After surveying FFA advisors across the state, some of you have expressed an interest in participating in a Farm to School initiative created for Iowa FFA Chapters. The goals behind each of the Farm to School Initiatives is to link schools with Iowa farmers; provide schools with fresh and minimally processed Iowa-grown food for inclusion in school meals and snacks, and encourage children to develop healthy eating habits while offering them hands-on learning activities.
In creating this initiative, we sought to provide a useful tool that could aid you in the classroom and garden. Since that time, funds have been received through a USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant to partner with FFAs to offer a Farm to School initiative to help us achieve the goals of increased awareness and consumption of Iowa-grown fruits and vegetables.
This new initiative is entitled “Growing Together.” As a part of this initiative, applicants must complete an application agreeing to plant a fruit or vegetable that can be included in a school meal. As an incentive for your participation, we would like to offer your FFA chapter the opportunity to receive a Brix Tek Hand-Held 0-32% Brix Refractometer with Automatic Temperature Compensation.
A refractometer is a tool that refracts light through a prism to measure the density of a liquid placed on the surface of the prism. The density of liquid squeezed from the fruit or leaf of a plant represents the total sugars present in that plant. Refractometers give a good indication of the success of the methods used by the grower. Offering your students the opportunity to make correlations between growing, harvesting and nutritional values will equate to stronger, more prepared future farmers. This tool comes in a hard case with instructions and a laminated Brix Chart – Refractive Index of Crop Juices for fruits and vegetables. In addition, we will provide your group with a sap extractor to aid in the collection of samples.
I had the opportunity to work with several FFA officers at the Iowa State Fair in 2012. This has impressed upon me the importance of the role the next generation has in all that we do and all that we hope for our future. In addition to planting crops, I would like to ask each FFA chapter to appoint one student representative to offer suggestions that may help shape the future of our Farm to School Program. Students will be asked to complete a short questionnaire after participation in this initiative. Please complete the attached consent form for your FFA representative.
Approved applicants will be required to complete a Final Performance Report and submit a Garden Harvest Log at the completion of this project.
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