[Info-distribution] An invitation to a Meet the School Buyer event in Rockford

[Diane Program Manager]

Good afternoon!
I hope this email finds you well.
I'm Diane, the Senior Program Manager in charge of the Illinois Farm to
School Network <https://illinoisfarmtoschool.org/>.
I am writing today to share a *Meet the School Buyer event in Rockford, IL*.
This meet and greet event will allow institutional food service buyers to
meet and mingle with farmers, food hubs, and distributors of local foods.

Background information:
The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has Local Food in Schools
<https://www.isbe.net/Pages/School-Nutrition-Farm-to-School.aspx> (LFS)
funds available for all National School Lunch and Breakfast programs in
K-12's sites in Illinois. This funding is an allotment set aside for each
district to utilize toward the purchase of local foods in their feeding
programs.
If you are interested in selling local foods to schools this is an
opportunity to sell.

ISBE has publicly posted the names of each school district or feeding site
who has not utilized LFS funds for local foods with the amount of funding
available in this document here
<https://www.isbe.net/Documents/Not-LFS-funding-allotments.pdf>. If the
district or feeding site has already requested LFS allotments you can find
it here <https://www.isbe.net/Documents/LFS-funding-allotments.pdf>. LFS
allocation accounts will be refilled for districts who have spent their
allotment per request. These funds are available through January 2026 and a
total 6.1 million unspent dollars are still available.

The meet the buyer event information is listed below. Please share the
School Buyer training information with districts in your area.
If you have questions pertaining to LFS funds or farm to school please
reach out to me at: farmtoschool at sevengenerationsahead.org
Thank you for taking valuable time out of your busy day to learn about LFS
funds and farm to school market opportunities.



Farm to School Event in Rockford IL


Registration is open for our Farm to School training and Meet the Buyer
event in Rockford, IL.

All institutional buyers (K-12, ECE, child boarding facilities, child
feeding programs) and farmers, food hubs, and distributors are invited to
attend this free event.

March 11, 2025 NIU-Rockford Conference Center 8500 E. State St. Rockford,
IL 61108


Farmers, food hubs, distributors and food system folks join us for a Meet
the Buyer opportunity following our farm to school training.

4:00-5:30 pm

   - A Meet the Buyer event with Illinois K-12, early care, child feeding
   and boarding facilities. Introduce yourself, share pertinent information
   and learn about the buyers.

*Farmers, food hubs, distributors and food system folks register HERE
<https://qofh5neab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001N95-VGV-nouuXSG2FilUcM2C0p5HvreezxB-Rip4YD-xlRf_dWZDaONWHv-XeGf8xzlS3WzOYetpLKEvGiFw_kXOeSUl818b-BLLLf7GFrfD8QsU0wNQn0246mviiPwOOnopeqNTAgz-mImegdtArSRS7x2JRbKdI4JjEO-W_Zo=&c=H3qBjmR5dZUMxznAbxz60NHSVBRuqXKgMwSAoquY0ZUZoSQm6d0juA==&ch=TK4GdqC89NBpdlQWpUF0qhUm-62fg0uRDIsR9bjOsuSfV8ejqafwTg==>


Schools, early care, child boarding facilities, and other child feeding
sites join us and take a deep dive into IL Harvest of the Month and local
procurement using LFS funds.

1:00-5:30 pm

This event will provide participants with a deeper knowledge of IL Harvest
of the Month resources and provide insight to create connections to the
community and learn about LFS funds to buy local foods. The event is
divided into a three-hour in depth class followed by a one and a half-hour
meet and greet. You can register for one, or both activities. This is a
free event made possible by funding from the Illinois Farm Bureau.



   - Learn about Harvest of the Month and explore the creation of
   connections across your community- including those growing, creating new
   products, aggregating, and delivering local foods.
   - Learn to customize farm to school programming to suit your site and
   to the availability of existing local foods. Explore the creation of a
   Fifth Season plan to purchase and preserve the fall harvest from local
   growers, or from your commissary garden, for later use during the
   off-season.
   - Learn about local procurement and Local Food in Schools (LFS) funding,
   now extended through January of 2026.


*Institutional feeding sites register HERE
<https://qofh5neab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001N95-VGV-nouuXSG2FilUcM2C0p5HvreezxB-Rip4YD-xlRf_dWZDaONWHv-XeGf8GFRaHX7XXRw3weEFrxoVXTzbIXQqZLLPjuSbdozszEnnM0-YCLGjADmR-gBBazuWOgBrhtXzK5Pa5KtEECpVGchn_BPCMC9uhwNJYIJ3x2g=&c=H3qBjmR5dZUMxznAbxz60NHSVBRuqXKgMwSAoquY0ZUZoSQm6d0juA==&ch=TK4GdqC89NBpdlQWpUF0qhUm-62fg0uRDIsR9bjOsuSfV8ejqafwTg==>
.


Diane Chapeta
Program Manager, Seven Generations Ahead
Illinois Farm to School Network
Partner of the National Farm to School Network

[image: We're Farm to School Market Ready FB Banner (5).png]
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