Any public or private school in Yolo County that wants to sustain an edible garden is eligible to apply for a Yolo Farm to Fork Dig In Yolo Garden Grant, with an award up to $500 to start or sustain an edible learning garden. The garden grant application simple to complete and will be available beginning April 9 on Yolo Farm to Fork’s website: www.yolofarmtofork.org. Applications are due April 30 and successful applicants will be notified by the end of May for use in school gardens during the 2018-19 school year.  

Fall is a great time to plant edible gardens. Even better, students returning to school in August and September will have lots of yummy melons, tomatoes and peppers to harvest and eat. “We are committed to starting and sustaining edible school gardens that connect children and families to the values and benefits of farm-to-table food systems,” says Suzanne Falzone, President of the organization, “in the garden kids learn lifelong food-growing skills that connect with every area of their classroom curriculum, AND they love eating their harvests.”  

A second round of funding will support fall farm visits for 4th 5th and 6th graders in Yolo County schools. Through a grant from Raley’s, teachers in public or private schools can apply to Yolo Farm to Fork’s Go Visit a Farm! program to take their students on field trips to working farms in the Fall of 2018, plus a visit to a Raley’s “back room” to see how incoming farm products are handled so their nutrients are maximized.  

Regional organic farms are selected carefully to accommodate all learning styles and provide hands-on farm activities for visiting students. Applications for Go Visit a Farm! field trips will be available on the Yolo Farm to Fork website beginning May 1, with a May 31 deadline for applications. During the summer Yolo Farm to Fork will coordinate farms, dates, trips and transportation so teachers will know on their first day back from summer when their class field trips will occur.