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Farm to School Team Teachers Trained

Posted: January 26, 2010

High school students from four school northeast Iowa school districts recently participated in a training coordinated by Iowa State University Extension at Luther College.  The training prepared students for their role as cross-age teachers in the Farm to School program which will begin in January.

The high school age team teachers will facilitate Farm to School lessons with second grade students once a month using folios developed specifically for northeast Iowa.  The folios feature a different local food each month and provide information for parents and students.  
Students from Howard-Winneshiek, Starmont, Postville and Turkey Valley high schools participated.  Students from Oelwein and Decorah will be trained at a later date.   Each school has an adult coach for the program.  In addition to participating in the recent training, the coaches will also be in the classroom to support and supervise the team teachers.

Vanette Grover, 4-H and Youth Development Specialist with Iowa State University Extension, provides support for the Northeast Iowa Farm to School program.

This Farm to School project is part of the Northeast Iowa Food and Fitness Initiative (FFI).  It is partially funded through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Food & Community program and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.   Six school districts are Farm to School pilot sites.  The focus of Northeast Iowa’s Farm to School chapter involves three interdependent components-- education, food service, and school gardens.  For more information about Farm to School or the FFI, visit www.iowafoodandfitness.org.