The Storytelling & Metrics team works on both qualitative and quantitative communication about farm to school impacts locally and statewide, such as:
- Sharing farm to school success stories and highlights about student, school and community impacts, and sharing these stories widely.
- Data collection and measurement of farm to school activities across Washington State, and progress towards the network’s Strategic Priorities.
The team is currently working on developing a plan and tools for all Network members to use in their own communities, or through the Network, to communicate their stories about success and highlights of farm to school, and communicate the impacts of farm to school statewide.
See Stories from the Network and the Impacts of Farm to School in Washington page for more results of the team’s work.
Convener: WSDA Farm to School
Core members: Anti-Hunger & Nutrition Coalition, OSPI Child Nutrition, United General Health District 304, Whatcom Farm to School
Fill out a membership form to join the Storytelling & Metrics Team to get meeting announcements and details.
Resources
Below are a few resources to help you tell better stories about your school garden, locally sourced lunch, or agriculture education project!
Telling Your Garden Story – Wisconsin School Garden Network
Every garden is ripe with stories. Maybe it is one about the day the first shovel-full of soil was turned over and the garden was underway. Or about that time a brave rabbit dared to sample lettuce amidst a class of kindergartners partaking in a garden lesson. Each story has the potential to connect others with your garden and garden program. This brief offers tips for collecting and sharing the garden stories that make your garden program so special.
Farm to School Planning Toolkit – Vermont FEED
Communicating your vision and successes is a big part of farm to school program planning. Check out the Communications & Outreach Planning and Communications Strategy worksheets for some useful tools to help tell your farm to school story.
Marketing your School Nutrition Program – Institute for Child Nutrition
Tips for marketing your school’s nutrition program, and information on basic terms and concepts of current social media marketing strategies for school nutrition programs.
A Non-profit Story-telling Infographic – Classy.org
To reap the benefits of storytelling, you need to know how to construct a story and effectively communicate it to your audience. This infographic walks you through the steps of telling a powerful impact story.
Washington State Farm to School Network 