Northeast Farm to School Institute Teams in the News
Posted on October 17, 2025
Every garden tells a story, and through farm to school, those stories come to life for students in classrooms, cafeterias, and communities across the Northeast. Over the past 15 years, this work has flourished: more than 159 teams have participated in our Northeast Farm to School Institute, impacting over 189,600 students!
Farm to school is all about integrating the 3Cs: Classroom, Cafeteria, and Community. But there is a fourth “C” too: Communications. This “C” is all about connecting to your individual and collective “why” of farm to school, and then effectively sharing that story with your larger community. By showing people the deeper meaning of food systems education and the real change it can make in a student’s life, you can find the help you need to do the work, whether that be hands in the garden or financial support to get projects off the ground.
We’re sharing recent news stories from around the region that highlight school gardens and the "why" of Northeast Farm to School Institute teams. Read and listen on for inspiration during this harvest season:
“This is really what keeps me doing the work on the hard days—those moments. And I have them constantly. When a child picks a cherry tomato that they've grown, or pulls that carrot out of the ground and they eat it, their whole face lights up, and it just changes their entire relationship to food… Look, I get kids to eat kale, like raw kale. This is the magic of farm to school, you know?”
Schenectady City School District Farm to School Manager Rebekka Henriksen shares how her passion for gardening evolved into a thriving farm to school program across 16 schools. From pickle parties and pizza gardens to increasing family food access and building a reliable and prosperous market for local farmers, Rebekka is using the joy of growing food to make big impacts in the community. Listen to the podcast.
Schenectady City School District is a 2024–25 Northeast Farm to School Institute alumni team, and Rebekka Henriksen is a 2024–25 Farm to School Leadership Academy alum.
Photo: The Schenectady City School District team at the 2024 NEFTSI summer retreat at Shelburne Farms. Sarah Webb.
At Burlington’s Lyman C. Hunt Middle School, teacher Maisie Anrod is working across the school and community to cultivate an expansive school garden featuring vegetables, herbs, and perennials.The harvest supports classroom lessons (genetics via peas!), makes its way into the cafeteria, and is shared with the broader community, including neighbors, a local daycare, and a university service-learning class. “I don’t want this to be just ‘Miss Maisie’s garden.’ I want it to be our community’s garden.” Read the full story.
At New Lebanon School, kindergarten and elementary students now have a “secret garden” to plant, explore, and taste. The PTA and Greenwich Alliance for Education came together to build the gardens, which include stepping-stone paths, raised beds, and a gazebo tucked into a ravine near the school. As the school team works with their Northeast Farm to School coach throughout the year, they’ll be building more connections among the school meals, classroom, and community. Read the full story.
New Lebanon Elementary School is a current Northeast Farm to School Institute team.
Photo: New Lebanon Elementary students cook in the school gardens. Leslie Yager.
