The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's Office of Nutrition used its Oct. 26–30 farm to school bulletin to preview federal census work, a student recipe competition and several training and funding deadlines.
The USDA Food and Nutrition Administration plans to run the 2027 Farm to School Census between May 3 and June 30, 2027, asking school food authorities in the National School Lunch Program to describe 2026-2027 activities. Findings will appear in a public report. A promotion toolkit was released Oct. 20, and the agency has prepared a data-tracking workbook and a worksheet for identifying farm to school partners. Ohio authorities — public, charter, private and residential child care institutions — will be asked to confirm contact details.
The Student Chef Showcase request for applications seeks student-led teams in grades six through 12 to develop original recipes using Ohio ingredients. The five highest-scoring teams reach a live cooking competition, and each receives a lesson with culinary instructor Jim Warner plus a reimbursement stipend of as much as $500 for recipe work and travel. Informational webinars are scheduled Nov. 4, Dec. 10 and Jan. 12; the application period closes Feb. 26.
Sponsors may also request staff training from Warner on commercial kitchen equipment, produce knife skills, building recipes with local ingredients, or cooking from school gardens. Hosts must book at least four weeks ahead, provide demonstration food and send two food service representatives.
Other items: an Oct. 29 webinar from the Institute of Child Nutrition on sustaining farm to school programs; a free garden starter set with six seed varieties; and October's National Farm to School Month, whose theme this year centers on local food in every school. The department said more than 96,000 Ohio students took part in the Apple Crunch in 2025-2026. Grant deadlines include Nov. 18 for the Career Pathways Exploration Grant, Dec. 1 for the Herb Society of America's Samull Grant and Feb. 5 for the GroMoreGood Grassroots Grant.