Kristin Allin reminds us of tomorrow night’s dine out for Decatur Farm to School program…

The Dine Out raises funds for healthy foods in Decatur City Schools and 10% of all sales on Monday night will benefit this great cause.

We really need Decaturites to visit the participating restaurants on Monday night: Iberian Pig, Watershed, Brick Store Pub, Leon’s, Cakes & Ale, Steinbeck’s, U-Joint, Farmstead 303 and Farm Burger! This is a perfect night to dine out as a family early in the evening! Even if you don’t have kids (or if you want a night out sans kids) even grabbing a drink or some snacks at your favorite restaurant will help the cause. Come early, come late, come with kids or with friends!

Farm to School has already raised the bar on the food being served in our school cafeterias. The Dine Out hopes to raise funds, but also raise awareness of the progress made and encourage kids and parents to participate in the school lunch program.

Perhaps a bite to eat and then a stop by the Holiday Inn Conference Center to review the list of projects selected for the Strategic Plan?  IMO, it not dinner and a movie, it’s better!!  (Yes, I’m aware that I have problems.)

Eat out on Monday, January 31st and help support Decatur Farm to School!  Last year, the event raised over $3,000!

Lucia sends along the announcement…

DECATUR FARM TO SCHOOL DINE OUT COMING SOON!

The second annual Farm to School Dine Out is set for Monday, January 31st, 2011! Participating restaurants are Farm Burger, Iberian Pig, Watershed, Cakes & Ale, Brick Store Pub, Leon’s Full Service, Universal Joint, Steinbeck’s Ale House and Farmstead 303. This is a great night to take your family out together to support our schools and to enjoy Decatur’s restaurants!

The Farm to School Dine Out hopes to create more awareness of ongoing efforts, raise money and encourage parents and students to participate in the school lunch program. Each restaurant will have a unique “Farm to School” menu or menu options and will donate 10% of sales to Decatur Farm to School.

The 2010 Farm to School Dine Out was a huge success and raised over $3,000 to help put healthy foods in the City Schools of Decatur. The funds were used to purchase kitchen equipment for the employees to make some food items from scratch and helped to fund teacher training and school gardens.

Decatur Farm to School is a branch of the Oakhurst Community Garden Project.

In a recent newsletter, the Oakhurst Community Garden spelled out a specific example of how the organization is bringing local vegetables into Decatur’s schools.  Love it!

The end of the school year is often filled with celebrations of student learning, field games, and farewells to friends and teachers alike. At Oakhurst Elementary, the community came together to add one more ingredient – fresh greens.

The Beginning

In April, the Oakhurst Community Garden Project’s Youth Program Manager, Myriam Van Dorp showed these elementary student how to plant and grow Red Russian, Lacinato, and Siberian Kale as well as Swiss Chard in their 6 vegetable beds. As it turned out, the vegetables did so well that there was more than anyone expected! The students harvested 2 ½ beds of the greens a few days before the final bell.

The Harvest

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Erin sends along info for next week’s Decatur Farm to School Showcase at Renfroe…

You are cordially invited to the Decatur Farm to School Showcase on April 27, 2010 to enjoy local hors d’oeuvres and celebrate the successful completion of the first Farm to School Teacher workshop series. Participants will have the

opportunity to hear first-hand experiences from teachers and catch a glimpse into the day of a life of a Decatur student immersed in gardening, local food investigations and hands-on taste testings.

The Showcase will be held at Renfroe Middle School 220 West College Avenue Decatur, GA 30030-5299

The ribbon cutting for the “Yes to Yum” Garden will begin promptly at 5:15pm.

Please RSVP [Here] by April 17, 2010 or email: erin@georgiaorganics.org

…on different days!

Kristin Allin of Cakes & Ale sends along ways in which you can enjoy a couple evenings out in April and help support Decatur’s Farm-To-School program.  For those clamoring for a Decatur movie theater, attending the movie might be warranted if only to see how  DHS’ new auditorium serves as a movie theater.

To all who want to help promote healthy foods for Decatur’s schools: please, please make plans to come out to one or both of these events in April! Both events need our participation to succeed and help raise funds for the Decatur Farm to School Initiative. Want to see a Sundance “Official Selection” film? Come to DHS on Saturday, April 17th for a screening of Dirt! The Movie. Need a date night? Family night? Girls or guys night out? Tuesday, April 20th is a great day to do so and help this cause while you’re having fun! Lastly, be sure to thank these participating businesses for helping raise funds and awareness for healthy foods in our schools.

Details after the jump.

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