NJ Farm to School Network 1st Annual Conference – Saturday the 18th

It sounds like the Portland Farm to Cafeteria conference was quite a hit… our friend Julie Negrin, blogged about it for us. If you weren’t able to attend, hopefully you got tickets to this sold out event (but smaller and regionally focused), on the east coast. It’s this Saturday in New Jersey. If you weren’t able to get tickets, look for this new yearly event in 2010!

NJ Farm to School Network 1st Annual Conference

(LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ)- A network of almost 30 groups from around New Jersey, including chefs, food service professionals, parents, teachers, farmers, and food access advocates have teamed up to offer the state’s first ever “New Jersey Farm to School Conference.” The conference will be held on Saturday, April 18th from 8:30am to 4:00pm at the venerable Lawrenceville School, whose model program has been established by Executive Chef and Owner of food service company Sustainable Fare, Gary Giberson.

What’s “farm to school,” you ask? According to Beth Feehan, one of the group’s key organizers, “The NJ Farm to School Network clearly defines our mission as supporting a wide range of local, healthy food in school projects, including an increase in cafeterias sourcing from NJ farms, the establishment of school gardens programs that expose youth to food production, nutrition and cooking education, recycling, and more.”

Since its inception, the NJ Farm to School Network has worked hand-in-hand with the National Farm to School Network and Tegan Hagy, of The Food Trust in Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic Farm to School Coordinator. Hagy explains, “Farm to school programs connect school meals with local agriculture – a strategy that can improve the quality of school meals, increase the profitability of farming, and re-create relationships in the community among consumers and the people who grow their food.”

Children’s health and farm viability are at the heart of the issue. According to recent statistics, 27 percent of U.S. children are overweight — this has doubled in the past 10 years — and for the first time in 200 years, today’s children are expected to have a shorter life expectancy then their parents. Meanwhile, U.S. farmers’ share of every food dollar has dropped to 19 cents from 41 cents in 1950 and the typical food travels from 1,500 to 2,400 miles from farm to plate (a head of California lettuce shipped to NJ requires 36 times more energy to transport than the caloric food energy it provides).

With growing awareness about the need for farm to school programs and increasing demand for information, resources, and support, the NJ Farm to School Network determined that a state-wide educational conference was its best first step. At the outset of the event, conference goers can expect an address by Emma Davis-Kovacs, Director of Division of Food & Nutrition for the NJ Department of Agriculture, followed by the Keynote Address: Josh Viertel, the newly appointed president of Slow Food USA.

The topics of the conference include, “School Gardens: Food & Fun,” with information about creating and maintaining successful programs, “Farm to School Policy: Strategies for Success,” “Connecting Farms to Cafeterias: Food Service Director Perspectives,” and “Connecting to the Classroom: Curriculum Ties and Food Education.”

Gary Giberson, Founder & President of Sustainable Fare, the foodservice provider at The Lawrenceville School, is delighted to host the event, stating, “It dovetails perfectly with our Green Campus Initiative, the School’s ongoing, holistic approach to campus sustainability. The conference will provide an exceptional opportunity for us to discuss our successes and learn from experts who share our goal of sustainable dining practices.”
The conference fee is $25, which includes a locally-sourced meal sponsored by Sustainable Fare. This event is presented with generous support from The Lawrenceville School, Sustainable Fare, Edible Jersey magazine, Steve & Cookies by the Bay Restaurant in Margate, the Mid-Atlantic Farm to School Network, Eat Local of Ringwood, the Margate City Farmers Market, and Maschio’s Food Services, Inc.

Hagy believes the future is bright for farm to school in the Garden State, saying “New Jersey has an incredibly rich agricultural history, and is ripe with opportunity. Farms and school systems are both important parts of NJ communities. Unfortunately, at some point between the inception of the National School Lunch program and present, many school food services have lost their connection to family farms. The time has come to realize that feeding our children high quality and nutritious foods, preserving farm land, and developing local food systems are integral developments for the health of our communities that will pay of ten fold in the future.”

For more information, visit www.njfarmtoschool.org or call 609-577-5113.