Julia Govis, the Illinois Lead for the national Farm to School program, will provide an introduction to the Farm to School Program and present some exciting possibilities for new collaborations to enhance local and regional food systems.

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. in W-109 Turner Hall with discussion to follow

For those interested in continuing the dialog, a “lunch and conversation” is scheduled for noon to 1:00 p.m. in the Morgan Room of the ACES Library.  To reserve a seat for lunch, be sure to contact Sandy Fretty (sfretty@illinois.edu) by no later than Friday, May 20.  (Capacity for the Morgan Room is 30, so be sure to reply promptly if you want to join in on this conversation.)  If you would like to schedule time for individual or small group discussions with Julia, she will be available from 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. on the 25th.

For more information about Farm to School, the home page for the organization is at http://www.farmtoschool.org/.  Farm to School connects schools (K-12) 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.    The Illinois Farm to School program is in the early stages of development, but it offers numerous opportunities to link research and extension efforts in food production, food safety, distribution, nutrition, and health to a huge group of Illinois consumers — school children.