New Resource: Mississippi Harvest of the Month
The Mississippi Farm to School Network is excited to officially launch Mississippi Harvest of the Month, a statewide Farm to School initiative connecting students and educational programs with seasonal, Mississippi-grown foods.
For schools and early childhood programs, getting started with Farm to School can sometimes feel like a lot of questions: What grows in Mississippi? When is it in season? Who is growing it? How do we introduce local foods to children? And how do we start the conversation with a farmer?
Whether your program is just getting started with Farm to School or has been doing this work for years, Harvest of the Month is designed to meet you where you are. Use the monthly guides to introduce children ages 0–18 to a new Mississippi-grown food, add to what you're already doing in the classroom or cafeteria, or find new ways to connect with local farmers. The goal is to support educators and child nutrition leaders with the tools to help bring more Mississippi-grown food into the places where children learn and eat.
Along with the monthly guides, participating programs will have access to resources that can help them better understand what farmers are growing in Mississippi, including guidance on when to contact farmers, food safety, talking with farmers about school procurement, and getting started with Requests for Information. Programs can also explore the Mississippi Farm Fresh Map to see what is growing nearby.
Harvest of the Month is a great starting point for programs that are brand new to Farm to School, and a way for programs already doing this work to take it further. And you won't have to figure it all out on your own! Programs that sign up can receive one-on-one coaching and technical assistance and participate in quarterly virtual Community of Practice meetings, where sites can share ideas, challenges, successes, and feedback with one another.
We know every program is starting from a different place. For some, Harvest of the Month might be the first opportunity to introduce children to a Mississippi-grown food through a taste test or classroom activity. For others, it might be a way to build on existing efforts, like strengthening local food purchasing and relationships with nearby farmers. Harvest of the Month gives programs the flexibility to start where they are and find practical ways to bring more local food into the work they’re already doing.
We're starting with peas this August, with twelve months of seasonal, Mississippi-grown foods ahead.
Be one of our first three participating programs! We’re looking for three programs to serve as pilot sites as we launch Harvest of the Month across Mississippi. The first three programs to sign up will receive printed Harvest of the Month materials, personalized one-on-one technical assistance, and an opportunity to help us shape and strengthen the program as it grows!
