Georgia Partners

Georgia Organics established the state’s farm to school programing in 2007, and has served as the National Farm to School Network state lead since then. The organization serves as the host site for FoodCorps Georgia, which serves as our "boots on the ground", teaching students the critical life skills of growing, cooking and appreciating fresh food. Georgia Organics is rooted in establishing sustainable farm to school programming through a three-pronged strategy:

  1. building on the existing ground work by providing top-quality train-the-trainer workshops and technical assistance dedicated to improving school meals, growing school gardens and supporting local farmers;
  2. providing up-to-date resources; and
  3. supporting the work of state agencies resulting in the institutionalization and growth of farm to school.

Georgia Organics works closely with the Georgia Departments of Education, Agriculture, and Public Health, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, and many other agencies dedicated to advancing farm to school. These agencies and others participate in the Georgia Farm to School Alliance. Georgia Organics works with partners in the Georgia Farm to School Alliance to host the annual Golden Radish Award, which recognizes Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) in Georgia who are doing extraordinary work in farm to school. In 2017, 75 Georgia School districts were awarded for their exemplary work to purchase, serve, promote, celebrate, teach and sustain farm to school in their communities. Collectively, Golden Radish Awardees: Involved 1.25 million students in Farm to School activities.:

  • Served over 97 million meals that included fresh, locally grown food
  • Conducted 8,204 taste tests with students
  • Promoted local foods 7,969 times
  • Taught 7,263 garden, food and nutrition lessons
  • Tended 885 edible school gardens
  • Hosted 3,794 hands on cooking and food activities with students
  • Championed and sustained district wide farm to school policies or procedures in 43 school districts

Georgia Organics also hosts a bi-annual Farm to School Summit to showcase and share best practices among Farm to School stakeholders across Georgia. The annual Georgia Organics conference, which attracts over 1,200 participants each year, and includes a farm to school educational track.