National School Lunch Week &

Farm to School Month

2017 Activities & Communications Toolkit

NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Teaching Students about Healthy, Local Foods

Since National School Lunch Week and Farm to School Month take place in the month of October,
the School Nutrition Association and the Alabama Farm to School Program have joined together to
develop a toolkit. We believe school lunches provide yummy, healthy nourishment for kids so they
can be their best to learn in class. October is the school cafeterias time to shine! Participating in
the National School Lunch Week and Farm to School Month is a great opportunity to promote the
healthy school lunches served in your schools cafeteria, and raise awareness about nutrition and
agriculture.

School Lunch Week - October 9-13th

School Lunch: Recipe for Success

Recognize your school lunches and kitchen staff during school lunch week! Resources from the National
School Nutrition Association are provided below.

SNA Resources
Shop for National School Lunch Week posters, stickers, and other resources, download activity sheets and
handouts for the kids. Find written templates for press releases, newsletters and social media outlets.

Find resources from the SNA

Social Media Toolkit

Find the history of National School Lunch Week, ideas of fun NSLW activities for the kids, and ideas on how
to get parents and the community informed and involved.

Find the National School Nutrition Association Social Media Toolkit

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Farm to School Month - October

Local Apples Coming to School Cafeterias

In the month of October, school cafeterias will be receiving locally grown produce through the state-wide
USDA DOD Fresh Program. Local apples from Scotts Orchard will be served in most school cafeterias after
October 18th depending on your produce distributors delivery schedule. Ask your schools kitchen manager
if the lunchroom apples were delivered through the USDA DOD Fresh Program, or are USDA Commodity
apples. Each USDA DOD Fresh Produce item grown in Alabama comes with a farmer flyer to hang up in the
school cafeteria to display to students!

Apple Crunch Day

Crunch into a Juicy Apple on

Tuesday, October 24th

Details: Schools across the Nation are showing their

support for local fruit and vegetables by crunching into a
locally grown apple this October. The Alabama Farm to
School Program invites teachers, administrators, and
superintendents to join.

Join: Celebrate National Farm to School Month by taking a

bite into apples grown in Alabama on Tuesday, October
24th. Can you hear you? Crunch, Crunch!!!

Suggested Activity: Take a photo of your class crunching into an apple and submit to the
Department of Agriculture and Industries to be featured on the Alabama Farm to School Website
and Facebook Page. Photos can be submitted to the Department of Agriculture and Industries at
fma@agi.alabama.gov.

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
 NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Lesson Plans

Suggested Activity Journey of an Apple

Grades 2-3rd
This year, most schools in Alabama will be receiving a delivery of
apples from the city of Hazel Green in North Alabama and
schools can display farmers flyers featuring apple farm, Scotts
Orchard. Apples on Scotts Orchard have been farmed for three
generations. Will Scott helps on his family farm and adds new
technology to make it easier for his family to farm apples.
Suggested Essay Topic: How and why did the apple leave the farm
and get to the school?

Farmer Flyers for Commodity items grown in Alabama are available for
school lunch rooms and classrooms alike!

Go to the Alabama Farm to School website to print Wills Farmer Flyer

Lesson Plans - Apple Crunch Day

Grades K-2nd A is for Apple
Use your 5 senses to investigate an apple, identify apple parts,
and make a fun model of an apple.

Find lesson plans

Grades 3-5th The World is an Apple

Consider the Earth is an apple and find out how much of the
Earth can be used to grow food!

Find the lesson plan

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Social Media Posts

National School Lunch Week

Find social media ideas, marketing tips, and the fun graphics for Facebook on the SNA website. Use these
resources to post about National School Lunch Week before, during and after NSLW activities!

Social Media #Hashtags: #NSLW17 #Schoollunch

Find NSLW Social Media Resources

Before NSLW During NSLW After NSLW

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Social Media Posts

Farm to School Month

Celebrate fresh produce from local farmers during farm to school month! Farm to School teaches
kids about where their food comes from and how their food was grown.

Social Media #Hashtags: #Alabamafarmtoschool #F2SMonth

The Journey of a Local Tomato

Find the Video
FB Post: How does a tomato get from the farm to the table? Go
on a journey with #Alabamafarmtoschool to find out!
#F2S Month

How does it Grow?

Find the Video
FB Post: Did you know the United States of America is the 2nd
largest producer of apples in the world? Watch this video to find
out more about Americas favorite fruit during #F2SMonth.

Farm to School Fall Lunch Tray

Find the Photo
FB Post: October is Farm to School Month! (_Insert School
Name/District Name__) is serving a healthy heaping of
#Alabamafarmtoschool produce this Fall. Students can find local
apples from Hazel Green, sweet potatoes from Cullman County, and
grape tomatoes from Steele, Alabama on their lunch trays this Fall!

Find more Farm to School Month Social Media Resources

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Farm to School Month Ideas

Celebrate Farm to School Month in the lunch room with some of these fun activities.

Farmer Visit
Host a farmer visit in your school cafeteria. Set up a table and have
the farmer greet students walking into the lunch room during lunch.
Show photos of vegetable plants served on the lunch line before they
were harvested.

Fruit and Vegetable Stickers

Provide incentives for kids to eat fruit and vegetables. Hand out
fruit and vegetable stickers to kids in the school lunch line.

Cafeteria Taste Test

Have a taste test of an unusual local fruit or vegetable in the classroom or cafeteria.
Give a sticker to students trying new produce items.

Guess How Many?

Fill a jar with a serving of fruit or vegetables served in the cafeteria that day. Ask students how
many pieces of fruit or vegetables are in the jar. Have students write their guess on a piece of
paper with their name and put it in a box. The winning guess/guesses could win a prize.

Mini-Grants for Ag Education

Alabama Ag in the Classroom Mini Grants

Each year, the Alabama Agriculture in the Classroom Foundation makes
grants available for classroom projects that integrate agriculture into
classroom curriculum.
Find the grant application at the Alabama Ag in the Classroom
Website

Applications Due: October 15th

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Newsletters & Press Releases

Sample text for Press Release

For Immediate Release

[District] Schools Celebrate National School Lunch Week

Recipes for Success during #NSLW17

(CITY, STATE) October [XX], 2017 To recognize the National School Lunch Program and the 30 million
children it serves every day, [District] schools will recognize National School Lunch Week from October 9-13,
2017.

National School Lunch Week will emphasize the healthy foods that are offered daily at [Districts] schools.
[Insert details on your planned activities for Recipes for Success, meal plans and/or date and time of special
NSLW events.]

School lunches are healthier than ever, with more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and less fat and
sodium, said [Director name, title]. National School Lunch Week helps us education parents and students
about all the benefits of our lunch program, and the appealing choices we offer.

[Insert details about specific healthy foods served during NSLW and throughout the year. Include details
about how your program is helping educate kids about healthy choices and physical activity.]

The federally-funded National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides nutritionally balanced, healthy meals
to students every day. The program, which has been serving the nations children for over 60 years, requires
school meals to meet federal nutrition standards like offering fruits and vegetables every day, serving whole
grain-rich foods, and limiting fat, calories, and sodium.

Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan says, We are excited about the interest and the
growth of Farm to School in Alabama. We look forward to more schools taking advantage of the abundance
of fresh locally grown fruits and vegetables, especially during National School Lunch Week."

The Recipes for Success campaign is made possible by the nonprofit School Nutrition Association. Parents
and students can follow the fun using the hashtag #NSLW17. For more information on National School Lunch
Week, visit [District nutrition program website] [and/or] https://schoolnutrition.org/nslw/.

###

[INSERT YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT LOGO HERE]

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org
NSLW & F2S Month Toolkit 2017

Newsletters & Press Releases

Sample text for newsletters

Celebrate National Farm to School Month in October

October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate connections happening all over the country
between schools and local food!

Farm to school enriches the connection communities have with fresh, healthy food and local food producers
in school cafeterias. This year, fruit and vegetables from farmers in Alabama are going onto student lunch
trays. Schools state-wide are receiving deliveries of local apples, grape tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and
satsumas grown by farmers in Alabama.

[Insert School District Name] will celebrate healthy food in schools grown by local farmers by displaying
farmer flyers in the school cafeteria. Farmer flyers feature a picture of the Alabama farmer and the fruit or
vegetable they have in the school cafeteria making the connection between farmers and food. Learn more
about National Farm to School Month, how you can get involved, and sign the One Small Step pledge by
visiting the National Farm to School Networks website, farmtoschool.org.

Schoolnutrition.org Alabamafarmtoschool.org