Montana Farm to School Institute
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For more information, contact:
Aubree Roth, Montana Farm to School Coordinator
(406) 994-5996
About the Montana Farm to School Institute
Montana Farm to School Institute video transcript
The Montana Farm to School Institute is a year-long program for school-based teams that is intended to ignite, grow, and sustain farm to school action within Montana schools and communities by providing training and support, and facilitating team building and action planning.
The Institute kicks off with a Summer Retreat at which the selected farm to school teams representing Montana schools or school districts build team relationships and develop one-year farm to school action plans. Action plans will encompass goals, activities, roles, and timelines focused on the three core elements of farm to school – local procurement, education, and school gardens/farms. In addition to developing action plans, teams will be connected to information, ideas, tools, resources, programs, and people to successfully implement their action plans through the sessions at the Summer Retreat.
Each team, ranging from four to eight members of the school community, are assigned a trained Farm to School Coach who will help facilitate the process of developing an action plan during the Institute Summer Retreat and will support the team with implementation of the plan during the program year. Activities throughout Institute will help strengthen the farm to school teams and ensure that there is full “buy-in” for implementing the action plan.
The Farm to School Institute model was developed by Vermont FEED using evidence-based best practices in professional learning.
Three school districts were selected from across the state to participate in the first year (2022-2023)--Hamilton, St. Ignatius, and Power. They made astounding progress in one year--increasing local food purchasing, establishing and reinvigorating school gardens, and offering more farm to school activities!
Application Information + Resources
The next Montana Farm to School Institute is being planned for the 2024-2025 school year with applications opening in winter/spring 2024. Stay tuned!
Farm to School Coaches
The next Montana Farm to School Institute is being planned for the 2024-2025 school year with applications opening in winter/spring 2024. Stay tuned!
Partners
The Montana Farm to School Institute is a project of Montana Office of Public Instruction and Montana Team Nutrition Program at Montana State University in collaboration with many partners including:
Sponsors
The Montana Farm to School Institute is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm to School Grant.
We are seeking sponsors of the Montana Farm to School Institute! See the Sponsor Packet for sponsorship levels and benefits. If you are interested, please contact Aubree Roth at [email protected] or (406) 994-5996.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Montana State University and Montana State University Extension prohibit discrimination in all of their programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital and family status.
This project has been funded at least in part with Federal funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the view or policies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
FAQs
The following frequently asked questions are from the first year of the Montana Farm to School Institute (2022-2023). The details may change for the next Institute, which is currently planned for the 2024-2025 school year.
The Montana F2S Institute is a year-long program intended to ignite, grow, and sustain farm to school action within Montana schools and communities by providing training and support, and facilitating team building and action planning. This program kicks off with a three-day Summer Retreat in summer 2022 at Chico Hot Springs near Pray, Montana.
- Attendance at the three-day in-person Summer Retreat for 4-8 team members.
- Continuing Education Credits. The Institute and Summer Retreat will provide OPI Teacher Continuing Education Credits and School Nutrition Professional Credits. If any of your team needs a different type of continuing education credits, please contact Aubree Roth.
- Meals during the Summer Retreat.
- Support from a Farm to School Coach from May 2022 to June 2023. The Coach will assist the team in preparing for the Summer Retreat, communicate regularly, and meet with the team at least four times.
If selected, school teams commit to the following:
- Attend the introduction webinar prior to the Summer Retreat.
- Complete pre-Retreat assignments, which includes completing a baseline assessment, individual surveys, and connecting with the Farm to School Coach assigned to the team.
- Attend the Summer Retreat sessions.
- Create a Farm to School Action Plan for the school/district for 2022-2023 school year during the Summer Retreat and prioritize goals.
- Work together and meet regularly (4+ times) with your Coach during the 2022-2023 school year to implement your Action Plan, to the best of your ability.
- Attend and present a team update during a virtual end of year gathering in May 2023.
- Complete post-assessment survey by May 2023.
- Send the $400 team program fee within 30 days upon notification of selection.
The $400 program fee includes registration and meals.
Participating schools will be expected to pay for lodging for their team members at the Summer Retreat venue. Funding to cover the costs of lodging may be available, please indicate your school’s need for support for lodging expenses in the application.
The Summer Retreat is a three-day in-person event that will be held from August 16-18, 2022 at Chico Hot Springs in the Paradise Valley. This event will provide farm to school training and focus on action planning and team building. At the end of the three days each school team will have created an action plan for the 2022-2023 school year!
Short answer is yes! The Institute is ideal for school/district teams that have some farm to school experience and are ready to take the next step.
This may not be the best program for a school that is new to the concept of farm to school, but prior farm to school experience is not a requirement to participate.
Well-established farm to school programs (aka farm to school rock stars) may find the Institute helpful if they are ready to grow or strengthen aspects of their farm to school initiatives. This is especially true of programs that have limited collaboration across the three core elements of farm to school (local procurement, school gardens, and education) and are needing to strengthen their team and set common goals.
A single school, multiple schools within a district, and entire districts can apply.
Seperate schools districts may submit a joint application if they will be collaborating
on farm to school initiatives. The team should be a balance from both districts and
they act as one team (not two mini teams). At the Summer Retreat they will create
one joint Action Plan, not two action plans. However, both districts should submit
an Administrator Approval Form.
No. However, having an administrator on the team is highly recommended and makes for
a stronger application.
Please attend the informational webinar on Tuesday, March 1 2022 at 3-4pm MST. Register at: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEkc-Gpqz4vGdMnTT6iinezStLFraDc7gNx
The webinar will be recorded and posted to this webpage.
Please contact:
Aubree Roth, Montana Farm to School Coordinator
(406) 994-5996
