Harvest of the Month

Going Beyond the Classroom: Partnership Building in the Community

Presented by:

Katharina Streng, Network for a Healthy California

Moira Beery, Center for Food and Justice

Molly O’Kane, Alameda County Office of Education

Ai James, Alameda County Office of Education

Going Beyond the Classroom

Cafeteria

CommunityClassroom

What Are Your Opportunities?

Objectives

• Examine how to access partnerships in the community to maximize the HOTM experience

• Understand the educational and health benefits of offering locally grown foods

• Critique results/success achieved by building and fostering school and community partnerships

Discussion Questions

1. How can school food service be involved with HOTM in the cafeteria and in the classroom? What other activities can the school food service staff do to support HOTM implementation?

2. Consider local food retailers, farmers’ markets, and restaurants. How can you engage them in HOTM?

3. How can you garner support from local farmers and members of the agricultural community?

Center for Food & JusticeLos Angeles, CA

• Farm to School & Harvest of the Month Connections

Riverside, CA Farm to School

• Planting/Gardening

• Classroom Education

• Taste Tests

Program Results

•Increased number of students eating school lunch

•Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables

•Increased number of teacher meals served

•Increased consumption of HOTM items on salad bar

Harvest of the Month 100

Center for Food & JusticeLos Angeles, CA

• Moira Beery• Center for Food & Justice

Urban & Environmental Policy InstituteOccidental College

• beery@oxy.edu

www.FoodAndJustice.orgwww.CAFarmToSchool.org

Photos by: www.EmilyHartPhotography.com

Gaining Support within School Community

Molly O’Kane RD

Ai James, MS, RD

Presentation Outline

• Introductions

• Overview of ACOE – NLCC Program

• Background information

• Partnerships

• HOTM Delivery Methods

• Cost Analysis

• Future

• Questions

Nutritional Learning Community Coalition

Our Mission is to inspire a behavioral shift towards health and wellness. With schools as our center, hands-on learning as our tool, and collaboration as our catalyst, we will empower our communities to embrace a healthy and sustainable future.

ACOE-NLCC• Program Overview

– 4 different school districts within Alameda County

– 44 school sites• Pre-school

• Elementary

• Middle Schools

• High Schools

• After School Programs

• Adult Education

ACOE-NLCC

• Program Overview– 1 Director– 3 Program Managers/Coordinators– 3.5 District Managers– 2.5 District Supervisors– 33 District Site Staff– 3 Administrative Support

ACOE-NLCC

• Program Overview– Nutrition Education through Cooking in the

Classrooms– Nutrition Education utilizing school gardens– Nutrition Education for parents/caregivers– Nutrition Education through after school

programs– Teachers on Special Assignment in classrooms

ACOE-NLCC

• Program Overview– Funding Source (Past and Present)

• Network for a Healthy California

• Carol White Grant

• Kaiser Foundation

• California Department of Education Garden Grant

• San Francisco Foundation

• Other Various Foundations

ACOE-NLCC

• Program OverviewProduce Usage Volume– Harvest of the Month

• 680 individual boxes

• 40 cases

• 105 Recipe Boxes

– 12 to 15 cases per week

Background Harvest of the Month Packing• In the past:

– Received individually packaged Harvest of the Month produce from one distributor

– Issues with quality– High Cost at $15 to $16 per box– Delivery timing not meeting the needs– Increased cost every year

Forming Partnerships for Harvest of the Month Deliveries• Departments Approached

– Child Nutrition– Regional Occupational Program– Other Local Distributors

Forming Partnership Process• Cost Analysis of packing individual

boxes

• Decided to follow up with the Child Nutrition Department

• Negotiate with MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)

• Establish pack size and content

• Win-Win for both departments

Cost Analysis – Distributor vs. Child Nutrition

DISTRIBUTOR CHILD NUTRITION

Cost of Individual Box

$16.00 $10.00

# of Boxes / School Year

5440 5440

Delivery Method One drop delivery/district

Fee paid for site deliveries

Total Cost $87,040 $54,440

Cost Savings $32,600

Delivery Methods• Single box per teachers

– Pros: Easier to pick up, all materials in one box– Cons: Cost is higher (labor & materials), Same

amount of produce for each class. Takes up more refrigerator room

Delivery Methods

• Cases placed in staff room– Pros: Larger classes can take more

produce, smaller classes can take less. Less produce waste. Allow to absorb cost of buying local

– Cons: Teachers would pick out amount themselves, may take more time & can’t guarantee that teachers wouldn’t take more then allotted.

Plans for Next Year

• Expand HOTM to more districts

• Expand Delivery partnerships with Hayward USD warehouse & ACOE

• Partner with Oakland Unified School District for Local produce

• Pack internally to decrease cost even more and create a stronger farm to school program

Contact Information• Molly O’Kane, RD

Program Manager

Phone: (510) 317-3091

Email: mokane@slzusd.org

• Ai James, MS, RD

District Nutrition Education Manager

Phone: (510) 723-3900 ext. 30148

Email: ajames@husd.k12.ca.us

Strategies for working with retail stores• Network for a Healthy California Retail

Specialists

• New Harvest of the Month Consumer Newsletters

www.harvestofthemonth.com

Thank you

• Questions?