVEG #EatMoreAusVeg #HealthyKids