Cafeteria Promotions Enhance Farm to School Efforts

Jan 18, 2018

School food service directors in the California Bay Area have been working with wholesalers and farmers to include more local or regional produce in school meals. These directors often face tight budgets and purchasing challenges. Students, particularly low-income students, are often unfamiliar with locally grown foods. Promotional efforts are needed to introduce the new items to students and reduce food waste.

UC CalFresh Fresno Helps Transform Challenge into Change

Jan 11, 2018

Poverty combined with high unemployment rates can be a recipe for disaster. Entire families become engulfed in crisis. Rescue the Children (Rescue) is a ministry of the Fresno Rescue Mission. The Mission is a nonprofit that changes lives lost to drug or alcohol addiction. The Mission assists homeless families and women who have been released from prison. Rescue provides an in-house rehabilitation and transition program.

Urban SNAP-Ed Community Gardening Project

Dec 13, 2017

The Urban Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (USNAP-Ed) Community Gardening Project involves people in the gardening process. The gardens improve access and availability of fresh produce.

Sustainable School Teaching Garden

Oct 18, 2017

The goal of this project was to engage students and teachers to utilize the garden for more than just learning about flowers by bringing the classroom outdoors to teach subjects like math and science. The garden is used throughout the school day, after school, and during the summer months by a team of enthusiastic teachers and students.

Sustainable Youth Garden for Penobscot Nation

Oct 18, 2017

“This program is a way to bring together children, families, and the community.”—Shaunda Neptune, Maine SNAP-Ed Nutrition Educator. In 2016, Maine SNAP-Ed and the River Coalition teamed up with the Penobscot Nation Youth Program to build a community garden.

Eat the Streets: Exposure to Fruits and Vegetables

Oct 18, 2017

The goal of this project was to help people gain access to healthy foods. Beans, cherry tomatoes, and herbs are just a few of the things residents will be able to pick while visiting the park. These planters will also help to maintain an active and attractive downtown.

Edible Main Street: Exposure to Fruits and Vegetables

Oct 17, 2017

The goal is to demonstrate how to grow vegetables and herbs with the hope of inspiring people to grow their own food. This project started with 12 planters and added 4 more in 2016. Each planter has an accompanying educational description and suggested culinary use for its contents.

Maine Harvest Bucks Promotion Project

Oct 17, 2017

Maine Harvest Bucks are nutrition incentives (funded through the USDA’s Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentive Program) that allow SNAP/EBT shoppers to receive bonus dollars towards the purchase of local fruits and vegetables for every SNAP dollar spent.

Kids Club at Rockland Farmers' Market

Oct 17, 2017

Maine SNAP-Ed teamed up with the market manager and local businesses to offer Kids Club, an interactive summer nutrition education program for youth. In 2016, 72 children participated in Kids Club, with the goal of increasing access to fruits and vegetables and encouraging interaction with local farmers—creating lifelong farmers’ market customers in Knox County.

Gleaning from Farms to the Communities

Oct 17, 2017

Nutrition Educators in Sagadahoc and Lincoln counties partnered with their local food security organizations to distribute gleaned produce to high-need sites throughout the Midcoast. At one low-income housing site, Bath Housing, an estimated 150 individuals received nearly 1,000 pounds of free, fresh, local produce in the summer of 2016.