Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week (HGSLW) – A statewide celebration of efforts to integrate local foods into school menus
Sample social media posts for Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week
- September 25-29, 2017
- For more information on FSNE Farm to School Programming
- The Maryland page provides a number of helpful links including:
- Information for Schools
- Helpful links for Parents and Children
- Promotional Items and Funding Opportunities
- Information for Teachers and Administrators
FSNE educators and teachers use this annual event as an opportunity to craft a multi-layered SEM intervention at FSNE schools:
- Students are tasting local products in the cafeteria
- Students have opportunities to learn about, help prepare, and taste locally-grown food in the classroom
- Students are engaged in gardening and nutrition lessons and activities that support HGSLW
- Local farmers and producers can be invited to the school to speak to students about local agriculture
How can you get involved?
- Review the school menu – are local items highlighted?
- Connect with the county food service director to determine county-wide events.
- Chat with the cafeteria manager to learn of any items that will be promoted.
- Connect with administration to learn of any school-wide events.
- Determine how to support and promote Farm to School activities that are happening in your school/county.
- During your FSNE lesson – promote foods tasted in the cafeteria during HGSLW.
- Build lessons around locally-grown foods.
- Invite local farmers to discuss locally-grown products and agriculture in general.
- Provide in-direct materials to go home with students
- Promote HGSLW or farm to school on school’s morning announcements
- Write announcements about a featured HGSLW item
- Use the January ReFresh Prompt
- Need more morning announcement ideas?
- Promote HGSLW or Farm to school with a classroom door decorating contest
- Hang posters in the cafeteria
- Dig In posters can be ordered from Team Nutrition
FSNE Educators can :
- Select a Read for Health book/tasting to highlight local foods or particular items from the week’s menu
- Market to Mealtime (M2M) :
- Use the summer or fall lesson, depending on the menu.
- Display in parent room or area with high parent traffic.
- Sponsor a Worksite Wellness Lunch and Learn for teachers (include a tasting).
- Share recipes with staff and parents that include local items featured on cafeteria menu.
- Nutrition to Go
- Show simple Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables.
- Put Nutrition to Go displays in parent room or area with high parent traffic.
- Provide a Lunch and Learn session for teachers (include a tasting of fall fruits and vegetables)
Other ideas to consider during Homegrown School Lunch Week:
- Tasting Event Guide
- Schedule a Farmer to visit your school.
- FSNE specific Farmer Visit Checklist.
- Plan a field trip to farm and/or Farmers’ Market.
- Promote your local Farmers’ Market.
- Ask student gardeners give guided tours of school gardens.
Connect with Parents:
- Newsletters: Farm to school newsletter (English) and Spanish seasonal Gardening for Nutrition newsletters, and other relevant newsletters
- Recipes: select recipes that feature local item from school menu or items tasted in class
- DHR Fliers: Fresh from the Market, Get Growing, and Fall Fruits and Vegetables