Farm to School Program Does your school or district participate?

When you look at your local schools can you remember the last time you were in the local school cafeteria? Eaten in one lately? Do you know if and/or how your state is participating in the Farm to School program?


Recently, one of the local news stations (WRDW) featured a story on Healthier eating options for Richmond County School System students. What I find ironic is that according to the Georgia FFA page, "Georgia FFA is the 3rd largest state association with more than 31,000 members. There are 285 chapters and more than 400 agricultural education teachers in Georgia" but when I inquire as to the participation (or lack of) in the Farm to School program only 2 districts and 99 schools in the state of Georgia are participating? 

The GA Farm to School Profile page states, "Georgia is the 6th largest producer of vegetables in the U.S., yet our children rank as the 3rd most obese and overweight".  The CDC Obesity and Overweight site provides a map with obesity rates from 1985-2010 and tools where one can view the statistics for their county.

Today, when more organizations are collaborating for success in education, business, health, welfare or within local communities I wonder why the connection between the FFA and the Farm to School program isn't encouraged, particularly by those who want to gripe and groan about budget cuts rather than recommending possible solutions.

While Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution brought attention to American school lunch programs, he has been educating and helping people make healthy decisions longer than most people in the US are aware, as one can see on his global foundation sites: JamieOliver.com UK, Australia, Nederland, US . Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution site has one page with the latest news from people who are participating in a personal Food Revolution at home, to schools, to districts making a difference. His site also has tools for individuals, schools, teachers, and school districts.


This post allows me to ask those questions that have been previously asked but have gone unanswered or ignored. As another school year starts and budget issues continue in the normal operations...what are you doing to make a difference?


Does your school participate in the Farm to School program? Are students in your district participating in their version of a Food Revolution? How does your state, county, city rate in the CDC Overweight and Obesity trends?


OK...I'll jump off of the 20 questions soap box.
Comments, reaction box checks, or using a shared option are always appreciated.

Diigo SB site and an Action Researcher's Tool?

For those new to bookmarking and social networking you may ask, "What is Diigo?" For those who are experienced social bookmarkers and experiment with digg, Del.icio.us, StumbleUpon, and the many other bookmarking sites such as the 125 Social Bookmarking sites addressed here.  Diigo 5.0 provides some updates that you can use, regardless of your platform selection, and adaptable to a variety of audiences.
Read more about the Diigo 5.0 updates on their blog.

My favorite of the latest updates:

The new Android phone application called “Diigo Power Note” is being released as a part of Diigo 5.0, which enables Android phone users to collect, organize, sync and access a variety of information such as bookmarks, notes, and pictures. So you can jot down or speak your ideas and thoughts, and take pictures of things you like to be reminded to buy or research later, or business cards handed to you. With Diigo Power Note, you literally have a photographic memory.

Information on how to download and install Diigo Power Note is available here. You can use the QR code and a bar scanner to be directed to the app or visit the Market on your Android phone and search for Diigo. The latest update to Diigo's Power Note adds Speech to Text and SMS functionality.

So my new challenge is to use it to supplement the research for my dissertation whenever and wherever the opportunities arise. While this app may not be for everyone, I believe it should be a staple for individuals conducting any type of action research and particularly those pursuing degrees in fields of educational and instructional technology.


As with any changes to apps, systems, user interfaces, implementing the new tool will make it a habit. Whether you use Diigo as an educator, for personal and/or professional reasons you can see the opportunities to collaborate and gain the perspective the Blind Men and the Elephant on a research project, share the different perspectives, then have an archive for future reference.


Read more about Diigo on the About Us site. The evolution of Diigo:

Another Diigo favorite is Awesome Screenshot: Capture & Annotate by Diigo (3162) - 115,502 users - Weekly installs: 44,955 Capture the whole page or any portion, annotate it with rectangles, circles, arrows, lines and text, one-click upload to share.Check out all of the Chrome Extensions.


Do you have a favorite social bookmarking and screen capture and annotate tool? Whether you are a student in life, a formal classroom at any level, a community volunteer, the family data collector, what are your favorite social bookmarking and screen capture and annotate tools and sites?

Comments, recommendations, and shared knowledge are always welcome.