Farm Tokens For Education
Calling all Emmet County Farmers and Schools
Most of you have heard of Box Tops For Education.General Mills and other
manufactures of processed foods offer schools 10 cents for every box top their
students redeem.
This money goes to the schools to help fund programs.While it has proven profitable for some schools, it encourages students and their families to eat food which has been infused with additives, textures and colorings and which, in some cases, has come from hundreds (if not thousands) of miles away.
The Farm Tokens for Education program will encourage students and their families
to shop within their communities and eat locally grown and produced foods that are
more nutritious and have less negative impact on the environment.
The statistics on childhood health are troubling and the USDA believes America’s
children are facing a health crisis. In the last 20 years, the percentage of young
children who are overweight has more than doubled and among adolescents, it has
tripled. Childhood obesity is a national epidemic.
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKSFarming For Our Future is a non-profit 501(c) 3 (pending) organization is the
administrative program organizer. During the months of November & December 2008,
Farming For Our Future will solicit interest from schools and farms in Emmet County.
Farming For Our Future will print 20,000 wooden tokens with participating farm logos on the tokens. These tokens (.5 cents in value) will be distributed to participating farmers and vendors at no charge.
Farming For Our Future will design and finance marketing materials which will be placed at participating vendor checkout stands.These materials will have the names and logos of all participating farms and participating Emmet County schools.
Each time a family or student from a participating school visits a participating store, farm or farmers market stand, a token will be given to that family. No minimum purchase required.
Tokens will be collected by schools to be returned and tallied by Farming For Our Future.
Farming For Our Future will invoice participating farmers for the exact amount of tokens returned. Checks will be sent directly to the participating school.
Schools can spend these funds at their own discretion. (ie. Scholarships, school supplies, computer equipment etc.)
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS:
Will identify a school representative that will be the point of contact for the Farm Tokens Program.
The school point of contact will collect tokens from students and will return the tokens to Farming For Our Future by the collection deadline date.
The appointed point of contact at the school will return the tokens to a Farming For Our Future representative on May 29, 2009 & again October 30, 2009.
Schools are welcome and encouraged to have their own internal contests.
PARTICIPATING FARMS:
Each time a child or family purchases locally grown food or naturally produced local item you will dispense a token at the point of sale provided that they are a student/family of a participating school.
During the first week of November 2009, you will receive an invoice from Farming For Our Future, which will be a complete tally of all tokens distributed by you to participating school families.
This invoice will be payable directly to the schools participating in the Farm Tokens program.
WHO WINS IN THIS PROGRAM?
WE ALL DO!
Less dependency on large food manufactures and processed foods.
Promoting healthier choices for our children.
An awakening and awareness of local farmers and their products
A marketing tool for our local farmers
And a healthy, local and effective fundraiser for our cash strapped schools.
If you are a grower, vendor or school interested in participating in Farm Tokens For Education 2009, please contact:
Kourtney Swiss, Program Coordinator 231-347-3398 or Toril Fisher, Executive Director- 231-330-1614
New Farm Tokens for Education Program Launched
HOW EATING WELL AND EATING LOCALLY CAN HELP OUR SCHOOLS
The new nonprofit, Farming for our Future, is launching a creative program that will fundraise for area schools, while at the same time support healthy eating and our local economy. Beginning April 7, the brand new, locally-created Farm Tokens for Education program will be piloted in seven Petoskey and Harbor Springs schools.
Similar to the Boxtops for Education program which offers 10 cents for every box top returned to the school, here is how this program works: Each time a child or family from a participating school visits a participating business and purchases a locally raised or produced food item, the business will give you a wooden token. Those tokens are collected and turned into the schools, each of which has a local coordinator.
Throughout the school year, the tokens will be collected from the school and tallied by Farming for our Future. Farming for our Future will then invoice the farmers for the exact amount of tokens returned and the farmer or store will write a check to the participating school.
“This program was created to generate awareness of the food choices we make every day,” said Toril Fisher, Executive Director for Farming for our Future. “Most people understand how important it is to support our local businesses. We are taking that notion a couple steps further by focusing on businesses who sell healthy, locally grown and made products. In addition, we are encouraging an investment in the health of our children. The added benefit seen through the funds raised for the schools is just icing on the cake.”
The round, wooden tokens were made possible with a grant from a local family foundation and will be available beginning April 7 at the following businesses: Pond Hill Farms and Cornichons in Harbor Springs and Julienne Tomatoes, The Grain Train, Blackbird Gardens, and Bill’s Farm Market (open May 1) in the Petoskey region. One token will be given each time a local product is included in your total sales per visit.
Participating pilot schools include Blackbird Elementary, Shay Elementary, Harbor Springs Middle School, Petoskey Middle School, Central Elementary School, Concord Academy, and St. Francis Xavier School. The program will expand to additional schools in the near future and will continue during the summer. Tokens will be available from participating vendors who attend the Harbor Springs and Petoskey farm markets.
“We know it will take a little while for the token idea to get rolling, but there are endless opportunities for this program to expand,” Fisher said. Fisher also noted that she has shared the concept with other school systems who are already interested in modeling it for themselves. In fact, later this spring, Fisher will be a guest speaker at the Jane Goodall Institute in Chicago to share the program concept. A small family foundation and local donations have made Farm Tokens for Education possible this region.
Mike Everts, owner of the Petoskey-based Blackbird Gardens, had two primary reasons for becoming a supporting business for the Farm Tokens for Education program. “In many ways, the industrial food system has failed us,” Everts said. “The more people who can start to understand the many connections made when we eat locally produced foods, the better.” Everts also noted how he likes the healthy aspect of this program as a fundraiser. “Many times, the fundraising projects that a school undertakes feature foods that are not health giving and that are part of the problem. I like how this program will be an education tool that encourages our children to eat better,” Everts said.
For more information about the Farm Tokens for Education program, please contact Toril Fisher at 231.330.1614. For more information about Farming for our Future, please visit www.farmingforourfuture.org.
FARM TOKENS
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