Mississippi Students Celebrate Farm to School Week with Creativity and Community

Each year, we celebrate Mississippi Farm to School Week (Oct. 6–10) during the first week of National Farm to School Month in October. All schools and early childcare centers across the state are invited to take part in Mississippi Farm to School Week and National Farm to School Month. During this week-long celebration, the Mississippi Farm to School Network challenges schools and centers to give Farm to School a try by serving locally grown foods in their cafeterias or hosting hands-on activities in their school gardens.

This year, more than 18,800 students from 86 schools and early childcare centers across the state took part in this year’s Mississippi Farm to School Week Challenge.

Across Mississippi, schools celebrated Mississippi Farm to School Week with hands-on learning, local food, and community connections. At Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School, students planted fall crops like kale, carrots, and radishes with help from local experts and farmers. They cooked with freshly harvested produce from Ms. Green Thumb Farm and learned from speakers like Bennie Brown of the Swan Lake Association, who shared lessons about farmland restoration and invited students to visit his incubator farm. These experiences helped students see how farming supports both health and community well-being.

Other schools found creative ways to celebrate, too. Pleasant Hill Elementary Spotlight students harvested more than 200 pounds of sweet potatoes for classroom lessons and made sweet potato pies for teachers, while Pass Christian Elementary first graders explored plant science and nutrition through garden taste tests and hydroponic planting. Mobile farmers markets at Crenshaw and West Tallahatchie Head Starts delivered fresh, local produce to families, deepening connections between schools and farmers.

At Nollie Jenkins Family Center, students took part in a “Harvest to Table” workshop where they prepared healthy snacks, carved pumpkins, and participated in hands-on activities like cooking, juicing, and taste-test stations that taught them where their food comes from and the importance of healthy eating. Even preschoolers at The Christian Learning Center joined in on two fun Farm Days exploring plants, animals, and local foods, showing that building the foundation for healthy habits can start with our youngest learners.

Mississippi Farm to School Week continues to grow each year, building relationships, celebrating local foods, and giving students the chance to explore the full story of their food, from seed to plate. Whether celebrating a new harvest in the school garden, eating nutritious produce grown by a local farmer, or taking home Mississippi-grown produce to share with their families, Mississippi’s children are growing a deeper connection to their communities and the land that feeds them.

Participating Schools and Centers:

Cleveland School District
The Christian Learning Center
Department of Early Childhood Education
Little Sunshine Childcare Center
Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School
Pearman Elementary
Cleveland Central Middle School
Parks Elementary and Pearman Elementary
Morrison Heights CDC
Clinton High School Life Skills
West Tallahatchie Head Start
LaLa's Learning Academy
DHA Leflore Promise Community
Delta Health Alliance
North Gulfport Elementary Middle School
MS LIFT Resource and Referral Network at MSU Extension
Gulfport School District
MSU – Extension Head Start Program
Willie Lock MS Lift Resource & Referral Network
SunShine's Childcare & Preschool
It's a Small World
Sacred Heart Elementary – Hattiesburg
Jackson County School District
Mother Goose Christian School
Posh Early Achievers Academy
Jerry's Little Lambs Learning Lab
Midtown Public Charter School & Little Sam Montessori
Christian Mission Learning Center
New Horizon Childcare Center
Global Connection Learning Center
Noxubee County School District
Mannsdale Upper Elementary
Rosa Scott School
The Children's Academy
The Spire Learning Center
West Union Attendance Center
McLaurin Elementary
Natchez-Adams School District
Instant Impact Global Prep
NASD
Natchez-Adams High School
Natchez Adams
Carroll County Head Start
Pleasant Hill Elementary
Bramlett Elementary
Pass Christian Elementary School
West Hancock Elementary
The Academy Experience Childcare