ATLANTA — Georgia’s Departments of Agriculture, Public Health, Education and Georgia Organics came together under the prestigious Gold Dome for the annual Golden Radish Awards to celebrate incredible gains made in the farm to school movement. 53 school districts — nearly one-third of all public school districts in Georgia with a  reach of over 1 million students — are now participating in farm to school programs and recognized through the Golden Radish Awards.
Sumter County Schools was recognized with the Golden Radish Award at the Gold level for their accomplishments during the 2015-2016 school year, which include:
• Students participated in 25 farm to school standards based lessons, including using math skills to measure garden spaces and mark off rows, learning about how weather affects plants, and exploring different types of soil.
• Middle school students interviewed farmers to create the “Ag Hall of Fame” in their school to honor local farmers.
• Students taste tested local products 25 times, including a celebrity visit from the Georgia Watermelon Queen at Furlow Charter School to assist with a watermelon smoothie taste test.
The Golden Radish Award publicly recognizes school districts for all aspects of farm to school, from local food procurement to hosting taste tests to gardening with students, and is awarded at Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Honorary Levels. Districts were evaluated on their work in 10 different activities of farm to school.
“It is incredible to see the growth of farm to school programs in the last few years,” stated Alice Rolls, Georgia Organics executive director. “Every day, children across our state are getting the opportunity to grow and taste Georgia food in school. I’m excited to see Georgia’s schools invest in Georgia farmers and in our children at the same time.”
Districts of all sizes are utilizing farm to school programs to teach academic standards in school gardens, support the local economy through local food purchases for school meals, and fight childhood obesity and other preventable food-related diseases.
“Our ultimate goal here at the department is for communities to take ownership of their school cafeterias, similarly to how we all push for excellence in the classroom, the arts, and athletics,” said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary W. Black. “We are proud to have so many Georgia Grown Feed My School participants recognized here today and are excited as to what current and future Golden Radish Award winners will accomplish as we work toward our 2020 Vision for School Nutrition in Georgia.”
State Superintendent Richard Woods agreed with Commissioner Black, emphasizing the benefits of connecting education to Georgia’s largest industry.
“Having access to fresh, farm to school meals is great for Georgia’s students,” said Woods. “Farm to school programs also connect students with agriculture, which is an enormously important industry for our state. We appreciate the Golden Radish Award because it recognizes those school districts that are striving every day to provide more farm to school meals.”
To top it off, Brenda Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, noted the combined educational and long-term health benefits of farm to school.
“Farm to school teaches our children the importance of food that helps bodies grow healthy and strong and food that promotes learning,” said Fitzgerald. “When children learn as early as possible where their food comes from, they are more likely to eat fresh, nutritious foods that will sustain healthy choices that spread to families and communities.”
During the 2015-2016 school year, school districts collectively:
• Served 39 million school meals that included local food
• Held 8,246 taste tests of fresh, local food to students
• Taught 3,406 garden, food and nutrition lessons to students
• Tended 575 edible school gardens
• Hosted 1,935 hands-on cooking activities with students
• Incorporated farm to school into 390 staff professional development opportunities
• Championed and sustained district-wide policies or procedures into 29 schools districts
Needless to say, the 2015-16 school year was a banner year for farm to school in Georgia, and all participants were thrilled to celebrate at the Golden Radish Awards.