Winners announced in the N.C. Farm to School Calendar Contest
Thirteen elementary school students’ art pieces have been chosen for the North Carolina Farm to School 2016-2017 calendar. This marks the sixth year for the popular contest.
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 2015-2016 school year, the program generated nearly $1.3 million with participation by 87 school districts statewide.
“Every year this calendar contest gets bigger and better, with more entries and an outstanding selection of artwork to choose from. The judges have a very difficult job picking just 13 pieces from the nearly 5,000 entries we received,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “What makes me the proudest about this contest is that I know students are learning more about where their food comes from and that North Carolina agriculture is incredibly diverse. Their perspective on our crops, seafood industry, forestry products and support industries is impressive.”
The winners of the calendar contest and the month their artwork will represent are as follows:
Cover Art – Kyleigh Long, a kindergartner at Rand Road Elementary in Wake County;
August 2016 – Jasmine Loredo, a third-grader at Ramseur Elementary in Randolph County;
September 2016 – Kiara Marroquin, a fifth-grader at W.M. Irvin Elementary in Cabarrus County;
October 2016 – Elyse Mulvaney, a fourth-grader at Jessie Mae Monroe Elementary in Brunswick County;
November 2016 – Carmen Jones, a fifth-grader at Upchurch Elementary in Hoke County;
December 2016 – Anna Cates, a fifth-grader at Stony Point Elementary in Cumberland County;
January 2017 – Lawson Musick, a third-grader at Claxton Elementary in Guilford County;
February 2017 – Mia Aldana, a fourth-grader at Fox Road Elementary in Wake County;
March 2017 – Adelisse Torres, a first-grader at Knollwood Elementary in Rowan County;
April 2017 – Tanisha Agrawal, a kindergartner at Knollwood Elementary in Rowan County;
May 2017 – Marli Baucom, a fourth-grader at Clear Creek Elementary in Mecklenburg County;
June 2017 – Julianna Moore, a fourth-grader at Rand Road Elementary in Wake County;
July 2017 – Brandon Yaw, a third-grader at Chicod Elementary in Pitt County.
The contest was open to all public elementary students across the state. The winners received $50 gift cards sponsored by the N.C. Farm to School Cooperative, the group of farmers supplying produce to the program. The N.C. Grange sponsored the Farm to School calendar.
Winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Got to Be NC Festival in Raleigh. The winning artwork will be on display throughout the year in the Agriculture Building and at the N.C. State Fair in October.
Limited numbers of the calendars will be available through participating school systems before the start of the school year. Additional copies will be available at NCDA&CS on a first-come, first-served basis, and printer-friendly versions will be available online at www.ncfarmtoschool.com.
