Fresh from the Farm

Why Fresh from the Farm?

Children nation-wide are experiencing obesity and diabetes in epidemic proportions. In addition to the numerous other health issues related to obesity and diabetes, doctors are documenting the link between obesity and memory loss, and the overall impact of diet on learning, behavior, and academic achievement. Farm to School programs like Fresh from the Farm work to counteract these trends by incorporating healthy, nutritious produce into school lunches, snacks and salad bars.

When combined with nutrition education, farm visits, school gardens, and education in the classroom, children can develop healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.

While childhood obesity is on the rise, farming in the United States is in crisis. High dependency on subsidies, increasing pressure to sell local farms to developers, and the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, growth hormones, and antibiotics all threaten the long-term well-being of farming and the sustainability of our health and the environment. Without local farmers growing healthy varieties of the food we need to eat, our food system and quality of life decline.

Most consumers are disconnected from the source of their food. The average distanced traveled for the food that reaches our plates is 1300 miles, a circumstance that requires produce to be picked before ripening, grown to be “travel durable” rather than tasty and healthy, and transported for miles using substantial fossil fuels. Many Americans understand little about where their food comes from, how it is raised, and who grows it. Farm-to-School programs like Fresh from the Farm work to reconnect children and their parents to healthy food raised to the extent possible by local farmers, and to make the links between our health, what we eat, and how food is raised.

Program Goals

In a culture where obesity has reached epidemic proportions and where most children know more about fast food than where their food comes from…emerges Seven Generations Ahead’s Fresh from the Farm, one of a growing number of “farm-to-school” programs across the country reconnecting children and adults to healthy eating and the source of their food. Fresh from the Farm serves Chicago area schools, and works to:

  • increase healthy eating habits among students and their parents.
  • increase student learning about the environment as it relates to agriculture, and the connection between their health and nutrition and the growing of food.
  • support local farmers raising food in ecologically responsible ways.

Education in the Classroom and on the Farm

SGA’s curriculum activities work with children in the classroom and on the farm to teach them about nature’s growing cycles, organic cultivation, the nutritional characteristics of specific fruits and vegetables, what it’s like to be a farmer, and the emotional, academic, and physical health benefits of living a healthy eating lifestyle.

Fresh from the Farm offers:

  • 8-week healthy eating curriculum modules focusing on nutrition, earth-friendly agriculture, global food traditions, and experiencing food with the five senses.
  • Tours of local organic farms with structured curriculum activities. Participating farms include Growing Power, Prairie Crossing Learning Farm, Angelic Organics, the Green Earth Institute, and Genesis Growers.
  • “Meet the Farmer” classroom visits highlighting how food is grown, building healthy soil and raising food in earth-friendly ways, and the farmer’s life.
  • Local Chef Cooking Demonstrations that teach students ways to prepare healthy foods and about their nutritional qualities.
  • School-based organic garden development through partner organizations.

Procurement Coordination and Advocate for Healthy School Lunches

Fresh from the Farm is a resource for school districts looking to incorporate healthier, and to the extent possible, locally raised food into school lunch menu offerings. Fresh from the Farm’s procurement specialist works with local school districts to explore linkages to healthy, local food, and supports menu development, producer-vendor linkages, and marketing and publicity strategy development.

Fresh from the Farm supports implementation of pilot healthy school lunch fundraisers that source healthy vegetables, fruits, and grains. Pilot healthy lunches provide opportunities to develop and test new healthy menu options, solidify procurement relationships, and test logistics and operations leading toward more regular healthy lunch offerings through school lunch programs.

Parent Education and Community Access to Healthy Food

Fresh from the Farm educates parents so that healthy eating behaviors make their way into the homes of children and their families.

Parent-Child Healthy Eating Nights bring parents and children together to taste healthy, delicious foods. A parent workshop follows that provides valuable data on current health trends and their impact on the well-being of children and adults; a sampling of healthy foods and their unique nutritional characteristics; and tips for incorporating healthy eating at home. While parents learn, children engage in fun, physical activity.

The Fresh from the Farm newsletter provides parents with current health information related to diet, Fresh from the Farm program events, features on healthy foods and their health benefits, tips for making your home a haven for healthy eating, and profiles of local farmers growing healthy food.

SGA partner Growing Power’s Market Basket Program provides weekly deliveries of “baskets” of 12-14 varieties of affordable, sustainably raised produce to schools for purchase by parents and community members. Produce is grown by the Rainbow Farmers’ Cooperative, which consists of Wisconsin farmers, H’mong immigrant farmers, and African American family farmers from southern states.

Teacher Curriculum Training

Fresh from the Farm conducts professional development sessions that model Fresh from the Farm activities and exemplary curriculum across the country and train teachers and parents to implement healthy eating curriculum. Activities are aligned with Illinois learning standards, and incorporate learning about nutrition, earth-friendly agriculture, global food traditions, and experiencing food with the five senses. For more information about teacher training opportunities, contact SGA.