October Celebrations 2024

The Nutrition Services Division (NSD) would like to thank you for working to include more freshly prepared food options in your school meals. We would also like to encourage you and staff to celebrate your accomplishments related to serving fresh, seasonal, culturally relevant, organic, and locally grown foods in your school meal programs during the month of October and beyond. There are ample opportunities this month to showcase your schools’ achievements, and you can participate in any way that best fits your student population and scheduled events.

Celebration Overview

Consider highlighting your partnerships with local community members, student organizations, parents, farmers, and ranchers, when taking part in one of the following events: 1) National Farm to School (F2S) Month, 2) California Crunch Day 3) National School Lunch Week 4) Indigenous Peoples’ Day and 5) National Farmer Day.

1. National F2S Month is the entire month of October. It is an excellent time to celebrate the connections between schools, communities, families, students, and local foods and farms. Some ways schools can participate include offering students a local produce snack, planting seeds, starting a fall garden, conducting a fall taste-test, sending home a recipe featuring seasonal or locally grown fruits and vegetables, and making classroom soups or other tasty local items. For more ideas on how to celebrate F2S, review the National F2S Network Celebration Toolkit . For more information about F2S, visit California Department of Education’s (CDE) F2S web page.
   
   As a reminder, School Nutrition Program (SNPs) can now specify locally caught, raised, or grown unprocessed agricultural products in their procurement language. As the occasion allows, consider including elements of local in procurement efforts so that every month can be F2S month. For more about expanded geographic preference, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Procuring Local Foods web page and for more about Procurement in the SNPs, visit the CDE Procurement in SNPs web page.
   
   
2. California Crunch Day is Thursday, October 10, 2024, at noon. Your school can join other schools, staff, and students across California for the 9^th Annual California Crunch as we all take one big collective bite of locally grown fruits and vegetables to celebrate local farms and healthy eating! To register to participate, receive the 2024 event guide, and learn more about California Crunch Day, visit the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) California Crunch web page .
   
   
3. National Farmer Day is celebrated every year on October 12, 2024. This day is an opportunity to honor farmers. This date marks the end of the harvesting season, giving the farmers the opportunity to be a part of celebrations as well. You can highlight your special day on social media using #NationalFarmersDay.
   
   
4. Indigenous Peoples’ Day is celebrated on Monday, October 14, 2024. Recognition of traditional indigenous foods create opportunities to feature Native American foods and culture in school menus, cafeterias, gardens, and classrooms. For a list of indigenous foods and how these foods can contribute toward a reimbursable meal, visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Buying Guide web page . For resources and guides, visit the USDA’s Serving Traditional Indigenous Foods in Child Nutrition Programs (CNP) web page .
   
   
5. National School Lunch Week (NSLW) is October 14–18, 2024. The theme for 2024 is School Lunch Pirates - Find Your Treasure. Get your students involved in the celebration. Examples might include having students illustrate the school menu, receiving student input on new menu items, organizing student participation in recipe development and taste-testing, or having students help with meal preparation. For more ideas and an activity guide, toolkit, and resources visit the School Nutrition Association’s NSLW web page .

Resources

• For information on the F2S Program visit the CDE F2S web page.
  
  
• For resources on incorporating more local foods into your meal service, visit the USDA’s The Patrick Leahy F2S Program web page .
  
  
• For assistance finding local foods in your county, visit the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Certified Producers by County (PDF) list.
  
  
• For technical assistance and marketing support for using local foods in schools, visit CAFF’s Farm to Cafeteria program web page , and for assistance with a bid, visit CAFF’s bid generator .
  
  
• For a resource on key procurement topics, such as: menu planning, procurement methods, buying products from the school garden, supporting local foods in tribal schools, comparing procurement methods and more, reference the USDA’s Procuring Local Foods for CNP Guide .

Contacts

• For questions regarding Buy American or Procurement requirements, email the CDE at NSDBuyAmericanProvision@cde.ca.gov.
  
  
• For general F2S inquiries, contact the NSD F2S Team by email at Farm2School@cde.ca.gov.
  
  
• For assistance locating farms to procure local foods, contact the F2S Network Team at the CDFA by email at CaFarmtoSchool@cdfa.ca.gov.