Big Day of Action

Tell Congress to strengthen farm to school on Oct. 22

The deadline for Congress to reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act (CNR) is now.

The Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010 expired on Sept. 30, and Congress has yet to pass a new version of this bill (also known as the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization, or CNR).

Make your voice heard: Join us in calling on Congress to pass a strong CNR that supports farm to school across the country! Make sure your legislators know that farm to school is a common sense approach to child nutrition that empowers kids and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities.

We’re joining together with our partners across the country and members like you during National Farm to School Month to celebrate the benefits of farm to school and tell Congress that it’s time to finish CNR and strengthen the USDA Farm to School Program.

Pledge to join our Big Day of Farm to School Action on Oct. 22, 2015, and let the world know that farm to school is a win for kids, farmers and communities!

Take Action for Farm to School

- Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015 -

Communities across the country are celebrating National Farm to School Month with statewide proclamations, regional food menus in schools, thousands of students crunching into local apples at the same time and more! Whether you’re digging in at a school garden, feasting on local bounty or just want to share your support for local food in schools, join us in shouting out the ways farm to school connects kids and communities to healthy, local food on our Big Day of Farm to School Action, Oct. 22.

Here are actions you can take on Oct. 22 to tell the world that farm to school is a win for kids, a win for farmers and a win for communities:

  • Share your story: Post a photo of your school garden (or orchard, or greenhouse…), farm fields or students at lunch on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and use the hashtags: #moreF2SinCNR and #farmtoschool. Use one of our suggested posts below.
  • Call your legislator today: Tell them what farm to school means to your kids, farmers and community – it takes less than five minutes and is so easy! Learn how below.
  • Sign-on your support: The Farm to School Act must be included in CNR to ensure that the USDA Farm to School Grant Program can meet the needs of farmers and schools nationwide. Learn more and sign on as a citizen or organization.
  • Make real-world connections: Pick up the phone and schedule that field trip to a local farm, or invite parents and local policymakers to school lunch this fall. Interested in learning how to invite a legislator to your school? We can help!
  • Grow the movement: Ask your friends and family to join you in telling Congress to support kids and family farms. Share this page with five people today.

Call Your Legislator

Phone calls are FAST, EASY and EFFECTIVE

  • Look up your legislators (everyone has two Senators and one Representative) on Govtrack and find their D.C. office phone number.
  • Take a deep breath, pick up the phone, dial the D.C. office number, and share a message like this with the person who answers the phone:

    "Hi, my name is [your name] and I'm a constituent [also let them know if you're a farmer, a parent, a teacher, etc.]. I'd like to share a message with [your legislator's name], please. The message is: please support farm to school efforts in [your community] by supporting the inclusion of the Farm to School Act of 2015 in the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization. We are counting on you to stand with our community's farmers and kids on this important issue."
  • We can't say it enough - phone calls are FAST, EASY and one of the BEST things you can do to help pass stronger legislation for farm to school. Try it today!

Share Your Story

Use these suggestions on social media

Is your school participating in a Big Apple Crunch? Joining your student for a local lunch in the cafeteria? Hosting a harvest event with students in the school garden? Snap a photo (or take a quick video) and share it online with the hashtags #moreF2SinCNR and/or #farmtoschool! Don’t have a photo? Share our Big Day of Action graphics on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

For schools:

Here’s what #farmtoschool looks like in action! @[Your Legislator], invest in our future & support #moreF2SinCNR

With #farmtoschool, our students enjoy eating healthy fruits & vegetables everyday. That's why we need #moreF2SinCNR

For farmers:

#Farmtoschool allows farmers like me to feed my community healthy, local food. I support #moreF2SinCNR

As a farmer, I believe in participating in #farmtoschool in [your community] because [your reasons here]. I support #moreF2SinCNR!

For everyone:

Congress: #farmtoschool is a win for kids, farmers & communities. Invest in our future with #moreF2SinCNR!

Kids in #farmtoschool are more willing to try new, healthy foods + do better in school #moreF2SinCNR

#Farmtoschool works to bring more kids through the lunch line + reduce food waste. Congress, we need #moreF2SinCNR

88% of Americans support #moreF2SinCNR, and so do we! Congress: invest in our future, support #farmtoschool

.@USDA #FarmtoSchool Grants helped +12K schools improve healthy meals. Let’s not stop there! We need #moreF2SinCNR

Make your social media posts even more impactful by tagging your legislators – find their social media handles here. Pro tip: Save characters in your tweets by tagging your legislators in the photo. When the photo uploads, there’s a box that says “Who’s In This Photo” - enter the people you want to tag there.

Learn More

The National Farm to School Network and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition are partnering to advance farm to school priorities in the 2015 reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act (CNR 2015), with the shared goal of supporting stronger communities, healthier children and resilient farms.

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