School children in Arkansas are learning how to grow their own fruits and vegetables through the Farm to School and Early Childhood Education program offered by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.

Across the state, 350 gardens serve as outdoor classrooms at schools and early childhood development centers. Teachers said tending to the gardens helps students with their decision-making, problem-solving and communication skills.

Jessica Chapman, coordinator of the program, said at the same time, students are learning about food, nutrition and agriculture.

"This can involve inviting a local farmer to visit the classroom for a discussion," Chapman explained. "We can help them create a taste test for the students to try a local fruit or vegetable, or we can help them by giving them the resources that they need to integrate farm to school concepts into their subjects."

Some items grown in the school gardens are used in cafeterias, and pantries. Four-H programs across the state also sell some of the produce to raise money for their program.

The Farm to School concept was started in Arkansas in 2019 and has been instrumental in getting locally grown food items into schools and connecting local farmers with the school districts. Farmers and school nutritionists recently met to discuss plans for future collaborations.

Chapman pointed out building relationships not only supports the local farmers and the economy but ensures children have access to locally sourced, nutritious foods.

"They were four regional events and we had them, one in Fayetteville, one in Batesville, one in Hope and one in Central Arkansas," Chapman outlined. "That was to directly link those school nutrition staff with the local producers and the goal was to boost the number of Arkansas school districts that purchase directly from a farmer."

According to the agriculture department, currently more than 35 school districts or early childhood education facilities in Arkansas purchase their food locally and almost 30 farmers and local businesses sell to school districts.


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The latest Maryland School Breakfast Report finds tens of thousands fewer kids are being served post COVID.

The end of pandemic era waivers two years ago saw schools revert to tiered systems of free or reduced-price meals based on household income. In turn, despite a slightly larger student population, the 2022-23 school year saw the average number of breakfasts served in a day fall by nearly 39,000, and saw 65,000 fewer lunches served, compared with 2020-21.

LaMonika Jones, interim director of Maryland Hunger Solutions, said reducing the reach of school meals, especially breakfast, takes a toll in the classroom.

"It's challenging for a student at any age to sit in the classroom and focus on what the teacher is trying to share when they're hungry. I understand the argument that it takes away from instruction, but the distraction of being hungry also takes away from instructional time," Jones explained.

The report shows the total number of breakfasts served in the state overall fell by more than 6.5 million in 2022 versus the year prior.

The report identifies barriers to school breakfast participation, including cost, time and the stigma associated with being on a free meal program.

Schools with at least 40% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals can opt-in to the state-funded Maryland Meals for Achievement program, which offers free breakfast to all students. While traditional school breakfasts are served in the cafeteria before class, Jones says MMFA is an alternative breakfast model that offers greater flexibility.

"Our students are able to either have 'grab and go' style, which works really well for our older students, or for our little ones, we're able to have breakfast in the classroom. And having those alternative models in place, as well as the funding to cover the cost of these alternative models, ensures that we're meeting that need," she continued.

This past year saw 588 schools participate in MMFA, up from 485 in 2019.


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Ohio State University is spearheading a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded initiative to reduce food loss and waste in the United States.

Brian Roe, professor of food, agricultural and environmental sciences at Ohio State University, will oversee a pilot consumer campaign targeting household food-waste reduction. Roe plans to collaborate with Rutgers University to create educational messages and campaign materials. According to Roe, the campaign is part of the USDA's ongoing efforts to combat food waste, following significant investments, including $57 million from the American Rescue Plan Act.

"About one-third of all food is never consumed," Roe pointed out. "This project will try to identify a campaign to help consumers reduce the amount of food they're wasting so that they can experience the benefits of saving more money and helping out the environment and supporting food security."

Roe's research focuses on how human behavior contributes to food waste. He found confusion over food package dates causes unnecessary waste and implementing uniform national food-labeling standards could greatly reduce discarded food. Roe noted the effort aligns with both interagency and international initiatives to reduce food waste.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the renewal of an agreement to reduce food loss and waste, now including USAID in the effort. The collaboration emphasizes a unified commitment to educating Americans about the issue.

Additionally, the USDA has expanded the U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions, involving industry leaders dedicated to cutting food waste in half by 2030. Roe stressed consumer behavior plays a vital role, noting using leftovers can save both money and time while contributing to overall waste reduction.

"Consumers throughout the country and in Ohio, being able to creatively use their leftovers," Roe urged. "You spend a lot of money and time creating great meals that then oftentimes sit in the refrigerator and then end up in the garbage because you might not have been able to find a way to incorporate it into a future meal."

The U.S. sends nearly $80 billion pounds of food to municipal solid-waste landfills annually, making food the largest category of material in landfills. The waste emits methane, a potent greenhouse gas, contributing to environmental harm. Roe added addressing food waste, especially at the household level, is critical to reduce emissions and improve the efficiency of food systems.

Organizing to end hunger is one tool groups are using in Oregon to highlight and address the issue.

Workers said advocacy is especially important in rural parts of the state, where food insecurity is higher.

Eddie Melendrez, southeast Oregon community organizer for Oregon Food Bank, based in Ontario, said pantry sites have seen increased need as food assistance from the pandemic has expired. Melendrez stressed people can make their voices heard on the issue of hunger.

"It's very important so folks kind of see the power that they have that they maybe didn't know that they did have," Melendrez emphasized. "And how they can take collective action to make change in the communities, to ask questions, to show up and to hold our elected officials accountable."

According to data released by Feeding America in 2022, the average rate of food insecurity in Oregon was about 13%. The rates were even higher than the state average in eastern parts of the state. In Malheur County, where Ontario is located, the food insecurity rate was 16 %.

Melendrez said organizing takes many different forms, such as holding workshops or forums and he meets people wherever he needs to for his work. He helps take people to Salem to lobby for legislation, to city council meetings to give public comments, and shows them the power of writing letters to the editor.

Melendrez added he reaches out to people who feel powerless.

"Try to make those connections to the folks that maybe are excluded or maybe are not included," Melendrez explained.

More than 100 organizations, including Oregon Food Bank, are pushing for the state to pass "Food for All Oregonians" legislation, which would open up food access for people of different immigrant statuses.

Sienna Kaske, lead campaign strategist for Oregon Food Bank, said the organization needs to collaborate with other groups who work outside the food space to end hunger.

"Whether you're working on housing, you're working to address health care injustices, there's always something around food that we can connect back," Kaske pointed out.