Sacramento, CA – Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. announced a $100,000 grant awarded to Sacramento City Unified School District for its farm to school program.
The school district, in partnership with the Food Literacy Center and Soil Born Farms, created a farm to school program that will introduce a new vegetable each month to students in three elementary schools. After testing the pilot project, they will expand it throughout the district.
The grant is part of nearly $5 million awarded by the Department of Agriculture to 74 projects in 39 states.
"Ensuring our children have access to healthy, fresh food is critical," Bera said. "I am thrilled to see a local program receive this support for its effort to improve child nutrition. We must continue to support our schools as they work to provide students with healthier options and teach them about healthy eating. Students do better in school when they are eating right and it puts them on the right track toward a future of healthier eating."
"We're thrilled to partner with Sacramento City Unified School District and Soil Born Farms to improve the health of our kids through delicious, local produce," said Amber Stott, Food Literacy Center founding executive director. "Having our collaborative model recognized at the federal level helps inspire others around the country. Because we live in America's Farm-to-Fork capital, we have a special opportunity to showcase local farmers while helping students develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime."
"Getting recognition and funding from federal partners is a great acknowledgement of the benefits Food Literacy Center and Sacramento City Unified School District have made to improve the long term health of their students," said Shawn Harrison, Founder and Co-Director of Soil Born Farms. "This funding will help us create best practices that we can then translate for other school districts to create similar programs that promote healthy eating, change awareness and behaviors over time, and open up career pathways in agriculture from early childhood to early adulthood."
