Dear <<Teacher’s name>>:
Welcome back! This year <<school name>> is expanding the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack
Program and you will play a key role in its success! In the coming days, we will start/enhance
our Farm to School program at <<school name>>.
Farm to School programs connect students with fresh, local food grown by farmers in or near
the community. Farm to School improves the health of students, strengthens the local
economy and supports small and mid-sized farmers close to home. Eating healthy foods,
including fruits and vegetables, will help your students stay strong, have energy, and do well in
school.
We will purchase as many local fruits and vegetables for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack as
possible, but we need your help in engaging and educating students. There are many ways you
can promote <<school name>>’s Farm to School program and the use of locally grown fruits
and vegetables in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snack Program.
#1 - Read a Fruit and Vegetable Snack Bite to your class before or during snack time. It
provides a brief introduction to where the food came from with fun facts.
#2 – Highlight where the food was grown using a map of Minnesota.
#3 – If you have 15 minutes to spare, lead a classroom tasting lesson. Taste tests
encourage students to use all of their senses when eating and it’s a great way to
increase their intake of fruits and vegetables.
#4 –To go a step further check out the back of this page. You will find a few ideas to
enhance your daily lessons with Farm to School concepts.
Remember - you are a role model for your students. They look up to you, so get excited about
the local fruit and vegetable snacks and be sure to eat the fruit or vegetable snack with your
students – even if it’s just a bite.
If you have questions about <<School name>>’s Farm to School and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable
Program, please contact us at any time.
Sincerely,
Principal
Foodservice Director
Nutrition Education Assistant
Curriculum Coordinator
SHIP Coordinator
Easy and fun ideas to integrate Farm to School activities into your classroom
1. Creative Arts:
 Draw the fruit/vegetable using different mediums - pencil, chalk, crayons, paint, etc.
 Create sculptures with fruits and vegetables
 Make seed collages with different kinds of seeds
2. Language Arts:
 Read a story about farming, gardening, or cooking
 Add new fruit and vegetable words to your vocabulary quiz and encourage children to
use descriptive adjectives.
 Role play how to get more fruits/vegetables at school, home, or anywhere
 Play 20 questions using local fruits or vegetables to guess.
 Perform a quick spelling bee or alphabetizing exercise with local fruits and vegetables
 Taking turns, go around the room and have each student finish the sentence, “If I were a
farmer, I’d grow…” Each student tries to name a different fruit/vegetable grown in
Minnesota.
 Write a riddle, poem or short story about a local fruit/vegetable or family farm.
3. Mathematics:
 Perform fractions with a melon, measure thickness of a zucchini slice, calculate the
number of ½ cup servings you could get from a bushel of apples
 Utilize story problems. Example: If you needed four pounds of squash at $2/pound and
you handed the farmer a $20 bill. How much money should you get back?
4. Science:
 Learn about the lifecycle of plants - grow lettuce, a radish or tomato plant.
 Learn about composting
 Research a particular nutrient, vitamin or mineral in the local fruit/vegetable.
 Bring a collection of common seeds to class. How many can they identify in 5 minutes?
 Encourage students to form a “question bowl” of things they wonder about in science,
agriculture, or the environment. During snack time, the class can draw a question from
the bowl and research to find the answer.
5. Social studies:
 Locate where the food originated and/or where it was grown in Minnesota. Using a
map key determine how many miles it was grown from your school.
 Study the history of the fruit/vegetable. How is it eaten in different cultures?
 Challenge students to name businesses in your community that are connected to the
farm or agriculture in general.
 Take a field trip to a farm. Take photos of the trip to share with parents and other
classes. If you’d like help finding a local farm, the Sustainable Farming Association has a
Farm Tour program: www.mn-farmtoschool.umn.edu/farmtours_SFA.pdf
For more information about classroom enrichment, visit: www.extension.umn.edu/farm-to-school
Reference: Minnesota Ag in the Classroom www.mda.state.mn.us/kids/teachresources.aspx