On the Local Level Fall 2012

AVERY COUNTY Farm Bureau has several members involved in a school agriculture project. Freedom Trail Elementary School is one of three Western North Carolina schools to receive the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project Farm to School Community Grant for 2012. The grant, written by teacher and Farm Bureau member April Pittman, includes $3,000 and the Farm to School training, technical assistance, educational resources and materials to implement a Farm to School program. A Farm to School Team of 18 teachers (10 of whom are Farm Bureau members,) administrators, food service professionals, parents, and community members will work to increase the amount of locally grown food served in the school cafeteria, promote positive food environments at school and integrate farm-to-school programming into instruction. Students will experience hands-on learning through school gardens, farm field trips, and local-food cooking classes. Freedom Trail teachers are planning trips to Farm Bureau member Waightstill Avery’s farm, Mark Trivett’s gardens and Avery County President Keith Huffman’s greenhouses.