Calendar of Events - March, 2010

Changing the Future of School Food: Day of Action

To advocate for fresh, healthy school food and to raise awareness of
the upcoming reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, Healthy
Schools Campaign is hosting a day of action for school food. Activities
include:

Changing the Future of School Food: Lunch & Briefing

This briefing for Congress will be moderated by Rochelle Davis, Founding
Executive Director of the Healthy Schools Campaign. Other speakers will
include:

• Christie Vilsack, National honorary co-chair of Cooking up Change and wife of Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
• Karen Duncan, National honorary co-chair of Cooking up Change and wife of Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
• Tilden High School culinary student from the Cooking up Change winning team

School Lunch at the Longworth

The winning school meal from the HSC Cooking up Change healthy cooking
contest will be served at the Longworth cafeteria in the House of
Representatives office building. The healthy, great-tasting lunch
includes chicken-vegetable jambalaya with jalapeno cornbread and
cucumber salad.

Online Advocacy: Invite Your Legislator to Lunch!

Take action online here.

Shape Up Illinois

Please join the Illinois Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and help generate support for daily, quality physical education and health education. Become part of our team and be an advocate for the day.

Decisions that are made by legislators affect our students. This is an opportunity to speak directly with the men and women that make those decisions. We need volunteers who are passionate about our work and our students.

Please contact Terri Andrews at terri_andrews@ipsd.org for more information.

USDA Farm to School: Opportunities to Increase Local Food in School Meals

3:00 - 4:00 p.m. EST

Description: Are you interested in Farm to School? Have you been involved in Farm to School activities already? The USDA Farm to School Team is holding its first Webinar to introduce the Farm to School Team. We welcome state agencies, school food service administrators, farmers and others interested in learing about the commitment USDA offers to Farm to School. USDA will discuss the Farm to School Team mission and goals for 2010, available resources, grant opportunities, and answer questions you may have about Farm to School.

Target Audience: State CN Program Directors and nutrition staff; FNS regional office staff; Farm to School Coordinators, and non-profit organizations involved in Farm to School programs.

Webinar Presenter: FNS Farm to School Team

Registration: To participate in this Webinar, please RSVP by close of business on Monday, March 8, by registering online at: http://vovici.com/wsb.dll/s/17fb9g42e15

Once your registration is received, we will send you information on how to access the Webinar.

If you have any questions, please contact Kelly Horton by e-mail at kelly.horton@fns.usda.gov or by phone at 703-305-2425.

Financing Farm to Fork Conference

Financing Farm to Fork

Thursday, March 11

The FamilyFarmed.org Financing Farm to Fork Conference supports the local food movement by encouraging investment in farm and food production, processing, and distribution businesses.  The event is being produced by FamilyFarmed.org and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business is a primary sponsor.

A primary objective of the Financing Farm to Fork Conference is to educate regional farmers and food processors about various financing strategies and then link them with individuals who represent a variety of financing options that may help them grow their businesses.  Business education and training will be essential to the success of the conference and breakout sessions will help inform food producers and financiers about the opportunities and needs in this sector.  The conference will conclude with a Meet the Money speed dating networking session where farmers and food producers can meet one-on-one with different types of investors and economic development specialists.

Attendees will include farmers and food producers, bankers, angel investors, venture capitalists, economic development professionals, grant managers, and agricultural specialists at the city, state, and federal levels; private foundation officers; community agriculture project representatives; traditional farm/food producer financiers, and loan officers; urban and community planners; and, the general public.

Learn more at http://www.familyfarmedexpo.com/financingfarmtofork.html

Sowing Seeds: Improving Food Quality with Farm-to-School Programs

Please join The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity and your colleagues in the field to discuss:

- childhood obesity research,

- best practices for addressing childhood obesity, and

- strategies for using policy and environmental change to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity.

The first round of webinars in 2010 is focused on Making Schools the Model for Healthier Environments. Each webinar will be held bi-monthly on Thursdays at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central, 11 a.m. Pacific), and will discuss initiatives currently underway to ensure that schools become the standard for healthy eating and active living.

From preschool through 12th grade, schools can make a significant contribution to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic by enacting policies that promote the availability and consumption of nutritious foods and beverages, and by teaching healthy habits that can last a lifetime.   

These webinars will feature researchers, advocates, and policymakers discussing solutions to problems that schools face in providing healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. These sessions will also provide resources to help make schools healthier.

Register online at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=8kxj7v71vntb

Chicago Food Policy Summit

The Chicago Food Policy Summit brings together community representatives, food businesses, farmers, city leaders, chefs, NGOs, and other food advocates to discuss and propose policies that will improve the quality of and access to fresh food in Chicago.  

Learn more and register at

http://www.familyfarmedexpo.com/foodpolicysummit.html

Healthy School Foods – Avenues for Innovation

The National Conference of State Legislatures, Health Program will host a free, limited space webcast on policy options for healthy school foods on March 12, 2010 from 12:00-1:30 p.m. ET.

For more information or to register, please visit: http://ecom.ncsl.org/public/registration/mtg_reg.htm?mtg=wc031210

Local Food Festival

Rick Bayless leads the lineup of all star celebrity chefs, speakers, authors, food artisans and, of course, family farmers at this event presented by FamilyFarmed.org.

Spend the day enjoying a wide selection of local food, gifts and great information to help you eat healthy year-round, while supporting local farms and businesses. 

Learn more at http://www.familyfarmedexpo.com/localfoodfestival.html

Farm to School: Setting the Table for Wellness Conference

Learn how to bring healthy, locally grown foods into cafeterias, learning gardens, classrooms, and wellness policies at this one-day regional conference. Setting the Table for Wellness will focus on ways schools and camps can merge farm-to-school ideas with wellness policies to build broad support, and make sure they continue even if an inspired food service director or teacher leaves a particular school.

Farm to School: Setting the Table for Wellness is a place for schools, camps, students, farms, parents and others interested in local economy and health to network, learn new tools to bring fresh local foods into cafeterias and curriculum, and weave local food and farms into wellness policies.

The daylong gathering provides plenty of time for learning from each other, and a special exhibit area for farmers who offer interesting educational opportunities and products perfect for cafeteria meals, snacks, and fundraisers.

Learn more and register at http://localdifference.org/farmtoschool/conference.asp

Fresh from the Farm Teacher Training

Learn about the Fresh from the Farm program and what it can mean for your classroom! Fresh from the Farm is an engaging curriculum that educates students about where their food comes from and why it is healthy for their bodies.  Educators will become certified to teach Fresh from the Farm after completing this four-part workshop series.

For registration information, please email courtney@sevengenerationsahead.org.

CLOCC Healthy Teacher Network Workshop

The Healthy Teacher Network is a group of teachers grades K-12 from Chicago that are learning how to promote healthy eating and physical activity in their classroom and school from professionals in the health and wellness field. The second Healthy Teacher Network Workshop includes a keynote presentation, interactive workshops, and a healthy dinner demonstration and tasting.

To learn more,  please
contact Sari Schy at (312) 573-7756 or sschy@childrensmemorial.org.

Finding Solutions: The Virtual Walk-Through

A school walk-through is an integral part of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
management. While some schools wait until the initial parts of the IAQ
Tools for Schools Program have been completed, others have had success jump-starting
their program by beginning with a walk-through. Join Symposium favorites
Richard Prill, Building Science and Indoor Air Quality Specialist,
Washington State University, and David Blake, Environmental Specialist/
Indoor Air/ Asbestos, Northwest Clear Air Agency as they share their
knowledge of how to conduct a facility walk-through to identify
solutions to common IAQ problems.

Register at https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/309526817

Setting the Standard: What Schools Are Doing about Competitive Foods

Please join The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity and your colleagues in the field to discuss:

- childhood obesity research,

- best practices for addressing childhood obesity, and

- strategies for using policy and environmental change to reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity.

The first round of webinars in 2010 is focused on Making Schools the Model for Healthier Environments. Each webinar will be held bi-monthly on Thursdays at 2 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Central, 11 a.m. Pacific), and will discuss initiatives currently underway to ensure that schools become the standard for healthy eating and active living.

From preschool through 12th grade, schools can make a significant contribution to reversing the childhood obesity epidemic by enacting policies that promote the availability and consumption of nutritious foods and beverages, and by teaching healthy habits that can last a lifetime.   

These webinars will feature researchers, advocates, and policymakers discussing solutions to problems that schools face in providing healthy food and opportunities for physical activity. These sessions will also provide resources to help make schools healthier.

Register online at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/schedule/display.do?udc=pvl6k9bud9zl

Green to Sustainable: Implementing Green Cleaning with Long-term Impact

What is the difference between a green cleaning program and a sustainable service offering? What many people tend to blur as one issue, actually is seen as separate levels of great importance to a growing percentage of facility owners and managers.

In this workshop, you will learn to develop and implement a complete green cleaning program for your building. Plus, identify ways to tie green strategies directly to third-party requirements, such as the ISSA CIMS-GB Standard, U.S. Green Building Council LEED-EB:OM rating system, and the Healthy Schools Campaign guidelines.  This program  will also explain other sustainable practices and how they can help you meet your sustainability goals.

The course arms facility professionals with information on the principles of green cleaning, positioning them to comply with the elements of the ISSA Cleaning Industry Management Standard - Green Building (CIMS-GB) criteria and achieve CIMS-GB certification. Topics include:

- Defining green, green cleaning, and sustainability  

- Conducting baseline audits

- Understanding the important roadmaps to green cleaning

- Implementation strategies

- What it means to move toward improved sustainability

- Why your client sustainability issues are important to YOU

- Potential energy savings, water conservation and other sustainable benefits

This workshop is offered on multiple dates in eight different US cities. Learn more and register online at http://www.issa.com/?m=events&event=view&id=292&lg