Valdosta City Schools Press Release:

Valdosta City Schools was recognized at the Bronze level for their accomplishments during the 2016-17 school year, including:

• Nine out of Valdosta City’s ten schools have edible school gardens. A team of Master Gardeners and parents at each school assist students and teachers in planting, harvesting, and learning in the garden. Harvested produce is brought to the school cafeteria where staff prepare items to be put on the serving line for taste tests.
• The School Nutrition Department features Georgia Grown and locally produced items daily with local items highlighted on the school menu.
• Content on local food and agriculture were incorporated into more than 4,000 standards based lessons.

The Golden Radish Award publicly recognizes school districts for all aspects of farm to school, from local food procurement to hosting taste tests and gardening with students. This year, the Golden Radish partners awarded 26 new school districts and welcomed a new partner-UGA Extension. “UGA Extension is so excited to promote healthy eating habits and incorporate Georgia’s great agricultural food products into our school lunchrooms,” said Associate Dean for UGA Extension at the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Laura Perry Johnson. “This is a natural partnership that benefits us as well as the school kids who get to enjoy these tasty and nutritious products.”

Districts of all sizes are utilizing farm to school programs to teach academic standards in school gardens, support the local economy through local food purchases for school meals, and fight childhood obesity and other preventable food-related diseases. “Access to fresh, locally grown food is not just important for students’ physical health – it’s part of their academic development as well,” said State Superintendent Richard Woods. “When children eat fresh, healthy meals, they have the fuel they need for a successful day of learning.”

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black notes that while farm to school efforts support academic achievement, they also help build a strong agricultural economy. “Feed My School For a Week, Georgia Grown Test Kitchen and the Golden Radish Awards are all great ways for school nutrition to support Georgia producers, and we are excited as to what current and future award winners will accomplish as we work toward our 2020 Vision for School Nutrition in Georgia.”

Department of Public Health Commissioner J. Patrick O’Neal, M.D. champions healthy food access for children and supports farm to school efforts. “The vitamins, minerals and health benefits from local fresh fruit and vegetables, not only allow our children to be physically healthy, but research has shown that healthy eating is also key to brain development,” said Commissioner O’Neal. “Here in Georgia, we are leading the nation in identifying ways to increase early brain development, and healthy nutrition is an enormous part of that.”

Georgia Organics founded the state’s first farm to school program in 2007. Since then, communities across the state have embraced the benefits of bringing students and fresh, local food closer together.  “It’s astounding that over 40 percent of our school districts are actively involved in The Golden Radish Awards after only four years of establishing the program,” stated Georgia Organics Executive Director Alice Rolls. “This is an exciting trajectory given the great impact farm to school has had on child nutrition, farmer prosperity, rural development, local economies and public health.”

The 2016-17 school year was a record breaking year of farm to school growth in Georgia. The Golden Radish school districts collectively:

• Served over 97 million meals that featured locally grown and raised foods
• Conducted 8,204 taste tests
• Taught 7,263 standards based lessons
• Tended 885 school gardens
• Engaged students in 3,794 hands on cooking activities
• Involved parents and community members in 1,339 farm to school activities