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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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

Cucumbers are great sliced as a snack. They grow on vines, and sometimes farmers train them to climb trellises to keep the cucumbers off the ground. They belong to the same family as pumpkins, zucchini, and other squashes.

Explore September 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 »

Exciting Farm to ECE Opportunities with Growing Minds!

Hope everyone enjoyed their summer! As the school year gets underway, the Growing Minds program at ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) has some exciting opportunities for early care and education (ECE) sites in Western North Carolina to start or expand their Farm to ECE programs.

Farm to ECE Academy with Growing Minds:

Our vision is that children learn about and have positive experiences with local food and farms in the classroom, cafeteria, and community. To help make this happen, we are hosting a Farm to ECE Academy for the 2024-25 school year! We will work closely with up to 15 ECE sites across the Western North Carolina region to help them build and sustain a thriving Farm to ECE program. Learn more and complete our interest form below.

Complete Farm to ECE Academy Interest Form

Growing Minds Mini-Grant:

We are providing mini-grants up to $500 to ECE sites throughout the 18 westernmost counties in North Carolina to help them provide fresh, local food to their students.
Funds can be used to purchase fresh, local food from a farm, farm stand, and/or farmers market in your community. Funds can also be used to purchase equipment that will be used to prepare and cook local food for students, or to engage students in cooking activities involving local food. We are accepting applications through Monday, September 30.

Apply for a growing Minds Mini-Grant

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