435 Oakview Road Decatur, Ga 30030 404.371.1920 www.wyldecenter.org
Happy New Year from Decatur Farm to School!
Non-Profit Org US Postage PAID Permit # 328 Decatur, GA
It’s hard to believe that we’re already in the second half of the school year! We’ve been busy in the cafeterias, classrooms, and school gardens. Farm to School initiatives abound across the school district.
Purpose of newsletter: To keep parents, students, school personnel, community members, and other interested parties informed of the Wylde Center’s Decatur Farm to School programming in the community.
WINTER 2017
Return Service Requested
Decatur Farm to School Awards Mini-Grants for F2S Initiatives
F.AVE Fifth Graders Take Their Lessons Outside
Renfroe Middle School will be adding and improving raised garden beds, adding an adjustable height, multi-use table for demonstrations and to make gardening activities accessible to all students. Oakhurst Elementary will purchase tools and materials to make outdoor learning and garden spaces more accessible. Glennwood Elementary will be adding a shed to their working garden for safe storage of tools and materials.
Decatur Farm to School offered“healthy” choices at the Haints n’ Saints Halloween Parade back in October!
4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue will augment their Farm to School programming to have two garden days for 4th and 5th grade classes to expand their gardening experience.
Support Farm to School today, the easy way! Make a tax-deductible donation at www.wyldecenter.org
We are so excited to be supporting these initiatives and can’t wait to report back on their progress!
Thank You Partners
Thank you to the City Schools of Decatur for supporting Farm to School initiatives. Printing funded in part by Decatur Atlanta Printing.
In this issue, you’ll find information about cafeteria updates, a recipe for butternut squash soup (great for cold winter nights), and summer internship opportunities for Decatur High School students who want to get their hands dirty in the garden and in the kitchen. Turn the page to find our fun word game! If you’d like to learn how to become a volunteer or contribute to Decatur Farm to School, please visit www. wyldecenter.org/decatur-farm-to-school.
The Decatur Farm to School committee recently awarded five $500 mini-grants to the following schools to enhance their farm to school initiatives:
Westchester Elementary will use funds to schedule a field trip to learn about bees, hives and facilitate the planting of pollinators in the school garden.
As your student may have told you, back on November 9th and 10th, CSD students sampled beets! We are pleased to announce that for the first time since our first taste test in 2009, we conducted taste tests in EVERY school in the district – even high school! Normally we announce the taste test results in our winter newsletter, but with so many more participants, we are still tabulating results; we will publish those in the spring issue.
Contributors: Ana Kucelin, Nichole Lupo, Erin Murphy, Lucia Pawloski, Stephanie Van Parys
Write to us: stephanie@wyldecenter.org 435 Oakview Road • Decatur, GA 30030
Follow us online:www.wyldecenter.org/decatur-farm-to-school Facebook: Decatur Farm to School • Twitter: @DecaturF2S Instagram: DecaturFarmtoSchool
Fifth graders at the 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue (F.AVE) have already learned a lot in the garden this school year! The entire grade, a total of 373 students, participated in a hands-on exploration of vascular and nonvascular plants this September. They also harvested several pounds of sweet potatoes that they planted last summer as fourth graders.
Looking Ahead
In January, students will put together everything they learned in the garden to prepare and taste their school garden-grown sweet potatoes during a lesson on physical
In October, students also learned about the ways that harmful and beneficial bacteria impact our daily lives, especially through the lense of food production - from harvest, to preparation, to digestion.
The Students “Dig It”
According to fifth grade teacher Morgan Wright, the fifth graders and their teachers were very excited to be a part of farm to school. “For the past few months, we have experienced hands-on lessons guided by the Wylde Center staff,” she said, adding that “these lessons are engaging and informative. The staff ensures that each lesson ties to our state standards on which we are currently focused and builds upon students prior knowledge of each topic.”
and chemical changes. At the end of the lesson, they’ll have a delicious sweet potato and apple soup for their efforts. We are excited that this spring, the Wylde Center education team will be working with all the fourth graders in their school garden.
Decatur Farm to School Spotlights Volunteer Kerri Shannon! It is one thing to support a cause in which you believe; it is something completely different to be a living example of it everyday. For us, Kerri Shannon is that example, which is why she was chosen for the volunteer spotlight.
several thousands of dollars for DF2S. She is currently a member of the School Nutrition Advisory Committee and acts as the garden liaison for the 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue and the Wylde Center.
Unbeknownst to most, Kerri has spent countless hours supporting DF2S. She is a former member of the DF2S committee and served as the Co-Chair for the semi-annual Dine Out, which has helped raise
There has not been one single task that she has refused, from dressing up as a carrot (yes, she did!) to passing out hundreds of veggie samples. If it means that she is able to connect with kids about the importance of healthy living, Kerri is there.
Dine Out with Us This Spring!
Just for Fun: DF2S Word Search! Find all of the words listed below in any direction. B T N G M X E H O R Q B R M
Decatur Farm to School’s main source of fundraising are our bi-annual Dine-Outs that are scheduled in the fall and spring of each year. Our Fall Dine-Out, held in October 26, 2016, helped raise almost $5,000 specifically for Decatur Farm to School, with a record number of 21 restaurants participating! The funds raised will be used to support taste tests and school initiatives like the ones highlighted on the back page of this newsletter. Thank you to the following Fall Dine Out participating restaurants for participating: Arepa Mia, Brick Store Pub, Cakes & Ale, Calle Latina, Farm Burger, Kimball House, Leon’s Full Service, Mojo Pizza and Pub, No. 246, Oakhurst Market, Raging Burrito, Sapori di Napoli, Steinbeck’s, Taiyo Ramen, The Iberian Pig, The Imperial, The Marlay House, Truman Tavern, Twain’s Brewpub & Billiards, Universal Joint, and Wahoo! Grill. The Spring Dine Out is scheduled for April XX, 2017.
F U N E C U T T E L Q D K T
J N K T A S T Y A D Z C I S
C R C W L I G G M E N K B O
W E W O O Y A F N L O U T P
X T O R O L J V Y I R Z I M
Y T J M H J L L K C G P U O
T U P S C T R B X I A Z R C
N B L J S Q R J H O N H F P
J S Q U A S H I O U I S M B
C F M S Q V Q R D S C E R E
V Q A G D H S I D A R R A E
L S S H J L I H L Y U F F T
U S R E B U T O D C F O Q S
beets butternut compost delicious dirt farm fresh fruit lettuce organic radish school squash tasty tubers worms
Calling All Decatur High School Students: Internships Available! Decatur Farm to School seeks three hard-working interns for this summer’s farm to table internships. Those interested in learning more about the farm to table or farm to market journey may apply for the 6-week paid internship via the Decatur Farm to School website, wyldecenter.org/decatur-farm-to-school. Applications will also be available at the front office of the high school and the office of the culinary department starting March 21, 2017. The deadline for receiving applications will be April 15, 2017. We look forward to another fruitful summer!
Setting a New Standard: Decatur Wins the Golden Radish for Fourth Year
Books Donated to CSD Libraries to Complement Farm to School Taste Tests
City Schools of Decatur (CSD) was honored for a fourth consecutive year for its Farm to School initiatives at a ceremony hosted by Georgia Organics at the Georgia capitol building on October 24 2016. With the help of the Wylde Center’s Decatur Farm to School programming, CSD achieved the Golden Radish’s “Gold Level,” the highest awarded.
Twice a year Decatur Farm to School conducts taste tests of a fruit or vegetable. To promote participation in the taste test, it has become a tradition that DF2S donates books to the school library that highlights the chosen vegetable or farm to school intiatives in that school. Here are the books chosen for this past fall when the students sampled beets.
The Golden Radish Award is a prestigious statewide farm to school distinction that acknowledges outstanding leadership of school representatives who are building comprehensive farm to school programs. CSD Nutrition Specialist Nikki Speake, Wylde Center Education Director Nichole Lupo, and DF2S Volunteer Coordinator Meredith Parks attended the ceremony to accept the award.
Roasted Butternut Squash with Apples
1-1/2 pounds butternut squash cubed 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon kosher salt black pepper to taste olive oil to coat squash 1 cup dried cranberries (optional) 2 apples, cored, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces Directions Heat oven to 375. On a greased baking sheet, toss the squash with the olive oil and seasonings, coating the cubes well.
College Heights Early Childhood Learning Center received two copies of How Groundhog’s Garden Grew, by Lynne Cherry.
The elementary schools received two copies each of Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens, and F.AVE received two copies of Food for Thought: The Stories Behind the Things We Eat by Ken Robbins.
Cook squash alone first by baking for 20 minutes. Remove sheet from oven. Arrange apples over the squash and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven, toss apples and squash together to mix. Add more cinnamon and salt to taste. Garnish with dried cranberries, if desired. Yields about 4 cups
The donation of books each year to our schools has become a beloved tradition. We are happy to provide supplementary reading to the schools for both the teachers and the students to access.