Summer Farm Reading

Grow your child's mind this summer with Farm To School book selections!  Find us on Facebook to see pictures of Apple Day and watch the school garden grow over the summer.

Children's Literature

http://www.growing-minds.org/lit.php

Growing Minds is the Farm to School Program of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), a Western North Carolina nonprofit.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fernbank-Farm-To-School/166171480088914?sk=wall

Eat Your Apple Day Success!

Tuesday, May 17 was Eat Your Apple Day at Fernbank.  Thanks to the fabulous PE teachers, almost all of the kids wore red in support of apples.  Even the entire cafeteria staff showed their support by sporting red shirts!  Red apples were on the lunch menu in the cafeteria and just about everyone in the school took a crunchy, juicy bite.

Apple Day concludes our 3 month run of Produce of the Month for this year.  Because of the overwhelming success of Broccoli Day, Carrot Day and Apple Day, we are proud to bring Produce of the Month back next year.  Come join us on a Produce of the Month Day next year, as a parent volunteer or even as a participant, eating lunch with your child.  Come see the entire cafeteria eating fresh produce!


Thank you to Mr. Marshall and the cafeteria staff for all of your support and enthusiasm.
Thank you also to the garden parents who volunteered their time to cheer on the students to choose apples on the lunch line.

Fernbank Farm to Home!

Fernbank families are putting in home vegetable gardens! We sold over 100 vegetable and herb plants and raised $250 for the school, at our recent plant sale.  Please shop at Whole Foods Briarcliff to thank them for donating so many plants to our school, and continuing to support our Farm to School program.

Growing your own vegetables is a great way to encourage kids to eat 

fresh, whole foods. Kids are more likely to try vegetables they grow!  

Another way to introduce locally grown produce to your home is through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) subscription.  This fall, Fernbank Farm to School will offer our own CSA subscription where $1 per box per week will be donated to Fernbank.

What is a CSA subscription?

A CSA subscription is a subscription to a weekly box of organic produce delivered fresh from a local organic farm.  You sign up for a growing season and receive seasonal produce as it is picked from the farm.  Each week your box of produce will be delivered at a designated pick up area near Fernbank on a designated day.  Every box contains a mix of seasonal produce that approximately can serve a family of four for a week. 

Riverview Farms

Fernbank CSA will join up with Riverview Farms to bring farm fresh produce to Fernbank families on a weekly basis while donating a percentage of the proceeds back to Fernbank.  Riverview Farms is a certified organic family of farm on 200 acres in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachians in Northwest Georgia.   For more information on Riverview Farms go to http://www.grassfedcow.com/

To sign up for the CSA fall growing season, approximately mid-September to mid-December 2011, email rosalie@eparcihtects.com.    Also look for us at the Fernbank orientation day and during the first month of the 2011-2012 school year.

Fernbank Farm to School Plant Sale!

Fernbank Farm To School will be selling vegetable plants at the Book Fair on Friday.  Look for us in Mr. Marshall's parking place!  There will be various tomatoes, basil and peppers. It is a great time to plant your summer garden, so bring a few dollars and pick up some great organic plants.  

Thank you to Whole Foods Briarcliff for donating so many plants to our school garden.

What's Next in the Garden?

After the school-wide tasting, a basket of fresh strawberies, lettuce, collards, kale and herbs harvested from the garden were given to June Neal. Mr. O harvested some spinach to feed his classroom guinea pigs. 

This week, Second grade classes will clean out the garden beds and compost the winter plants to make room for summer plantings. As a part of their Greener Earth IB unit, they are studying composting.

The Spring planting will be done by many grades.  Kindergarden is 

planting bush beans and sunflowers, as they study plant life cycles.  

First and Third Grade will be planting a Pizza Garden.  Lastly, Fernbank Forth graders will plant a Colonial Garden as they study how our settlers grew their own food.

Thank you to Whole Foods Briarcliff, John Weirwille at Berea Mennonite Church, and Erica Glasener for donating our summer vegetables and herbs for the garden!