Farm to School Resources for Families
Parents play a large role in fueling the success of Farm to School programs.
What parents can do
- Reinforce proper eating habits at home
- Connect with local representatives to voice their support for Farm to School programs
- Volunteer with any current efforts in the school system or in the community.
Family activities
Visit a farm, farmers market, farm stand or garden
- Go to a Maryland farm to pick apples or pumpkins. MDA’s Maryland’s Best program created an interactive map that links consumers with producers and markets during this time.
- October is Maryland Apple Month. Share on social media a recipe from Maryland’s Apple Promotion Board or picking apples from one of Maryland’s 205 apple farms.
- Try one local product this week perhaps at a farmers market or farm stand.Some popular fall Maryland-grown items are: apples, hardsquashes, greens, pumpkins, chicken, eggs, milk, mushrooms, kale, and sweet potatoes.
At-home lessons & activities
- Our friends at the Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation (MAEF) have a great list of at-home lessons and activities.
- Do you have a budding student artist? Consider entering MAEF’s Calendar Contest!
- Take a virtual farm tour with Baltimore City Public School’s Great Kids Farm
- National Agriculture in the Classroom offers many different virtual farm tours from sheep and beef farms to fruit and vegetable farms.
Watch Maryland Farm and Harvest
Maryland Public Television (MPT) in partnership with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has created Maryland Farm & Harvest, an Emmy award-winning series that puts a human face on farming.
The MPT staff have curated the following Maryland Farm and Harvest episodes that will appeal to kids and have educational components by using agriculture to teach biology, environmental science, technology, history, or other useful subjects:
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 302: Agricultural irrigation; minimizing impact of dairy cows on the Chesapeake; raising Red Angus cattle. The Local Buy: cooking an entire lamb.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 303: Putting imperfect produce to good use; poultry grower educates other farmers; Baltimore’s largest urban farm. The Local Buy: heritage turkey.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 404: Using tilapia to grow lettuce; day in the life of a crop consultant; oyster aquaculture. The Local Buy: heritage waterfowl.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 405: Protecting chickens from avian flu; produce safety protocol; beginning farmers merge past and present. The Local Buy: tomato jam.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 406: Non-profit farm feeds stomachs and souls; a traditional country butchering; farm hosts yearly Christmas auction. The Local Buy: winter vegetables.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 410: Transformations: Soy to soy oil, cucumbers to pickles, and apples to applesauce. The Local Buy: tea.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 501: Ag’s top secret numbers; Navy vet cultivates new career in farming; century farm with a hydroponic vision for the future. The Local Buy: Nature’s Garlic Farm.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 502: How wool is made into yarn; new Hagerstown factory churns out cheese using local milk, Harford brewer taps into the family farm’s barley supply. The Local Buy: Potatoes.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 503: Perdue’s large-scale chicken hatchery; Operation CatSnip helps farmers manage barn cats; orphaned piglets find an adoptive mother. The Local Buy: Ice Cream.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 504: Thoroughbred auction attracts buyers from across the globe; crops that improve the soil; Baltimore City high school students get lessons in farming. The Local Buy: Sprouts.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 505: Farm History: Queen Anne’s County farm withstands three centuries of change; historic apple cider; farming a piece of the Underground Railroad. The Local Buy: Baltimore City’s Arabbers
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 507: Managing fertilizer on the farm; Maryland’s hub for fresh produce; National student competition focuses on Maryland farms. The Local Buy: Eggplant.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 607: Milk to eggnog, a teaching farm, crowns made from Maryland blooms, and aronia berries.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 612: Apples to apple butter, picking pumpkins and popcorn, and invasive lanternflies.
- Maryland Farm & Harvest Episode 712: Solar panels on a poultry farm, making a corn maze, and peppers.