Recent policy changes are raising the opportunity for many more Connecticut students to taste fresh, locally grown food in their school cafeterias. UConn Extension is well positioned to make the most of these changes. First, in 2021, the CT Grown for CT Kids Grants program was created by the state to help school districts and […]
local food
A Community of Farms in Northeastern Connecticut
The UConn Extension Sustainable Food Systems program launched a new brand in Northeastern Connecticut to help connect residents in the region with farms and farmers providing products directly to consumers. This new brand “Grown ConNECTed: A Community of Farms in Northeastern Connecticut” consists of a new website (grownconNECTed.org) with multiple resources for finding farms that […]
Local Food and Agriculture
Connecting Farmers and Consumers in the Northeast Corner Local food and agriculture took a spotlight in 2020 as residents avoided grocery stores and sought out contactless and close to home food options during the unfolding of COVID-19. Coincidentally, just months earlier, UConn Extension launched a new federally funded project to increase direct-to-consumer sales for farm […]
Mitchell Elementary School Receives UConn 4-H Tower Garden
A good side of the Coronavirus Pandemic, people want to eat and live locally. As we are becoming more and more aware of our neighboring farms, farmers, and small businesses a push to be local seems to have swept the nation. That is no different in Connecticut where Litchfield County UConn 4-H Extension Educator Bill […]
CT Grown for CT Kids Week
October is National Farm to School Month – a time to recognize and celebrate the connections within communities to fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and early care and education sites. With fewer than two percent of Americans living on farms, the U.S. population continues […]
Connecticut Seafood Survey Can Help Guide Industry
The final report from the Connecticut Seafood Survey: Assessing Seafood Consumption, Knowledge, Behaviors and Preferences of Connecticut Seafood is now published. This new report from Connecticut Sea Grant includes findings from a survey of Connecticut residents about their seafood related consumption, knowledge, behaviors and preferences. Read the report at: https://seagrant.uconn.edu/?p=6305
Looking for Open Farm Stands? Use this Map
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, CT Northeast Organic Farming Association has partnered with the CT Dept of Agriculture to expand the list of farms, farmers’ markets, and farm stands beyond the current CT NOFA membership – free of charge and online. It is a joint effort to promote the availability of all Connecticut farmers who can provide food […]
Maple Syrup Time in Connecticut
The sap is running and sugar houses are boiling. The maple syrup industry is alive and well when the weather cooperates, providing warm days and cold nights to signal the sugar maple trees to make sap. Maple syrup makers will have to collect 40 gallons of sap to boil down to make one gallon of […]
Rooting for Root Vegetables
We’re rooting for winter with root recipes from our Put Local On Your Tray program. Visit https://putlocalonyourtray.uconn.edu/root-recipes/ to find some warm, filling and nutritious ideas for how to cook carrots, parsnips, beets, radish, or another root vegetable.
Why We Need Local Food in our Schools
Who wants local food in schools, and why? We’re partnering with 81 school districts in Connecticut through our Put Local On Your Tray program, and helping them to source local food from Connecticut farms. This short video explains the importance of local food in our schools: https://youtu.be/v9QrMjryulY #UConnImpact