AmeriCorps Farm to School Program

Let’s grow your school garden together

Let’s work together to grow your school garden both as a teaching resource and a food source for your school community. Through our AmeriCorps Farm to School Program, Rooted can provide schools with planning, development, and staffing for school gardens, in addition to providing other Farm to School (F2S) opportunities including garden-based and nutrition lessons and visits with local farmers.

AmeriCorps Farm to School FAQs

The AmeriCorps Farm to School (F2S) Program provides an innovative approach to building healthy communities by:

  • Providing garden-based lessons to advance curricular and social and emotional wellness goals
  • Improving child nutrition through the implementation of educational F2S activities for students and families
  • Developing strong communities by creating future community leaders and connecting schools with local farmers and food businesses
  • Increasing the capacity of communities all over Wisconsin to support sustainable F2S programs that encourage healthy behaviors and improve the school food environment

The Farm to School Specialist will work with teachers to plan engaging lessons based on teachers’ curricular needs and the time of year.

The Farm to School Specialist will coordinate with teachers, volunteers, and the Parent/Teacher Organization (if applicable) to ensure broad and consistent student access to the garden and to help organize school garden workdays as needed.

Your school’s Farm to School Specialist will manage the garden throughout the year to ensure that it is well managed and productive throughout the growing season, including the summer months.

Contact Farm to School Director Erica Krug ([email protected]) for more information on services and fees.

Funding youth garden programs can require some creativity. We can talk through options with you. Some possibilities include:

  • grants
  • PTG allocation
  • school fundraiser
  • partnering with your after-school program
  • community partners and/or businesses who want to support healthy food initiatives in schools

In addition to the AmeriCorps Farm to School Program, we provide unique models of youth garden education at two additional locations.

Grow Academy

In 2014, the Division of Juvenile Corrections opened the Grow Academy, a residential program offering comprehensive treatment for county- and state-supervised youth. The Grow Academy serves as an alternative to incarceration as well as a step down program for youth returning to the community. The Grow Academy offers an array of evidence-based services, including an agricultural-based educational curriculum. You can learn more about the Grow Academy here.

A Rooted staff member has served as the gardener-in-residence at the Grow Academy since 2011. In addition to planning and managing an on-site educational garden, we work with youth to develop connections to land and food. Rooted staff engage Grow Academy residents in cooking activities, culinary skills development, building projects, and field trips to food- and agriculture-related businesses.

Kennedy Elementary

Kennedy Elementary School sits adjacent to the Goodman Youth Farm. All K-5 students at Kennedy Elementary School participate in both a spring and fall field trip to the Youth Farm. Through this ongoing relationship that allows students consistent access to garden education over the past six years, children develop a relationship with the land at the Goodman Youth Farm. They participate in every aspect of garden management and have the opportunity to expand their palettes with fresh vegetables and snacks prepared straight from the garden. Students graduate from Kennedy Elementary School with a deeper connection to food, the natural world, and local food systems.

Contact Erica Krug with questions about the AmeriCorps Farm to School Program

Contact Erica
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