The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's Office of Nutrition released a farm-to-school bulletin dated Sept. 28–Oct. 2. It says USDA's Food and Nutrition Administration issued a direct final rule on Sept. 9 titled Simplified Geographic Preference Procurement in Child Nutrition Programs (91 FR 57245). The rule takes effect Nov. 9, 2026, and clarifies existing geographic preference requirements rather than changing policy, according to the bulletin. It is tied to USDA's Harvest to Hallways initiative.
October is National Farm to School Month, and the bulletin promotes free stickers, PreK-5 and grades 6-12 classroom materials developed with INFOhio, and a free School Garden Starter Set with six seed varieties and seed-collection supplies. The Great Apple Crunch is scheduled for Oct. 8 or anytime in October; the bulletin reports more than 96,000 Ohio students took part in 2025-2026. A Produce Safety for School Gardens toolkit, developed under a 2024 Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant, includes lesson plans, evaluations, a picture book, videos, standard operating procedures, and a food-safety plan template.
Chef Jim Warner offers customized trainings featuring Ohio-grown products; requests should come at least four weeks ahead, and at least two food-service representatives must attend. Ohio Proud on the Menu recognizes child nutrition programs using items at least half grown, raised, or processed in Ohio.
Upcoming dates include the National Farm to School Network Partner Meeting Oct. 13–15 in Sacramento, the Action for Healthy Kids convening Nov. 4–6 in Memphis, and a Dec. 1 Herb Society of America grant deadline. The Get Schools Cooking Grant closes Sept. 30, while early-bird registration for the Memphis event ended Sept. 14.