Press Release: Farm to School Kickoff Event

Syracuse City School District and Brady Farm to Celebrate Fresh, Healthy Foods with Farm to School Kickoff Event

SYRACUSE, NY | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 10/25/2021

The Syracuse City School District, in partnership with Brady Faith Center, Syracuse University, and the Syracuse-Onondaga Food Systems Alliance, will host a Farm to School Kickoff event on October 28th to celebrate the receipt of a 2021 USDA Farm to School grant.

The grant, totaling $79,156, will allow the District to introduce more local foods into Syracuse City Schools, which serves about 20,000 students daily.

“Farm to school connects our children to local food producers serving locally-grown, healthy foods, providing nutrition education and improving children’s health,” said Rachel Murphy, SCSD Food and Nutrition Services Director.

“Brady Faith Center is honored to receive this grant to continue our work in connecting people with their food system. This grant will introduce local products into SCSD and will explore the barriers and opportunities to expanding Farm to School across the county and region,” said Larkin Podsiedlik, Syracuse Farm to School Project Co-Director.

Media are invited to attend a kickoff event and local food tasting on Thursday, October 28 at 12:30 pm at McKinley-Brighton Elementary School (141 W. Newell Street). Following a 12:30 pm press conference with SCSD Superintendent Jaime Alicea, students in 3rd and 4th grade classrooms will sample roasted vegetables grown at Brady Farm while enjoying a brief lesson about Farm to School. The kickoff is part of nationwide Farm to School event celebrations taking part this month. Over the past decade, the farm to school movement has exploded across the United States, reaching millions of students in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. From school gardens and farm field trips to local food on cafeteria trays, farm to school practices help children learn about where food comes from and make healthier choices while also creating new markets for local and regional farmers.

Brady Faith Center and Brady Farm are connecting farmers, schools, and other stakeholders to build Farm to School in our community. For more information about farm to school in Syracuse, or to get involved, contact Larkin Podsiedlik at larkpod@gmail.com. Learn more about the farm to school movement at www.farmtoschool.org.