Annette Slonim
WSDA Regional Markets
Taste Washington Day is a day for school districts around the state to celebrate Farm to School and local agriculture. This year, on Wednesday, October 4th nutrition services staff, school gardeners, teachers, administrators, and volunteers all over Washington will serve school meals with local ingredients and do activities to help children learn about the farms that feed us. Cafeterias across the state celebrate how Farm to School looks in their district by featuring local and Washington-grown products, farmers sign up to supply ingredients or speak at a local school, school gardeners host classes or lunchtime in the garden, and teachers do food and agriculture-related lessons in the classroom.
October is National Farm to School Month! If October 4th doesn’t work for your school, you can choose any day in October to join in on the Taste Washington Day fun.
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| Chief Leschi Schools Taste Washington Day 2022 |
How to participate
School districts: Food and nutrition services directors and staff can sign up on behalf of their district. Celebrations look different in each district and school, but some options include:
- Serving special menus with local ingredients. The Washington School Nutrition Association has developed some sample lunch and breakfast menus that use Washington-grown ingredients in each item. Click here to see more menu and recipe ideas.
- Highlight the Washington-grown foods already on your menu.
- Buy a product from a local farm to feature on the menu.
- Spotlight a “Harvest of the Month” crop.
- Participate in the “Washington Apple Crunch” at noon.
- Share your activities on social media with the hashtags #TasteWADay and #WAfarmtoschool.
Farmers: Sign up to join the list of participating farms for Taste Washington Day. WSDA will share your contact information and product availability with participating schools.
School gardeners: Let us know what activities you have planned in the garden for Taste Washington Day! Share photos on social media using the hashtags #TasteWADay and #WAfarmtoschool.
Teachers and educators: Feature a lesson on Washington agriculture, food, or nutrition. Let us know what you have planned! Some farmers love to do classroom visits. If you are seeking farmers in your area, contact WSDA Farm to School.
Principals, superintendents, parents, administrators, and community members: Find out what’s going on for Taste Washington Day in your classrooms, cafeteria, or garden. Support it and let the community know all about it! You may also be able to help organize guest educators, farmer visits, or other activities.
Check out WSDA’s Taste Washington Day webpage for recipes, promotional sign templates, and other free resources to help you get started!
How Taste WA Day works
menus, ingredients, or other Farm to School activities they have planned for the day. Other activities may include farmer guest speakers, taste tests, FFA presentations, or visits to a school garden. WSDA tracks and helps coordinate and promote all of the efforts statewide. Schools have access to free promotional templates and materials from WSDA, and receive information on participating farms to purchase products.
Farmers sign up to be a part of Taste Washington Day to offer to sell their products to schools, participate in school activities and receive information on participating schools. WSDA Farm to School Program helps with local food procurement by matching farms with schools, finding farmers to participate in school events, and other logistics.
This celebration was cooked up by the Washington School Nutrition Association (WSNA) and WSDA with support from Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction Child Nutrition Services (OSPI) to promote locally grown food served in school meals. Taste Washington Day serves as Washington State’s kick-off for the month-long celebration of National Farm to School Month in October.
For more information on Taste Washington Day, or to get help linking to your local school districts or farms, please contact Annette Slonim, WSDA Farm to School Lead, at aslonim@agr.wa.gov or 206-714-2757.