To celebrate how students connect with Massachusetts’ agricultural heritage by engaging with and learning about the local food system, the state has released 250 snapshots of farm-to-school initiatives, including 21 such programs at Franklin County and North Quabbin area schools and organizations.
The 250 snapshots, offered by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources in collaboration with a handful of other state agencies, are intended to highlight “how Massachusetts early education programs, schools, colleges and universities incorporate Massachusetts grown and produced foods into meals, integrate food and agriculture into curriculum, provide hands-on learning experiences, and foster relationships among local farmers, educational institutions and community partners,” MDAR’s website reads. The state lauds the various programs for strengthening the economy, improving health and education outcomes, and building community connections.
Athol’s The Farm School is one of such organization, inviting middle school students to work on the nearly 400 acres that the nonprofit calls home. Patrick Connors, who’s been at The Farm School for more than 20 years and works as facilities and operations director, said students walk away from the experience with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
“We include kids in all the work we do on the farm, and we have scaled our farm operation and think about all of our farm operations from the perspective of how to include kids in the work,” Connors said. “We try to include them meaningfully and give them real work. It’s not like a ropes course or a petting zoo kind of experience. As much as possible, [we’re] trying to make the work real and authentic, and hopefully kids leave with a sense that they can do hard things and that they are contributing to something bigger than themselves.”
Middle school-age students who attend schools that partner with The Farm School spend two days on the farm during the school year, and The Farm School also offers week-long summer camps and programs. Connors said he’s seen kids come back over the summers, excited to get “out of their classroom box and hands deep in the mud.”
“A lot of kids who come to our summer program are kids who came with their school group,” Connors noted. “For a lot of kids, it’s just a one-time experience, but hopefully there’s some lasting impact. But it’s less about teaching the ABCs of farming. Anecdotally, our impact with kids has been a little more about them knowing that they can contribute meaningfully and appreciating farm work. It’s hard and beautiful.”
To the west in Charlemont, Hawlemont Regional School has been running the Hawlemont, Agriculture and You (HAY) program for 11 years. According to the school’s website, the goal of the program is to “provide an innovative elementary education through hands-on, experiential learning that combines agriculture and community involvement with traditional curriculum.”
The program and its instructors have received multiple awards and recognitions from the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, with current HAY instructor Jenn Sinistore being honored with the Excellence in Energy and Environmental Education Award in 2017.
“The HAY program … introduces the students to agriculture, and they do animal husbandry and they also do horticulture,” said Ashley Sparks, vice chair of the Hawlemont School Committee and the parent of a former Hawlemont student. “There is a barn, there is a greenhouse, there’s gardens in each classroom and then there’s also a community garden as well. … There is a specific class called the HAY class, and the classroom itself is focused on agriculture.”
While the HAY program is located within Hawlemont, the opportunity to learn about agriculture and becoming a steward of the land isn’t limited to the school’s students. The program offers classes on some weekends, such as jam making, cheese making and basket weaving — classes that Sparks said she’s attended.
When school is in session, however, everyone does farm chores. This could be as simple as watering the plants in the garden or feeding and taking care of livestock.
Over the past school year, Conway Grammar School and Sunderland Elementary School have started a pilot farm-to-school program, headed by Meghan Arquin, Kate Stafford and Theresa Carter, who serves as the farm-to-school coordinator for the Frontier Regional and Union 38 school districts.
Part of the initiative involves the students taking part in a “Harvest of the Month” program, allowing them to try foods that they may not have experienced before.
“It was really cool to see … students really not wanting to try [the meal] and then taste it,” Arquin said, noting that students were “very willing to give their words of dissatisfaction.”
One particularly memorable Harvest of the Month took place in March, when Sunderland Elementary students tried different dairies from a farm in Vermont, and also Thomas Farm & Dairy in Sunderland, which is walking distance from the school. Students at Sunderland Elementary had previously visited Thomas Farm & Dairy for a tour earlier in the school year, and were able to sample goat cheese made on site.
“It was really great,” Arquin said of getting students to try unfamiliar food. “It was fun to hear [from parents] how the students were going home and talking about it.”
The Greenfield School Department partnered with the recently founded Dig In to provide healthy meals and education to students in kindergarten through fourth grade, featuring fresh, local food cooked by Dig In founder Kyle Zegel.
Much like Sunderland Elementary and Conway Grammar School, Greenfield’s public schools also take part in a Harvest of the Month program. This past school year was the first that Zegel, who previously worked at Just Roots community farm in Greenfield for three years, was able to fully operate Dig In, and he would visit the school system once a month to craft and cook a recipe before offering it to the students to taste test.
“Those are the most fun parts of the program,” Zegel said.
Zegel said it can be difficult to engage the students in a way that will get their attention, especially because of how short the lunch period is. He said he gives the students concise information about what they’re eating and why it’s important to eat locally grown food.
On the older end of the academic spectrum, Dan Conlon of Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield said his farm has done a lot of work with the University of Massachusetts Amherst, first selling the institution its honey before inviting classes to the farm as part of environmental science courses. He offers classes in beekeeping during the spring and summer, with beginners able to learn the basics in the spring and advanced beekeepers heading to the apiary during the summer months.
“We all need to be aware of this,” Conlon said of learning about sustainable agriculture and local food sources. “Western Massachusetts is really unique.”
Other Franklin County schools and organizations that are included in the state’s 250 snapshots are as follows:
Fisher Hill Elementary School in Orange coordinates a farm field trip for first and second graders, which is linked to the social studies curriculum. The school also had a speaker from Seeds of Solidity farm.
In the Frontier Regional School District, middle and high school students participated in a contest where they were tasked with creating a logo to represent their district’s Farm to School Program. Schools also kept bees.
In the Gill-Montague Regional School District, Gill Elementary School partners with Upinngil Farm. Every year, the farm hosts more than 100 students on field trips, visiting the livestock, picking strawberries and raspberries, and in the springtime, walking the fields of the planted potatoes, sweet corn, pumpkin and squash. At the school, volunteers do hands-on activities with the students, including participation in the Garden Club where they help grow, weed and harvest fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers.
Across the district, students had the opportunity to grow their own vegetables through hydroponics, greenhouses and raised garden beds. Curriculum was built to include and support farm-to-school programming. The district also partnered with Pine Hill Orchards in Colrain and Marty’s Local in South Deerfield to offer locally grown, fresh produce.
Red Gate Farm Education Center, based in Ashfield, hosts children from across western Massachusetts, teaching them about the intricacies of farm life, from equipment maintenance to morning chores. Students have a variety of opportunities to interact with livestock on the farm, and if brave enough, can help walk the 2,000-pound ox.
Warwick Community School has a mission of nature-centered, place- and project-based learning. The district is in phase one of a four-phase plan to build outdoor learning and playgrounds on campus. Also located on campus is an indoor growing facility, kitchen and outdoor garden, which the district uses to teach its students, families and staff about food production, sourcing, accessibility and sustainability.
Wheel-View Farm in Shelburne welcomes school groups and other visitors to see its herd of cattle, farm store and museum. This is offered throughout the year, giving students an opportunity to see what happens on a farm during the offseason.
