Fayette County steps up Farm-to-School planning under PLANTS grant; May 22 kickoff announced

Fayette County school staff and partners told the board April 21 that Farm-to-School work in the county has expanded and will now enter a more formal strategic-planning phase supported by a PLANTS grant.

A district presenter said Farm-to-School efforts in the county date to about 2010 and that partnerships and USDA-related grant funding have increased purchases of local produce. The presenter listed examples of recent procurement, saying the district has purchased lettuce from Greenbrier County, squash, peppers and cherry tomatoes from Fayette County and apples from Webster and Berkeley counties.

Joshua Ellis, a geography professor at West Virginia University who said his team is subcontracting on the PLANTS grant, told the board that the county will undertake strategic planning to identify priorities across three overlapping areas: local production (gardens and greenhouses), procurement (menu and purchasing practices) and pedagogy (curriculum integration). "Our first meeting is actually gonna be on the PL day on May 22, when we hope to bring teachers that are engaged in curriculum development around school gardens and greenhouses, cooks and cafeteria managers," Ellis said.

Presenters flagged barriers that will need attention: cuts to SNAP-Ed funding that reduced capacity for pop-up farmers markets, limited numbers of local farmers who process through USDA facilities, and challenges around aggregation and distribution. The presenters said New Roots Community Farm and a vendor (identified as Crooks Brothers) have helped on aggregation and refrigeration, and staff noted a district walk-in freezer at Rosedale that supports local purchasing.

Organizers said they will keep the board informed and aim to provide a preliminary report for comment by late summer or early fall.