Conference
In-Person
Farm to School Conference - Day 2
Topic
Nutrition
Series: Farm to School Conference
November 5, 2025, 8:00 am - 4:00 pm EST
Session List and Overview
Day 2: November 5, 2025
Overview
- 7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m: Registration
- 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.: Breakfast and welcome session
- 9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.: Six sessions available to choose from
- 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.: Break
- 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.: Six sessions available to choose from
- 11:30a.m. – 11:45 a.m.: Break
- 11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Lunch
- 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Vendor show, Junior Cast Iron Cook-Off, and dessert & coffee (Ground Floor)
- 2:00 pm. – 2:10 p.m.: Break
- 2:10 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.: Six sessions to choose from
- 3:00 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.: Break
- 3:10 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.: Six sessions to choose from
- 4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.: Closing ceremony
Session 1: 9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
| Session Title | Session Description | Room Location |
|---|---|---|
| Working Together: Success in Farm to School | From local beef on the menu every month to corn shucking events that bring all hands-on deck, join this session to hear how Cabell County School District prioritizes farm to school initiatives through planning and partnerships. | Salon FGH |
| Farm to Agrication: A Student Farm Internship | Learn about the launch of the Farm to Agrication Internship at West Virginia University Parkersburg where groups of students gain hands-on farm experience in sessions throughout the summer and work collectively at different stages of crop production. When summer concludes and school begins, some of the crops that students managed at different stages during their internship even head to the local school’s cafeteria. | Salon ABC |
| Chef in Schools: Linking School Gardens, Cafeterias, and Chefs to Brighten Menus Utilizing Locally Grown Food | This session explores how Farm to School programs, chefs, and school gardens can work together to transform school meals into fresh, flavorful, and educational experiences. Participants will hear how chefs bring creativity to menus while connecting students with local foods grown right in their schoolyards. The discussion will highlight strategies to link hands-on garden learning with nutritious meals that celebrate community and culture. | Wharf AB |
| Agri-Academy Series 1/4: Economics: The Power of Smart Sourcing | Learn how to stretch your budget while strengthening your local food network. This session explores how small changes in forecasting and purchasing can reduce costs, cut waste, and create steady demand for local products. Participants will walk away with simple tools to improve menu planning and vendor coordination, helping schools and farms work together more efficiently. | Salon D |
| Exploring Dairy and Connecting Kids to Cows | Dairy farmer, Erin Brown, will talk about America's dairy industry and how she cares for the cows and land on their family's farm. Attendees will learn about milk's journey from farm to school, milk safety, and the role of technology on dairy farms. Erin will highlight the Adopt-a-cow program and explain how classrooms can virtually adopt a calf. Program participants will receive year-round updates on the calf, fun classroom activities, and more. | Waterfront |
| Grant Writing 101 | Whether you are a teacher seeking resources to increase your school garden capabilities to a farmer working to expand your market, learn the ins and outs of writing a successful grant to advance your initiatives. | Salon E |
Session 2: 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
| Session Title | Session Description | Room Location |
|---|---|---|
| Maintaining School Gardens | Join this session to talk about different types of school gardens on campuses and how to get the most out of them. From learning how to identify and deter pesky pests to understanding what crops work best for your garden space, this session will have you ready to implement a successful garden or level up your existing one. | Salon FGH |
| Photography on Your Phone – Marketing Local Food from the Farm and Schools | From growing food on the farm to farm to school efforts in schools, these efforts are occurring but are you getting the word out about it? Join this session to learn how to use your phone to capture high-quality photos of your products, events, and more. Discover tips, tricks, and apps to make your photography stand out. | Salon ABC |
| Eastwood Elementary: Highlighting Successful Farm to School Practices on School Campus | Seeking ideas of what you can do to implement farm to school initiative at your school? Looking to bolster or add on to existing endeavors? Eastwood Elementary, which may sound familiar if you attended the site visit on November 4, 2025, has farm to school activities incorporated throughout the inside and outside of the school. Join this session to learn from Stem Teacher, Karen Davis, on how she implements and maintains various farm to school initiatives at Eastwood Elementary. | Wharf AB |
| Agri-Academy Series 2/4: Marketing: Turning Kitchen Needs into Market Opportunities | Discover how to communicate what your kitchen really needs in a way that attracts local suppliers. In this session, participants will learn how to create clear, professional product specifications and visually engaging tools to help farmers understand exactly what to grow or process. It’s about transforming everyday purchasing into a shared business opportunity. Additionally, we will discuss strategies for marketing current school food services programs to the public through social media. | Salon D |
| Selling to Schools: Growing Best Practices | Join this session to learn from an experienced panel of farmers, aggregators, and child nutrition directors to gain understanding of local food procurement. From desired local products to delivery expectations, come ready to learn best practices when selling and purchasing local food. | Waterfront |
| Incorporating Local Food in School Meals to Improve Meal Quality | Learn ways to enhance school meals by utilizing local food. From as simple as incorporating local fruits and vegetables offered during meal service to integrating scratch cooking with local ingredients, utilizing local food creates nutritious and delicious meals. | Salon E |
Session 3: 2:10 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
| Session Title | Session Description | Room Location |
|---|---|---|
| Analyzing the Growth and Barriers to West Virginia Farm to School Programming | This session will present a statewide analysis of farm to school programming in West Virginia, building on a survey sent to 55 child nutrition directors in the fall of 2024, and supplemented by interviews and archival research conducted in 2025. The findings highlight the primary barriers faced by nutrition directors seeking to integrate local food products into their menus and provide helpful national and statewide context to the Farm to School program at large. In addition to identifying barriers, solutions to perceived problems and suggestions for program improvement will be provided along with opportunities for engagement in community meetings to improve local Farm to School procurement in the state. | Salon FGH |
| Food Safety Training Part 1/2 | Whether you’re on the farm growing for institutional sales or you are in the school garden growing for a classroom taste test, food safety plays an integral role in ensuring best practices in farm to school. Join part one of a two-part series to learn from experts of the West Virginia Food Safety Team to understand the general importance of food safety. | Salon ABC |
| MarketReady | This introductory training provides a big-picture overview for businesses interested in selling to institutions like schools. You'll learn key steps to get started, along with tips on marketing, labeling, delivery, and other important considerations for entering the institutional market. | Wharf AB |
| Agri-Academy Series 3/4: Business: Building Stronger Local Partnerships | This session focuses on how to bring strategy into everyday operations. Participants will explore practical business approaches that make local sourcing more reliable and less risky; from forecasting demand to coordinating supply. Learn how to bridge the gap between schools and producers to create lasting, sustainable partnerships that benefit both sides. | Salon D |
| Integrating School Gardens with Grade Level Content | What does garden based learning look like to you when you hear those three words? Whether you’re seeking to increase food exposure and agriculture literacy to incorporating various subjects to have hands on lessons in the school garden, garden-based learning plays an integral role in incorporating existing farm to school efforts into the classroom. | Waterfront |
| Dig in! Exploring Recipes Integrating Local Food | Come ready to get your hands dirty and explore recipes with local ingredients. Learn best practices and tips and tricks when using local food from an experienced and award-winning school cook. From scratch cooking to simple combinations, understand how to best incorporate local food into your menu. | Salon E |
Session 4: 3:10 p.m. - 3:50 p.m.
| Session Title | Session Description | Room Location |
|---|---|---|
| Beef to School | With local beef increasingly utilized in cafeterias throughout the state, join this experienced panel to hear from both beef producers selling to schools and Child Nutrition Directors purchasing local beef. Learn the different steps to navigate from the field to the cafeteria. | Salon FGH |
| Food Safety Training 2/2 | Join part two of the two-part Food Safety Training series where you will dig into hands-on training to reinforce the importance of food safety practices. Join the West Virginia Food Safety Team in this interactive session to strengthen your food safety mindset. | Salon ABC |
| From Cafeteria to Classroom: Utilizing Hydroponics | Join this session to hear about an exceptional program in Wood County Schools providing hydroponically grown lettuce, by students, to school cafeterias, to feed their peers. From writing a business plan and creating a logo to purchasing seeds and managing hydroponic equipment, learn how agricultural students, and staff, work together from seed to table to provide their school cafeterias with local food. | Wharf AB |
| Agri-Academy Series 4/4: Finance: Making Local Purchases Make Sense | Local food doesn’t have to mean higher costs. This session introduces simple financial tools to document the true value of local products; including reduced waste, fresher ingredients, and community impact. Participants will learn how to justify and sustain local purchasing within existing regulations and budgets while supporting West Virginia’s farmers and students. | Salon D |
| Edible Education: Empowering Students Through Nutrition and Farm to School Experiences | This interactive session will guide you through engaging, hands-on Farm to School activities that bring nutrition education to life. Learn how to connect the garden to the classroom — and the cafeteria — through fun, educational experiences that inspire students to “Grow It, Eat It, Love It!” | Waterfront |
| Connecting Students and Staff to Farm to School Through Events, Outreach, and Marketing | Learn how to operate successful taste tests in schools while utilizing locally sourced products through conducting nutrition education, leveraging marketing materials, harnessing partnerships, and celebrating Farm to School initiatives. Additionally, this session will help you gain ideas to successfully celebrate and market Farm to School activities and events. Come ready to be creative and share your thoughts as you dive into successful ways to celebrate Farm to School. | Salon E |