Telling Your Farm to School Story

Farm to school and early childhood programs are ripe with stories: experiencing the crunch of a freshly picked snap pea for the first time, salad bars filled with fresh food from a local farm, or the joy of digging in the soil to unearth a pile of potatoes!

Your stories need to be heard so your community feels part of (and supports!) the important work you're doing to connect the cafeteria, classroom, and community. 

Rebecca Sanborn Stone of Community Workshop, LLC is a longtime presenter at our Northeast Farm to School Institute, who specializes in grassroots communications and strategies for connecting with the people that matter to your work. Here are a few takeaways we’ve gleaned throughout the years, and our links of inspiration to dig in further.

You can watch the full webinar here, and use Becca’s worksheets to think through messaging and planning: Farm to School Communications & Outreach Planning and Farm to School Institute Communications Planning Template.

Know Your Why

Why are you involved in farm to school? Start with your ‘why’, drill down, and find that kernel of inspiration and drive. It’s often these core beliefs that truly resonate with others and will help you build lasting connections. More resources:

• Discover your why with Simon Sinek, who shares a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership. Via TED.
• Watch Ferene Paris’s inspirational workshop from our 2024 Northeast Farm to School Insitute retreat. Ferene helped us all connect to why we show up every day to do this work and how we can become our most authentic storytellers.