The Livingston Farm to School Project

The following description is a summary of our farm to school plan funded by a 2014 USDA Farm to School Program grant: The major components of this proposal include an animal husbandry project that will involve students raising animals that will be processed and used in the school cafeterias; the expansion, development, and maintenance of school gardens at each school in the district; a remodel the interior of the existing greenhouse at Sleeping Giant Middle School to create the space for an aquoponics program that will be used to grow produce; the hiring of full‐time Farmer Educator who will be responsible for farm to school instruction (during and after school), grounds keeping and maintenance of the gardens, preparation of food for use by the food service, and maintenance of relationships with farm to school supporters and local food producers; development of a detailed farm to school curriculum that will be shared with interested parties via the newly developed farm to school website; and, the purchase of kitchen equipment to alleviate burdens currently associated with processing local foods. These efforts will allow the Livingston School Districts to provide more local and fresh protein and produce than ever before, while educating students about the importance of sustainable agriculture.