Helping students access ag at school

May 26, 2021

Nebraska lawmakers passed the Nebraska Farm-to-School Program Act

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Elementary and secondary school students in Nebraska will have access to local food thanks to a newly passed bill in the state legislature.

Lawmakers voted 48-0 in support of the Nebraska Farm-to-School Program Act on May 20.

The legislation only needs Gov. Pete Ricketts’s signature to become law.

Sen. Tom Brandt introduced the bill in January to address Nebraska’s use of imported food in school programs.

“Here in one of the agricultural powerhouses of the world, we’re hemorrhaging both our tax dollars and our food dollars from our communities and school districts by purchasing out-of-state food to feed our kids,” he told the Lincoln Journal Star in January.

Brandt’s bill calls for the Department of Education to create a statewide farm-to-school program and hire a coordinator to administer it. The Department of Agriculture is tasked with providing necessary support.

The State would allocate about $100,000 annually to operate the program.

The farm-to-school program would go beyond simply ensuring kids are eating local food.

It would also include components to educate students about where the food came from.

“The program may include activities that provide students with hands-on learning opportunities, but not limited to, farm visits, cooking demonstrations, and school gardening and composting programs and that integrate nutrition and agricultural education into the school curricula,” Sen. Brandt’s bill states.

The U.S. celebrates farm-to-school initiatives each year.

In 2010, Congress designated October as National Farm to School Month to recognize the connections kids are making with their community food systems.

Farms.com has contacted members of Nebraska’s ag community for comment on the statewide farm-to-school program.

Video: A Farm Song (Busy) | Parody of A Bar Song (Tipsy) by Shaboozey

Lyrics:

My days begin with workin’, Alarm’s at 5 o’clock,
I Fill 5 gallon buckets, The feeders and the troughs,
This five to nine ain’t workin’, why the heck do I work so hard?,
I can’t worry ‘bout health problems, I can sleep in when I’m gone,

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

I’ve been working pretty stressed but,
I ain’t changing for some cash,
Lord knows that I’m very blessed (More chores),
But I gotta say it’s hard,
Workin’ outside gettin’ charred,
Living out here on the farm, (more chores)

One, here comes the two to the three to the four,
Tell em’ ‘buy another cow, we need plenty more’,
Blue jeans are gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history
There’s another 20 chickens that still need feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Everybody on the farm getting’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,

Fun, here on ranch that’s what you can’t ignore,
Might be pretty hard but I love it to its core,
Flannel’s gettin’ dirty, what else could I ask for,
Oh my, more chores (Tell ‘em sing with me)

Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
There’s another flock of sheep that still needs feed,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Someone pour me up another shot of sweet tea,
They know me and working hard’s got a history,
Watching cattle in the dark, don’t miss me,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
(Yeeeeeehaw)
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
Everybody on the farm gettin’ busy,
It’s the best bro, go get yourself a farm