This document summarizes a presentation about farm to Head Start programs in North Carolina and Oregon. It discusses the benefits of connecting preschoolers with local food and agriculture. Examples are given of projects run by the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and Ecotrust that work with Head Start centers to provide fresh local food, establish school gardens, and do food-based education activities. Key differences between implementing farm to school programs in preschools versus K-12 are also outlined.

1. Farm to Head Start in North Carolina and Oregon Emily Jackson, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, North Carolina Stacey S. Williams, Ecotrust, Oregon

3. Farm to Childcare: An Introduction

10. Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) Mission - Our mission is to collaboratively create and expand regional community-based and integrated food systems that are locally owned and controlled, environmentally sound, economically viable, and health promoting. ASAP Vision - Our vision is a future food system throughout the mountains of North Carolina and the Southern Appalachians that provides a safe and nutritious food supply for all segments of society; that is produced, marketed and distributed in a manner that enhances human and environmental health; and that adds economic and social value to rural and urban communities.

14. Roof Top Garden at Battery Park Apts. – Farm to Seniors : Partnership with Council on Aging

16. CHEF FEST Teaching local chefs to cook with children in culturally and developmentally appropriate ways that are also linked to the Standard Course of Study

17. Farm to Head Start Kick Off Event Everyone had a meal together. Then families cooked with a chef, planted the garden, and participated in other educational activities.

18. SUPPLIES PROVIDED TO HEAD START CENTER

19. TEACHER WORKSHOP Lessons learned from our experience shared with Head Start instructors from the surrounding area

20. FARM FIELD TRIPS WERE A BIG HIT – THIS FARMER PROVIDED SOME OF THE FOOD FOR THE CENTER

23. Head Start garden provided endless opportunities for “teachable moments”

26. Cooking demos and classes highlighting locally grown food (great way to build excitement for veggies from the school garden!)

27. Assistance to the child nutrition director: Helped with sourcing and provided a cooking kit

30. Ecotrust Food & Farms Program

31. Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network

32. Harvest of the Month and Local Lunches

36. Farm to Childcare: Current Programs

37. Early Sprouts www.earlysprouts.org

40. From Our Farms http://gloucester.rcre.rutgers.edu/fchs/fromourfarms.html

41. Growing a Green Generation http://horticulture.unh.edu/ggg.html

42. Portland, Oregon: Harvest of the Month and Local Lunch

46. Practical Skills for Cultivating Farm to Childcare Programs