The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has announced the addition of a 14th AmeriCorps Farm to School host site for the 2013-2014 school year. CESA Purchasing, Whitewater, began hosting a Farm to School member on Nov. 1.
“I am happy to welcome CESA Purchasing to our program,” said Sarah Larson, DATCP’s AmeriCorps Farm to School Program Manager. “Placing an AmeriCorps Farm to School Community Outreach member with CESA Purchasing provides a great opportunity to bring procurement expertise into the program and expand the reach of Farm to School to a broader audience of school districts.”
CESA Purchasing is a statewide cooperative purchasing program of Cooperative Educational Service Agency (CESA) #2. This new AmeriCorps Farm to School site within the CESA Purchasing Nutrition Cooperative will serve nutrition directors within 65 school districts throughout the state. CESA Purchasing will align issues of local food procurement with the educational strategies of Farm to School.
AmeriCorps Farm to School promotes healthy eating habits, decreases childhood obesity and increases access to local foods in school. The program identifies and addresses hurdles facing school districts serving local foods and provides nutrition education for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade.
“The opportunity to host an AmeriCorps Farm to School member is incredibly beneficial,” said Lisa Stahl, CESA Purchasing Director. “With dedicated and focused time, our new member will help bring our efforts to the next level in terms of streamlining local purchasing and distribution, leveraging greater savings for districts when it comes to purchasing local foods and provide more one-on-one technical assistance to districts within our cooperative.”
The AmeriCorps Farm to School has served rural and urban communities in Wisconsin since 2008. Funding for AmeriCorps Farm to School is provided by Serve Wisconsin through the Corporation for National and Community Service. AmeriCorps Farm to School is possible with partnerships from UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, REAP, Department of Health Services and Department of Public Instruction.
