The Iowa Beet—April 2021

View this email in your browser The Iowa Beet  April 2021 Newsletter  April showers bring May flowers—and Iowa farm to school and early care news! Welcome to the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Network newsletter, "The Iowa Beet." This resource is collaboratively developed by members of the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition. What's it all about? This resource will feature people, projects, and policies that support farm to school and early care across Iowa. Have info to share? Please email the Coalition at IowaF2SEC@gmail.com.  Rooting for you, The Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition Dig In Iowa Farm to School Producer Directory  Featured Resource from IDALS  Looking for farmers to sell to your school or early care and education site? Or are you a farmer who wants to market to school districts and early care providers? Check out The Iowa Farm to School Producer Directory. This online directory is a resource for making local food connections. Educational institutions can search for local food by product type, county, and growing methods. The directory is hosted and maintained by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.  Garden-Based Activities and Lessons Featured Resource from Kids Gardening    Don't wrap-up your National Garden Month celebrations without checking out this resource! KidsGardening.org hosts a resource database for all things school and early care gardens. Search for activities and lesson plans by season, grade, category, and location.    Stories From the Field  Three Iowa Organizations receive No Kid Hungry Early Childhood Grants  No Kid Hungry recently granted $3 million to 126 early childhood organizations across the country. Congratulations to these Iowa-based awardees!  Catherine McAuley Center (Cedar Rapids) Coralville Community Food Pantry (Coralville) Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County (Iowa City)  Click here to learn more and view the full list of awardees.  Share your Farm to School and Early Care Story! Storytelling is an essential component of policy education. Stories from early care and education organizations, schools, community partners, and local farmers illuminate the impact of farm to school and early care in Iowa communities. Please consider sharing your voice and story to grow continued support for farm to school and early care in Iowa! Click here to record a short video. Stories will contribute to a local and regional media campaign that will support statewide efforts. For more information, email Jan Libbey, leader of the Iowa Ag Vision Coalition. State Grants and Funding  Apply for a Choose Iowa Food of the Month Sub-Grant! Application Closes April 28th The Iowa Department of Education has developed Choose Iowa Food of the Month resources for schools and ECEs to use to promote local foods every month of the year! They include learning activities, posters, coloring facts sheets, and tips and recipes for families. Click here to check out these resources. Sub-grants to support local level implementation are available for the following: CACFP centers: $500 Summer food service program sponsors: $500 Schools: $1,000 Click here to view an informational webinar about the program and funding opportunity. Click here to apply for a sub-grant, due April 28. Questions? Email Carrie Scheidel. Webinars and Events  REGISTRATION IS OPEN!  June 11, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Click here to register! Register for the 2021 Virtual Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Conference, hosted by the the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition. Due to the pandemic, we are hosting the conference virtually and for free this summer. Join teachers, early care professionals, food service staff, farmers, school garden coordinators, and other stakeholders from across Iowa as we share ideas, resources, and successes. The conference agenda will be posted online by May 3! Questions? Email IowaF2SEC@gmail.com. Racial Equity in Farm to Early Care and Education Forum May 5, 4–5:30 p.m. CST Farm to early care and education (ECE) initiatives aim to increase access to local foods and hands-on food and nutrition education to support the health and well-being of young children and their families. Farm to ECE can also be an opportunity to shift power to communities and advance racial equity in our food and early care systems. Join the National Farm to School Network for an open discussion forum to share your insights and ideas on how farm to ECE actively builds power in communities and elevates community initiatives to cultivate just local and regional food systems.  Learn more and register here. CICN Webinar: Farm to School—Tips and Strategies for Purchasing Directly from Local Producers May 6, 2 p.m. CST  What's the CICN? The USDA and Institute of Child Nutrition have collaborated to create the Culinary Institute of Child Nutrition (CICN), and its mission is "to increase the culinary skills of school nutrition programs by providing culinary training programs and resources to support child nutrition operators to prepare and serve healthy, culinary-inspired school meals from scratch and elevate the cafeteria atmosphere." Register for the webinar here.  Want to promote your event statewide?  Visit our Coalition website and click "Submit your event." We'll add it to our monthly newsletter and calendar. Events should be open to the public and related to farm to school and early care content. Want more? The National Farm to School Network hosts a weekly newsletter, "This week in Farm to School," with weekly updates and resources. Sign up for it here. Have a question or feedback? Contact the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition here.  Subscribe for our monthly newsletter here.  Check-out our past newsletters here.  www.IowaFarmtoSchoolEarlyCare.org    The mission of the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition is to increase access to locally-grown food and food education for children and families by building cross-sector partnerships to advance programs and policies in schools, early care settings, and the food system.

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