Farm to Fork: Connecting Our Youth with Sustainable Agriculture

Project Overview

SW09-401
Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2009: $48,988.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2009
Region: Western
State: Colorado
Principal Investigator:
Dennis Lamm
Email
Colorado State University
Co-Investigators:
Tisha Casida
Email
That's Natural!

Commodities

  • Animals: bovine, swine
  • Animal Products: dairy

Practices

  • Animal Production: grazing - continuous, free-range, grazing management, grazing - rotational
  • Education and Training: demonstration, mentoring, networking, workshop, youth education
  • Farm Business Management: cooperatives, community-supported agriculture, marketing management, market study, value added
  • Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity
  • Soil Management: soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: community planning, leadership development, local and regional food systems, partnerships, public participation, urban agriculture, community services, social networks, sustainability measures

    Proposal abstract:

    This grant created a replicable curriculum educating 1st through 5th graders about Sustainable Agriculture, Local Producers, How to Eat Local, and How to Grow their Own Food. The goal of the project was to connect the producers with the students, the students to the farm, and the producers’ goods to the classroom/school. We effectively created a curriculum with three producers and three community members, who connected with the students at an after-school program. The curriculum and implementation is replicable for other communities. We also met with educators and community members to further the discussion of a Sustainable Agriculture curriculum.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    Our team and producers were able to effectively meet our objectives in creating a curriculum for 1st though 5th graders. We developed a total of seven lessons, in the “eyes of the producer” and we implemented these at two “field days” at the Sangre de Cristo Arts center to over 80 students.

    We did not have enough time to coordinate with the producers to get the students out to their farm/ranchland, and we were able to start discussions with the nutrition directors for the school districts in Pueblo County, but were unable to secure relationships between suppliers and producers. The groundwork is laid so that this can be continued at any point.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.