Recent News
Tray Waste: Observing Habits, Implementing Solutions
What is tray waste? Tray waste, as the name implies, is the amount of food waste left behind on a student’s tray at lunch or breakfast at school. In an
Benefits of Farm to School: Part One – Farmers Win!
In a series of posts, we will highlight some of the many positive effects of farm to school programs, such as the NY Thursdays program facilitated by the Food and
The Food as Medicine Summit
Over 150 stakeholders from across NY and PA gathered in Binghamton on November 6th for the Rural Health Network’s Food as Medicine Summit! Throughout the day attendees learned about innovative
November News from Our Network
Cornell Cooperative Extension Steuben is hiring for SNAP-Ed Senior Nutritionist Regional Supervisor! You can find more information about this position by clicking here. VINES: Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments, in Binghamton,
Volunteer Generation Fund Training Offers Learning and Connection
Authored by: Tom Lewis One of my main roles as Community Food Coordinator is to provide capacity building and technical assistance to partner organizations throughout our service area. Much of
Meet Hannah Taggart, Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program VISTA!
Hannah’s role with the Food and Health Network will consist mostly of communications, resource development, and data collection for the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program. She will also be focusing
St. Anthony’s Pre-K Students Engage with Farm to School
Nicole Kaczmarczyk, a Farm to School AmeriCorps member, visited The Learning Center at St. Anthony’s in Endicott to facilitate a Farm to School activity. Pre-K students helped chop up apples
Taste Tests: Engagement, Experience, Feedback
School districts across the country get involved in the farm to school movement by engaging in taste tests! They are held in the classroom, or in the cafeteria during student
Our Farm to School Team is Growing!
Kevin Brouillard, Farm to School AmeriCorps Member, is soon completing his term. Check out Kevin's goodbye message: The past nine months serving as a Farm to School Corps member have
Food as Medicine Summit: November 6th
DoubleTree By Hilton Hotel Binghamton 225 Water Street, Binghamton, NY 13901 Registration Deadline: Friday, November 1st! The Food as Medicine Summit will bring together regional stakeholders around the critical connections
October is Farm to School Month! Check out our exciting updates!
Jessica Barbini, Farm to School Coordinator and Jamie Henry, Program Assistant VISTA, visited Newark Valley High School to taste test a brand new Farm to School recipe! Students tried elotes,
Vestal Farmers’ Market Partners to Offer FVRx Program!
The Food and Health Network team took a field trip to the Vestal Farmers' Market last week to speak with Lisa Bloodnick, the Vestal Market Manager. Lisa told us that
Cooperstown Utilizes Community Partnerships to Increase Food Access!
The Cooperstown Farmers’ Market and Cooperstown Lions Club are partnering to help local SNAP recipients increase their spending power at the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market. The Lions are donating $2,000 per year, for two years,
Sidney Keeps Growing Farm to School!
Kevin Brouillard, Farm to School AmeriCorps member at Sidney CSD, has stayed busy over the summer! He is helping to support gardens located throughout the Sidney campus. This year, Sidney
Rainbow Cabbage Salad Receives Great Feedback!
We recently completed our final taste test of the year at Tioga Elementary School! We tested a Rainbow Cabbage Salad and received a lot of great feedback from students and
Clayton Ave Students Try Black Bean Brownies!
Black bean brownies sounded a little scary at first to some Clayton Ave Elementary students, but after trying them, they found they loved this healthy twist on a classic dessert!
Stakeholders Gather in Binghamton for Farm to School Meeting
On Thursday, May 23rd, farm to school coordinators, school food staff, and support organizations, gathered at the CCE Broome Agriculture Development Center in Binghamton for the annual NYS Farm to
First Graders at Sidney Elementary Roll Up Their Sleeves for Mother’s Day!
First graders at Sidney Elementary rolled up their sleeves to make wildflower seed bombs in preparation for Mother's Day. Students packed their seed bombs full of native wildflower seeds and
Rural Health Network Partners With BU to Host Poverty Simulations
Rural Health Network collaborated with Binghamton University’s Interprofessional Education (IPE) program to host three poverty simulations last month in the Mandela Room at BU! Food Bank of the Southern Tier
Homer Brink Students Get Their Hands Dirty for the Spartan Garden!
Last week, our Farm to School Corps Member, Maggie, helped students at Homer Brink Elementary School get seeds started for the Spartan Garden! Over the next month they will be
New York Thursday was “Double the Fun” in April!
Written by Maggie Caroompas NY Thursday was double the fun this month! Our Farm to School team held a taste test at Tioughnioga Riverside Academy with the help of 3
Sidney Students Sample “Cowboy Caviar”
Written by Kevin Brouillard:On March 21st, Sidney students sampled "cowboy caviar" - a mix of corn, tomatoes, onion, kidney beans, and black beans. In order to keep up with demand,
Sidney Hosts a Bean Growing Competition!
Written by Kevin Brouillard Fifth grade students at Sidney Elementary School in Mr. Gray’s gardening class are two weeks into the Big Bold Bounteous Blooming Bean Contest. Each student was
Homer Brink: The Maple Project
Written by Maggie Caroompas Last week, Homer Brink Elementary School in the Maine-Endwell School District completed the first step of their Maple Project! Students braved the cold to learn how
Sidney Students Enjoy a “Snack Attack”
Written by Kevin Brouillard:On February 14th, Sidney Elementary School students prepared and sampled bruschetta as part of the school's monthly "Snack Attack" taste test. Fifth graders took the lead on
Join us for Growing Health Forum: Community Ownership of the Food System with DC Greens!
Date: Thursday, February 21st Time: 9:30 am - 1:30 pm Where: Cornell Cooperative Extension Broome County Agriculture Development Center Auditorium 840 Upper Front St., Binghamton, NY Do you volunteer in your local community? Are
Farm to School Taste Test
Wednesday, November 14th, 2018 Farm to School Taste Test at Roosevelt Elementary! Location: Roosevelt Elementary School, 9 Ogden Street, Binghamton, NY We will be celebrating Farm to School as we hold
It’s Your Farm Bill Too!
Friday, August 24th, 2018 Farm Bill Forum from 5:30pm – 7pm Fresh Fridays $3 Dinners available from 5pm – 7pm Location: Southside Community Center, 305 South Plain Street, Ithaca, NY
Northeast Farm to School Institute at the Shelburne Inn, VT
Written by Jessica Barbini: Shelburne Farms is a 1,400 acre area of pastures, woodlands, gardens, and historic buildings fixed along Lake Champlain that seeks to “inspire and cultivate learning for
Christian’s Goodbye Message
~ Reflecting back on the last twenty months I have spent here at FaHN and with the Rural Health Network, I ask myself: how can I begin to express my
VINES Farm Share in Whitney Point
VINES Farm Share, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program based in Binghamton, NY, initially began as the result of a 2012 study performed by the Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship
April Spotlight: Sidney Central School District Gardens
In honor of National Garden Month, our April Spotlight are the Sidney Central School District’s Elementary School Gardens. Tom Lewis, our Food Access and Development Coordinator spoke with Josh Gray,
National School Breakfast Week Story
School breakfast fights hunger, improves nutrition, and empowers children to learn. In New York, 747,881 children participate daily in the school breakfast program. Learn more about school breakfast by visiting
Spotlight: DCMO BOCES
In January we announced that FaHN would be expanding our farm to school efforts into Chenango, Delaware, and Otsego Counties. Sidney Central School District was awarded a round three New
January Spotlight: Reflections on the 2017 Community Food Systems Conference
Written by: Tom Lewis UC Davis’ Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program defines a sustainable community food system as “a collaborative network that integrates sustainable food production, processing, distribution, consumption
December Spotlight: Bohemian Moon
The Food & Health Network hosted our third annual Partner Recognition Event on November 6th at the Bohemian Moon in Norwich, NY. The annual event brings together diverse stakeholders from
FaHN Releases 2017 Year in Review!
The 2017 Food & Health Network Year in Review is officially available online! The report contains updates on our programs and projects from the last year. Read the full Year
NY Thursday Harvest Celebration at Tioga Central School District is a Success!
On September 21st, the Food & Health Network joined many partner organizations and community volunteers to celebrate the launch of the NY Thursday farm to school menu program with a
August Spotlight: Farm to School Team Travels to Shelburne, Vermont
The 2017-2018 Northeast Farm to School Institute kicked off with a retreat at the beautiful Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Vermont during the last week of June. The institute is a
July Member Spotlight: Broome-Tioga BOCES Food Service
Tom Lewis, FaHN VISTA, recently visited the Broome-Tioga BOCES Food Service office in Endicott, NY to speak with Ray Denniston, Special Projects Coordinator, and Julie Raway, MPH, RDN, CDN, SNS,
May Member Spotlight: CCE Tioga
Tom Lewis, FaHN VISTA sat down with Margaret Ball, Agriculture Development Specialist with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County (CCE Tioga) to learn more about her work and the different
National Garden Month Feature: Ithaca Children’s Garden
Written by Cristina Quinn: The Ithaca Children’s Garden has focused on positive youth development since 1998. As opposed to allotment-style gardens, ICG serves as an educational space and uses hands-on,
April Member Spotlight: Chenango United Way
Written by Elizabeth Monaco, Executive Director of Chenango United Way: In the summers of 2015 and 2016, the Greater Chenango Cares IRT project partnered with military service members to provide
March Member Spotlight: Cooperstown Farmers’ Market
Our March Member Spotlight is the Cooperstown Farmers’ Market located in Cooperstown, NY. The Market is a program of Otsego 2000, a non-profit, “founded in 1981 to protect the environmental,
FaHN Helps to Host MLK Day Poverty Simulation
The Food and Health Network of South Central NY collaborated with the Rural Health Service Corps and Food Bank of the Southern Tier Speakers Bureau to coordinate a successful poverty
Member Spotlight: Chenango County Health Department
Our Member Spotlight for the month of February is the Chenango County Department of Public Health. Tom Lewis, FaHN VISTA, sat down with Christina Arnold, a Health Educator with the
Students Say “Yes” to Kale
Throughout December, FaHN partnered with school districts across Broome and Tioga counties to hold taste tests featuring a fall kale salad made from local ingredients for students to sample during lunch
Farm Sponsor Spotlight: Shared Roots Farm
Our Farm Sponsor Spotlight is Shared Roots Farm in McGraw, NY. Tom Lewis, FaHN VISTA, spoke with Stephanie Roberts, a co-owner of the farm along with Bret Morris, to learn
Reflections from It Takes a Region Conference
FaHN VISTA, Tom Lewis attended the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group's (NESAWG) It Takes a Region conference in Hartford, CT on November 11th. Here are his reflections from that day:
FaHN Releases 2016 Year in Review
We released the FaHN 2016 Year in Review at our annual member & sponsor recognition party on Oct. 20th. The report includes updates on many of the projects we've worked on this year, including: The release of our annual