For over a decade, Food Roots has provided farm to school programming to partnering schools across Tillamook county. During this time, we connected over 1500 students annually with local food, farm and marina tours, environmental and nutrition education, and a deeper understanding of our local food system. We also built and maintained school gardens that serve as a living outdoor classroom for students and community members to learn about growing their own food. 

 

We are excited to announce updates to our programming that will allow us to expand our reach and connect with more students in Tillamook and the surrounding areas. Beginning this fall,  we will become a Regional Education Hub that supports teachers with knowledge and resources to lead their own farm to school lessons. We will continue to provide age-appropriate programming for students, including field trips, guest speakers, and local food tastings. Finally, we will  transform the school gardens we build and maintain so that they serve as community resources, not merely outdoor classrooms. The gardens will be managed under our Local Food Equity program and will be used as sites to grow food for families to access through their school food pantries. 

 

The 24/25 SY updates include: 

 

• School-based food interventions are most effective among children between the ages of 4-7. Therefore, for Pre-K students we will focus on classroom tastings and cooking demonstrations. 

• For students enrolled in K-6, we will provide enhanced school-wide tasting events and farmer engagement activities (such as guest speakers and age-appropriate field trips). 

• For middle school students we will provide field trip opportunities that are focused on creating connections between students and producers and generating student interest in career opportunities in our local food system. 

• We will no longer provide monthly classroom- and garden-based lessons taught by Food Roots educators, and will instead be co-teaching 1 lesson per trimester with 4-6 teachers across the county, helping grow their capacity for delivering farm to school education in their own classrooms. For all other teachers, we will provide technical assistance and resources to support farm to school education in their classroom.