Local Food in Schools
Local Food In Schools

Growing Minds connects farmers, distributors, and school food leaders to ensure students have access to healthy local food.

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Farm to Preschool
Farm to Preschool

Early childhood is a critical stage of child development. Learn how the Farm to Preschool movement is connecting young children to local food and farms to support health and wellness.

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School Gardens
School Gardens

We provide resources and support for pre-K-12 school gardens in the Southern Appalachian region, including lesson plans, training, seeds,
and mini-grants.

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F2S Spotlights
Farm to School
Spotlights

Read about the people implementing farm to school in our region, from teachers and nutrition professionals, to dietetic interns and farmers.

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Day by Day
Growing Minds
Day by Day

From gardening to goats, our farm to school-themed Day by Day resource lists can be used by families learning at home, or by educators in the classroom. Find read alouds, recipes, simple activities, and more.

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Cutting Strawberries

Lesson Plans

Browse our collection of garden, food and farm, and recipe lesson plans for preschool, K-5, and more. All Growing Minds lesson plans include connections to age-appropriate children’s literature and are aligned with Common Core State Standards, NC Essential Standards, or NC Foundations for Early Learning and Development.

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Seasonal Resources

Spring delivers the sweetest of WNC’s farm fresh treats—strawberries! These bite-sized treasures are at their best in May. Look for strawberries in the school cafeteria this month or head out to a u-pick strawberry farm.

Explore May resources »

Meet Your Farmer

A video series by Growing Minds

Meet some of the people who grow your food! Our Meet Your Farmer and Junior Farm Tour videos provide students and families with virtual tours of family farms in Western North Carolina.

Watch more from our video series »

2024 Local Food Purchasing & Equipment Mini-Grant Application

ASAP's Growing Minds program is providing mini-grants up to $500 to early care and education (ECE) sites throughout the 18 westernmost counties in North Carolina to help them provide fresh, local food to their students. Deadline: May 31,2024

Learn more and apply here!

“I Tried Local…” A Toolkit for Engaging Kids with Local Food and Farms is designed for use in early care and education (ECE) through second grade, and gives educators tools to connect kids with how food is grown and the farmers in their communities who grow it. Learn more here!

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Are you interested in receiving our Farm to School Monthly newsletter? Receive lesson plans, teaching resources, and more, delivered to your inbox each month. You can also sign up for ASAP's other newsletters.