October is National Farm to School Month, a time to celebrate the connections happening all across the country between schools and local food producers. Gallatin Valley Farm to School is helping schools and families throughout Gallatin County celebrate 2013 Farm to Month by hosting events, offering contests, and providing resources and ideas.

Events will kick off on October 13 with the Farm to School Feastival and Chef Cook-off from 2:00pm-5:00pm at Rocky Creek Farm. Families and community members are invited to feast on delicious local foods, put thier vote in for the Chef Cook-off, explore Rocky Creek Farm, enjoy live music, and more. This event is free, local food will be available for sale.

October 17-18 in Belgrade helpful workshops will be offered by Learning by Nature at the 2013 Montana Educators Conference. Teachers wanting to get their students outside, use school gardens as learning laboratories, or teach food and nutrition in their everyday curriculum should consider attending these workshops that include: Creating an Edible School Yard, Learning Outside the School Walls, Where Does My Food Come From?

Food Day is October 24th. Food Day is a nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food and a grassroots campaign for better food policies; it builds all year long and culminates on October 24. Food Day aims to help people Eat Real. Eating Real means cutting back on sugar drinks, overly salted packaged foods, and fatty, factory-farmed meats in favor of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and sustainably raised protein. Food Day envisions shorter lines at fast-food drive-thrus—and bigger crowds at farmers markets. In Bozeman on Food Day you can grab a locally or regionally grown apple and join students statewide in a collective crunch in celebration of Food Day at exactly 2:00pm.

Seasonal Bozeman and Nova Café will be hosting a Food Day Dinner in support of Gallatin Valley Farm to School on Thursday, October 24, 2013 at 6:30pm. The Farm to Table dinner will feature local foods and wine pairings prepared by Chef Melissa Harrison of Seasonal Bozeman. Diners will also enjoy the company of Mary Stein, Associate Director of National Farm to School Network and Maddy Pope, Project Manager for Trust for Public Land. Tickets are $125 per person and are available for purchase online at www.seasonalbozeman.com or by phone (303) 319-4354. Proceeds after costs will be donated to Gallatin Valley Farm to School.

The Bozeman School District will be serving up Montana Meals every Wednesday in October. Teachers have the option to discuss what is local in the meals and plan activities that incorporate those foods with their classes. Check out the menu and discuss with your children the Farm to School concept and encourage them to continue to make healthy choices throughout the school year.

Bozeman elementary students can participate in the Gallatin Valley Farm to School Month Poster Contest by creating inspiring, original posters that express the theme “Farm to School Under the Big Sky.” One winning poster will be selected from each participating elementary school , as well as an overall Grand Prize. More information is available at GVF2S, all eligible entries must be postmarked by October 31, 2013. Last year over 180 students from four schools, Bozeman Summit School, Hyalite, Longfellow, and Middle Creek Montessori, submitted their artwork for this contest organized by Gallatin Valley Farm to School. Amelia McNeil from Middle Creek Montessori was selected as the Grand Prize Champion in 2012.

It is not just in October, but throughout the school year that the Farm to School (F2S) programs are helping local students choose healthier foods in their school cafeterias. Since 2008 more fruits and vegetables have been offered in Bozeman schools. It is the idea of F2S that if products are fresh, locally grown, and picked at the peak of their flavor, and if those choices are reinforced with educational activities kids will learn to make those healthy choices more easily. Farm to School programs provide benefits to the entire community: children, farmers, food service staff, parents, and teachers.

The choice of healthier options in the cafeteria through F2S meals results in consumption of more fruits and vegetables with an average increase of 0.99 to 1.3 servings per day, including at home. Schools report a 3 to 16 percent increase in school meal participation when farm-fresh food is served through F2S programs. F2S programs also open new markets for local farmers and help expand their customer base by raising awareness about local food systems.

The Bozeman School District served over 2,500 pounds ($130,000) of local foods including greens, apples, potatoes, pasta, meat, milk, and more in school year 2011-12! Take a moment this October to celebrate the connections happening between schools and local food producers and go local with your healthy choices. More information about all of the events and the F2S program can be found at http://gvfarmtoschool.org    

Angie Ripple is the publisher of Bozeman Magazine and a Montana native. She is continually having healthy choice conversations with her second grader, mainly about the amount of chocolate milk she chooses to drink each week.