FARM TO SCHOOL: ‘Our farmers, our food, our families’

continued from KidsGardening along with a collection of gardening tools, putting them one stop closer to being able to actually plant the garden.

“We’re hoping to put down weed mat this spring, put in some garden boxes, and at a minimum plant some perennials,” said Nichols.

She said what they really need to make this project successful is “community buy in.”

So far some support has come from Bryan Dufresne, who heads the Keystone after-school program for the school district. “Those kids want to do some gardening,” said Nichols. “We’re hoping to have the beds in by April so these kids can just put some seed in the ground.”

Nichols said Farm to School is one her “passion projects.” She said it fits in nicely with her position at RCEDA. “Because this program is so new,” said Nichols, “I get to take it in the direction I’m interested in.” Nichols has been on the job since May, making connections in the ag community. Her position is partially funded by USDA and her current contract runs through August 2025. She works to connect local farmers and ranchers and ag-related businesses with the government resources they need.

Amy Harvey, a 3rd grade teacher at Daly, is also a member of the Farm to School Committee. She said when the committee formed last spring, they attended training provided by the Farm to School Institute. Hamilton was one of three schools in the state to be selected for the program, where they received training, mentorship, and planning help.

“I want Farm to School to be part of our community and want it to be part of my classroom,” said Harvey. “I really believe in connecting our school with local food.”

Harvey said when they started on the project, less than 1% of the food being served was locally sourced. That’s now up to 11%. The schools serve beef from Hamilton Packing, produce from the Western Montana Growers Co-op, and greens from Local Bounti. The school’s food services director is also part of the committee, and as it turns out, says Harvey, the cost of purchasing this local food is comparable to buying food that is not local. “Any increase is negligible,” she said.

Harvey said purchasing more locally sourced food for the school is part of their three-pronged goal which also includes revitalizing and using the school garden, and featuring “harvest of the month” items.

Harvest of the month is part of the education component of the group’s goal of increasing ag education in the classroom and along with the harvest of the month, the children will get to visit four diferent farms during the year.

Harvey said the group is still developing a budget with the plan of continuing the Farm to School program indefinitely into the future. They’ll be going after grants and later on they plan to make specific requests, probably by the end of this spring.

“There’s been lots of excitement and lots of talk over the last few years,” said Harvey. “Now we want to incorporate this into classroom instruction” as a regular part of the curriculum.

Harvey said the committee is lucky to have Jay Stagg from Whitefish as an advisor. The Whitefish Farm to School program is a model in the state. In addition to Nichols and Harvey, the committee, which meets monthly, includes the food services director, the school superintendent, school board members, teachers and community members. Their motto is: “Our farmers, our food, our families.”

For more information contact Grace Nichols, 406-375-9416, email grace@rceda.org or visit the website at https:// www.hsd3.org/page/ farm-to-school-program

DOWNTOWN: planning for future continued from page of collecting questionnaires from its members and the public in order to determine if its current trajectory is on track with perceived needs and wishes. A five year strategic play which covered 2017 through 2022 has been a guiding document for the HDA, but colossal shifts in the pace of growth in Montana, as well as their new foundation, make it a logical time to clarify their future course.

Pruitt says that they’d like to know, for example, how the Association is viewed, what are priority areas that members would like it to address, and what do they value about the services that the HDA provides.

“We do a lot of services on a very lean staf,” says Pruitt, pointing out that advocacy for businesses, beautification, events, financial development are all among the HDA’s list of priorities.

“It’s important to know that we don’t just serve Main Street businesses,” she adds. “We serve small businesses from bridge to bridge.” ing fower baskets that decorate Main Street, or the careful interplay between city business owners and city staf to complete important projects, a healthy and active business landscape is an undeniable quality of life component for any town. Pruitt makes that point clear as it relates to the many people who are moving to Montana.

“They move here in part due to the