Montana’s Community-based Food Systems: Resources

National FoodCorps http://foodcorps.org/ Learn how to serve, become a host site, or otherwise get involved in FoodCorps

Grow M0ntana http://www.growmontana.ncat.org/ A broad-based coalition offering a plethora of resources on Montana’s regional food economy and the Montana FoodCorps program.

National Farm to School Network http://www.farmtoschool.org/ Farm to School connects schools and local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing agriculture, health and nutrition education opportunities, and supporting local and regional farmers. Includes detailed information on Montana.

Agriculture in Montana Schools aginmontanaschools.org A wealth of MT-specific lesson plans and activities; very well written and correlated to state and national standards

USDA Agriculture in the Classroom http://www.agclassroom.org/ A national resource directory for educators

Nancy’s Garden http://mathscience.mt.gov/pages/nancysgarden.htm First Lady Nancy Schweitzer is dedicated to developing school gardens and local food programs. Site includes gardening and nutrition teachers’ guides and info on available classroom garden boxes.

National Farmer’s Union http://www.nfu.org/education/education-materials Lessons for K-12 and adults, focused on growing food, service learning and community stewardship www.kidsgardening.org A branch of the National Gardening Association with curriculum guides, seasonal projects, grant opportunities and collaboration ideas.

Texas A&M KinderGARDEN www.aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/kindergarden/kinder.htm An introduction to the many ways kids can interact with plants and the outdoors. Detailed school garden planning and curriculum information ideas, kids’ horticulture projects and more.

School Garden Wizard www.schoolgardenwizard.org How to write a proposal, plan, create, learn in and sustain your garden, with lots of helpful links including National Science Standard correlations.