Extension Service Site Publications

• (2024) The history of school gardens: A conversation with author Rose Hayden-Smith Most people haven't heard of the term "Farm to School."  Once the concept is explained to them, usually the next thing to learn is…what is a school garden? Typically, folks assume that school gardens are a relatively new thing. Join us as we talk with Rose Hayden-Smith about the very long and interesting history of school gardens in the USA and across the world.
• (2024) Food Lab: A small school where the kids scratch-cook their own meals Often times we highlight very large school districts with meal programs offering food made from scratch whenever possible. Because those places are large districts with many resources, there might be more opportunities to get local, fresh food into the cafeteria. But what about a very small, rural school? How can they do the same thing with limited resources? Join us as we interview Emilia Miguel of Food Lab, from Pacific Elementary in Davenport, California.
• (2024) So you have a school garden...now what to do with that food? The Master Food Preserver episode! Many school gardens are able to produce an abundance of food. Usually they are able to bring the produce right in to the cafeteria.. But what if you have an overabundance of something? How can you save it? Can you can it SAFELY? What are the rules and regulations? Join us as we have a discussion with a Master Food Preserver Jared Hibbard-Swanson from Oregon State University Extension, as we discuss what to do and where to get help preserving garden produce. 
• (2024) It’s not "school lunch" it's “lunch at school!” Chef. Innovator. Leader...Cranky parent? There are many words to describe Bertrand Weber. Join us as he shares his journey from an "angry parent" who was concerned about his kid's school meal to stepping up and doing something about it. He has transformed the meal experience at Minneapolis Public Schools, and is inspiring the country to rethink how we serve food to students. 
• (2024) Small Bites Adventure Club Today our special guests are Chef Asata Reid and Erin Croom of "Small Bites Adventure Club" from Atlanta, GA. Listen in as they share their journey and passion of developing a truly one-of-a-kind, innovative program educating children about nutrition and where their food comes from.
• (2024) Critters in the school garden So you have a school garden. You grow beautiful fruits and veggies. Great! Now what? Once you've mastered your "green thumb" and want to try the one of the next steps in school gardens, many programs are having success with raising chickens (and other "critters") in the school garden. We talk with Sam Ullery from Washington DC's Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
• (2024) Leader in Farm to School: Spotlight on Miguel Villarreal, National Farm to School Network Miguel Villarreal is the Interim Director of the National Farm to School Network. From humble beginnings in a farm worker's family, his journey led him to athletics, a software salesman, and finally as a Nutrition Services Director for a large school district in California. A moment where he was forced to administer a soft drink contract to potentially thousands of students forced him to rethink what school foodservice could be all about. Join us as we chat with Miguel on his journey to change the nutrition of students across the country.
• (2024) The Cafeteria and School Garden in Harmony We're visiting with Helena Kilstrom and Lindsey Flores of the West Linn-Wilsonville School District in West Linn, Oregon in this month's podcast, getting the scoop on the connections between school gardens and school cafeterias. 
• (2024) Junior Master Gardeners: Texas A&M's Randy Seagraves Join us as we interview Texas A&M University's Randy Seagraves. Randy is the Program Specialist and Curriculum Director of the International Junior Master Gardener Program. Find out how America's youth are inspired and transformed by this wonderful program.
• (2024) Changing the World by Being the Change at Home Part 2 Kim MacQuarrie and Ciara Byrne, co-founders of Green Our Planet in Las Vegas, NV
• (2024) Changing the World by Being the Change at Home Part 1 Kim MacQuarrie and Ciara Byrne, co-founders of Green Our Planet in Las Vegas, NV
• (2024) The world's largest student farmer's market Join Rick as he travels "on assignment" to Summerlin, Nevada to interview two groups of elementary students who participated in the "World's Largest Student Farmer's Market," sponsored by Green Our Planet. 
• (2024) What's the Buzz in School Gardens? Part 2 Join us for part two of our discussion about bees and pollinators in the school garden with Oregon State University Associate Professor Andony Melanthopoulos.
• (2024) What's the buzz in school gardens? Part 1 Join us as for a fascinating interview with one of the world’s foremost authorities on bees and pollination - Andony Melanthopoulos with Oregon State University. We're talking about how bees fit into the world of school gardens! This is part one of a two-part series.
• (2024) Does local food make school lunches healthier? A discussion with USDA FNS Administrator Cindy Long Join us in a conversation with USDA FNS Administrator Cindy Long as we talk about the public's role in shaping school meals.
• (2024) Bringing Health & Wellness into School Gardens
• (2024) Growing School Gardens Summit Part 4: Listen to stories from Matt Sablan from Guam Department of Education; Leona Vrbanac from Newark High School in Newark, Ohio; Andrew Tuttle with EDGEPERMA in Arlington, WA Join Rick "on assignment" as he travels to the Growing School Gardens Summit, in San Diego California. Rick interviews a dozen people with amazing stories. This is part four of a four-part series.
• (2024) Growing School Gardens Summit: Part 3: Three guests share how they connect with children garden education: Regi Jones with LifeLab in Santa Cruz, CA; Danielle Russell with Openlands in Chicago, Ill; and Erin Croom with Small Bites Adventure Club in Atlant Join Rick "on assignment" as he travels to the Growing School Gardens Summit, in San Diego California. Rick interviews a dozen people with amazing stories. This is part three of a four-part series.
• (2024) Growing School Gardens Summit: Part 2: More fabulous guests!: Kaitlyn Scheuermann with Waukee Community School District in Waukee, IA; Slema Sims with Gardeneers in Chicago, Ill; and Pam Hosimer with University of Maryland Extension Join Rick "on assignment" as he travels to the Growing School Gardens Summit, in San Diego California. Rick interviews a dozen people with amazing stories. This is part TWO of a four-part series.
• (2024) Growing School Gardens Summit Part 1: Join us for the first in a four-part series Join Rick "on assignment" as he travels to the Growing School Gardens Summit, in San Diego California. Rick interviews a dozen people with amazing stories. This is part one of a four-part series.
• (2024) Not all Schools Have Walls: A visit With North Country School, Lake Placid NY Join Michelle and Rick as they interview Todd Ormiston, the Executive Director for North Country School in Lake Placid NY. Todd shares the strategies, challenges and philosophies for farm-based education at their school.
  
• (2024) Bringing Learning to Life In the School Garden: Special Guest John Fisher Join us as we interview John Fisher, from Life Lab in Santa Cruz County, California. John has dedicated his life to bringing school gardens to the forefront in the USA, and has been a main architect in the school garden movement.
• (2023) Everything happens for a reason: Michelle interviews her co-host Rick Sherman From his humble beginnings as a Dockboy and competitive distance runner, to earning an ED degree and finding his dream job as a State Agency Farm to School Analyst, listen as Michelle interviews her co-host, Rick Sherman.
• (2023) Teeny School? No Kitchen? No problem! Find out how Lua Siegel transformed a very rural charter school into an edible landscape. Join Rick and Michelle as they interview Lua Siegel, a School Garden Coordinator with very unique challenges.
• (2023) Creating a State Farm to School Movement: Michelle Markesteyn Join us as Rick interviews his co-host, Michelle Markesteyn on how she got her start introducing Farm to School to Oregon. Not only did she do that, but she's reinvented herself many times over in order to create new positions that she's served in over the years in order to better serve the Farm to School community.
• (2023) Starting a National Farm to School Movement: Anupama Joshi Join us as we interview Anupama Joshi, the founder of the National Farm to School Network as she details how this movement started.
• (2023) School Garden Sustainability: Kelly Douglas Join us as we interview a School Garden Coordinator who transformed a high school in an underserved community by raising $30,000 to not only establish a garden, but create a garden club that had 75% of the student body participate in it! Kelly will share details of how she won a prestigious award for this work, as well as lessons learned when it all went away!
• (2023) What is Farm to School? In this episode, Rick and Michelle explore what the term "Farm to School" means.
• (2023) Farm to School in Remote Areas; Rikkilyn Starliper Learn about farm to school in a remote "frontieresque" community, a possessed greenhouse, and more with Nutrition Services Director Rikkilyn Starliper of Umatilla School District in Eastern Oregon.
• (2023) Rootopia Rootopia is about cultivating connections and the transformative magic of growing and cooking together. Rootopia works to make it easy to raise healthy, engaged and civic-minded kids and help our farmers prosper.
• (2023) EEAC Keynote: OSU Farm to School Cross-Programmatic Efforts Join Dr. Michelle Markesteyn, OSU Extension Farm to School Coordinator, as she discusses how OSU, the state of Oregon, and other public and private investments have come together to create a farm to school program that is making real improvements in academic achievement, public health, social capital, economic development, and environmental quality. Hear examples of how Extension faculty members have applied for grants to collaborate with local communities and learn how you can be part of this powerful program.