Welcome to Farm to School Northeast

A podcast exploring the creative ways that local food is getting into school cafeterias and how food system education is playing out in classrooms and school gardens across the Northeast.

Listen to all episodes and subscribe on Spotify, Amazon Music, and Buzzsumo.

Seedlings growing

Episode One

What Do We Mean When We Say “Farm to School”?

While farm to school programs exist across the country and throughout the Northeast, for some the phrase “farm to school” might not be familiar. And for others, a definition might be a little hard to pin down. We asked a variety of people who work in farm to school in different capacities to describe what farm to school means to them. Whether defined by a school garden coordinator, a classroom teacher or administrator, a food service director, policy maker, farmer or food justice activist, come to understand the themes that are present among all roles. Read the transcript.

 

    • Dinah Mack, Mass. Farm to School

    • Lisa Damon, Mass. Farm to School

    • Denise Courtney, Massachusetts Dept. of Elementary & Secondary Education

    • Rebecca Kelley, FoodCorps MA & RI

    • Loni Austin, Austin Ridge Acres Farm

    • Dana Hudson, Shelburne Farms

    • Betsy Rosenbluth, Shelburne Farms

    • Ernie Koschmieder, Groton Public Schools

    • Rebecca Kelley, Food Corp

 
 
Woman stands in a garden, holding a paintbrush with green paint on it. Red and yellow flowers grow behind her.

Episode Two

Say Something Kind to a Seed: Social Emotional Learning in the School Garden

School Garden Coordinator Fatima Seck of Melvin H. King South End Academy in Boston shares her vision for school gardens as places to allow all students to flourish. She shows how school gardens can be a vital environment for social emotional learning, including: building positive habits and investment, finding safety, emotional regulation, practicing gratitude, exploring creativity, and expression, and building relationships. Read the transcript.

 
 
Four individuals are engaged in gardening activities inside a greenhouse. They are tending to plants and discussing their work.

Episode Three

Middle Schoolers Create a Student-Driven Farm

Meet Sara Churgin, District Manager of the Eastern Rhode Island Conservation District, and Margie Brennan, the K-8 Science Coach for Portsmouth School Department. They’re sharing how the Portsmouth Ag Innovation Farm, a student-driven community farm education program, fosters student problem solving, authentic learning and community collaboration. Read the transcript.

 

Episode Four

Building Community Through Cooking & Eating Local

French teacher Brigitte Savard and high school senior Veda Gahagan from Montpelier High School in Vermont share ways they embed food system education into the curriculum, including “Solon Soup for the Soul” (named after the school mascot, the Greek philosopher Solon) and a student run crepe truck at the local farmer's market. Read the transcript.