The Sustainable Whatcom Fund Committee of the Whatcom Community Foundation has granted over $100,000 since November, 2009 for pilot projects that would help expand the use of locally grown foods in school meal and snack programs.  Grantees include public schools, independent schools, Western Washington University, local food distributors, and capacity building support for all Whatcom County districts.  For more information about any of these projects, contact: .

Sample of Farm-to-School Pilot Projects

Public Schools

• Bellingham School District – Coordinate formation of a Farm-to-School Advisory Group focused on supporting district food services to utilize more local healthy foods in school meals.
• Parkview Elementary – Enhance school garden and classroom education about healthy food by creating a Healthy Snacks Program featuring a weekly classroom Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share from a local farm (in season), and other local foods for class snacks.  Strengthen farm-to-school-to-family linkages by offering trial CSA shares to families.
• Wade King Elementary – Celebrate locally grown products and the farmers who grow them by hosting “Meet the Farmer” assemblies, taste tests of local produce vs. non-local, and field trips to local farms.

Independent Schools

• Explorations Academy – Expand capacity to provide more hands-on learning about the local foodshed through enhancing curriculum and field learning experiences by bringing in food and farming experts, teaching gardening skills, outings, hosting special events with local food, and kitchen upgrades.
• Whatcom Day Academy – Establish linkages between the school, food vendors, and local farms to increase servings of local fruits and vegetables in school lunches, and integrate a farm-to-school theme into the curriculum.

Multi-District Projects

• Develop education and outreach materials to support promotion of a Harvest of the Month program in all Whatcom County public schools.
• Offer a professional development workshop for Food Services staff to increase comfort and skills in working with fresh local produce to create simple and delicious dishes in a school kitchen setting.