Thirteen elementary school students’ art pieces have been chosen for the North Carolina Farm to School 2017-2018 calendar. The art of Emmalyn Rathbone, a third-grader at Polk Central Elementary in Polk County, was chosen for the month of January 2018.

The Farm to School program began in 1997 as a collaborative effort of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Food Distribution and Marketing divisions. The two divisions work together to secure orders from child nutrition directors and then source and deliver locally grown fruits and vegetables for school lunch programs.

During the 2016-2017 school year, the program generated nearly $1.3 million with participation by 79 school districts statewide.

“The judges had an outstanding selection of artwork to choose from with more than 2,000 entries,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “It is interesting to see agriculture from their perspective, and I am proud they are learning more about where their food comes from, and that agriculture and agribusiness is North Carolina’s leading industry.”

The contest was open to all public elementary students across the state. Limited numbers of the calendars will be available through participating school systems before the start of the school year.

– article submitted by Andrea Ashby