Harvest of the Month

Hi everyone and welcome to the Harvest of the Month volunteer training. My name is Alyssa and I’m the Harvest of the Month coordinator. I want to start this training off by saying thank you so much for volunteering for Harvest of the Month.

We are thrilled to have your support and I know the kiddos in the classroom can’t wait for Harvest of the Month as well. We know many of you have participated in Harvest of the Month before and we really appreciate your continued support and commitment to this amazing program. And thank you for taking the time to review this training as well.

For those of you volunteering for your first time, welcome. We are so excited to have you join us. And if you haven’t already, please complete the Google volunteer form by scanning the QR code in the bottom right hand corner.

This is just to let us know your information so we have you all signed up for this school year. If the QR code is giving you any hassle, please feel free to email us your name, email, the school you’re volunteering at and the class you’re volunteering for. Just email that to us at communityhealth.tfhd.com and we’ll make sure you are signed up for the school year.

This presentation will take about 20 minutes and our goal is to ensure you understand your Harvest of the Month responsibilities before the first tasting in October. We will cover the background of Harvest of the Month as well as the purpose, an example of a Harvest of the Month tasting calendar, and then the Tahoe Forest responsibilities, so my responsibilities as a coordinator, as well as your responsibilities as a volunteer. And then at the end, if you have any questions, please feel free to email us at communityhealth.tfhd.com. So a little bit of background and purpose of Harvest of the Month.

So Harvest of the Month was initially created by several California school districts as part of a broader nutrition education effort. The California Department of Public Health then adopted Harvest of the Month and actually launched it statewide. This program has been around for many years as when I was in elementary school, I actually got to partake in a Harvest of the Month as well.

And it was an amazing program as being a picky eater, I really got to try many different produce and it really opened my eyes and was a great moment to really connect with my peers in the classroom, my family, the community, the garden and the cafeteria as well. And so this is an amazing program to be a part of and awesome that now I get to be the coordinator for it. So why Harvest of the Month? Healthy children, they just overall make better learners.

So one of the main reasons we run Harvest of the Month is to help students perform better in school. Studies show that eating nutrient rich foods like fruits and vegetables can actually lead to an increase in concentration, improvement in math, reading and writing skills, along with higher test scores and even a decrease in disruptive behaviors. Harvest of the Month provides lessons and activities for students to explore the produce, taste the produce and learn about that produce, as well as the overall importance of eating fruits and vegetables along with their peers.

Harvest of the Month is made to be fun and social and hands on and really just a great environment for students to try new foods. Here’s our tasting schedule from a prior year. There are seven tastings throughout the school year with no tasting in December.

And so each week of Harvest of the Month, you’ll pick up the provided produce in your designated pickup area on Monday and then do the tasting sometime between Tuesday and Friday of that week. Hence the dates on the tasting calendar. And if you would like to see our updated tasting calendar for the school year, please scan the QR code in the bottom right hand of your screen.

It is on our Harvest of the Month website as well. So our responsibilities as Harvest of the Month coordinators at Tahoe Forest. So we order the produce and organize it for each classroom.

Each classroom’s bag will have a label on it as well with their teacher’s name. So it’s really important that you make sure you’re picking up the right bag as each size and produce bag is made specifically for your class. After sorting the produce, we will deliver it to your school by 1 p.m. on Monday of the Harvest of the Month tasting week.

We will send you two or three email reminders. So the first email is the week before Harvest of the Month with information from the farm and the Harvest of the Month website links. And just a few reminders on allergens as well as what to do on the first day.

The second email will be sent to confirm that the produce has been delivered. So on that Monday of the Harvest of the Month tasting week, I will send an email saying, hey, your produce has been delivered. It’s ready for pickup.

Go grab it. And then if your bag is still at the school by Wednesday, we will then send a third reminder email saying, hey, please go pick up your produce. This is just to ensure that our produce doesn’t get wasted as well as it’s being stored properly as some of our produce can be really delicate at times.

And then if you haven’t received any emails, we may have the wrong contact information. So please email us again at communityhealth.tfhd.com. This is really important that you are checking your emails. Again, you should be receiving a lot of emails from me.

So if you’re not, then something is definitely up. And then we’re just here to support you as well. So if something goes wrong, for example, if your bag isn’t there, your bag gets mixed up.

Somebody accidentally takes your bag from another classroom. Sometimes this does happen and we are here to help you get the correct produce as well. And so overall, we’re just really here to support you in the end.

And then we also work with the school food services to promote the monthly produce in the cafeteria. So continuing with my responsibilities as a coordinator, each month we provide printed education flyers front and backside. That is the one that’s in the middle.

And then classroom stickers are the one on the right hand side. These will be available as well at your Harvest of the Month pickup location next to the produce bags. So please make sure you’re taking one of each.

The students really love the stickers and the educational flyer has great information on it as well. And then you can scan that QR code to find all of our education listed on there if you want to plan ahead. So what are your responsibilities as a Harvest helper? So step one, if there are multiple volunteers for a classroom, you will receive an email from me with all the classroom volunteers.

So if you do have multiple, please coordinate with them to decide who will handle the tastings for each month. And that totally depends on your schedule. Aim to finalize this by the first week of October as shortly after we start the first tasting.

Step two, check with your teacher about any food allergies in the classroom. I will cover this more in a later slide, but it’s really important that we’re keeping our kids safe. And then step three, coordinate a time with your teacher for the tasting and lesson.

You may be able to do the tasting the following week, but that really depends on the produce. Again, some of our produce is really delicate and needs to be used within that week. And then step four, just checking your emails frequently, as this is our primary means of communication.

And again, I will be emailing you every month, multiple times. So it’s Harvest of the Month week. So what to do on Monday? So by now, you’ve coordinated with your fellow volunteers.

You’ve confirmed the time with the teacher for the lesson. You’ve also checked for any food allergies or intolerances in the classroom. And you’ve received an email saying, hey, your produce is ready for pickup.

So the next step is to pick up your produce. The first pickup will be in October, usually the second Monday, typically after 1 p.m. And your produce will be in a black Tahoe Forest bag like the one on the right hand side of your screen. The pickup locations are different for each school.

So please make sure that you review your school’s location. These locations are also on the website. And if you do not see your school, you don’t know where to pick it up, please feel free to contact us at communityhealthatTFHD.com. As the years go on, sometimes we do expand.

So if your school’s not on here, please let us know and we will tell you where to pick it up. When you pick your produce up, please either bring your own bag to put all of the produce in and then return the black Tahoe Forest bag to a large tan canvas bag that will be sitting by all the produce. Or take the black Tahoe Forest bag home with you and bring it back by the following Monday and put it in the large tan canvas bag.

This is really important that your bag gets returned as each month. We use the same bag, and we would really like to not waste other bags. So reusing these black ones are really helpful.

And then please remember to take an educational sheet and pick up your stickers as well. It’s one sheet per class. And then lastly, make sure you’re marking off on our checklist that will be there, marking off that you picked up your classroom’s produce.

This is just to make sure that we are keeping track. And just in case if anyone’s bag gets taken, it’s a lot easier to hunt down this way. So when preparing a tasting, it is really important to be mindful of any food allergies that any of the students may have.

It will be up to you to communicate this as well with the classroom teacher about any known food allergies for any of the students. Always read the label of any ingredients to be sure they don’t contain the allergen. We really want to make sure our students are safe during this experience.

And then per FDA regulations, nutrition labels are not required to state if a product contains or is made in a factory with the top nine food allergens, which are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, soy, fish, shellfish, and wheat. And so just making sure that we are checking our labels as well. And then there is a little video on how to read a food label.

If you just want to be extra careful, you can go watch that on the FDA website. So now that we have gone over how to avoid food allergies, we are briefly going to discuss food preparation safety. So first off, we want to wash your hands with warm, soapy water for at least 20 seconds or the length it takes to sing happy birthday twice.

And then dry your hands with a clean, disposable paper towel throughout the preparation process. This is just to avoid transferring any bacteria on your hands to the food, which can reduce the risk of causing a foodborne bacterial illness. We want to make sure our kiddos are not getting sick.

And then wash your produce before you peel or cut it. Even though the produce is organic, it is still really important to wash it properly to remove any dirt, bacteria, or other unwanted substances that may linger. Step three, gently rub produce while holding it under plain running water.

There’s no need to use a soap or a produce wash. And then step four, use a clean vegetable brush to scrub firm produce such as melons or cucumbers. And then step five, make sure that we are drying the produce with a clean cloth or paper towel to further reduce bacteria that may be present.

And then step six, if there is damage or bruising on the fruit or vegetable, make sure that we cut away the damaged or bruised areas before preparing or eating the produce. And then when cutting or preparing your produce, you should use a cutting board that is designated for produce. So in total, you should have four cutting boards in your kitchen, one specifically for produce, red meats, poultry, and one for fish and shellfish.

This is really just to make sure that we are using the correct cutting board. When cooking your produce, make sure to cook and store it at the proper temperatures. And then tastings can really be as simple or complex as you wish.

So an example is of a harvest of the month that would be Asian pears. If you want to just slice it up and serve it raw for the kids, that is perfect. If you want to make an elaborate recipe, that’s also great.

It really depends up to you and the produce. Keep in mind that we want to keep the tastings though as healthy as possible and really highlight that produce. So please try to limit the added sugar or fats that we’re using.

So before heading to the classroom with your tasting, remember to review your education flyer. There are tidbits on the education flyer that you can use. It’s a good idea to highlight some key interesting facts about the produce.

We will also put some fun facts on there and then you can look up fun recipes as well. You can be really as creative as you want with the education, but be mindful of the age and learning levels though of the children in your classroom. For example, you can talk about how fruit and veggie grows, the history of the plants.

We had a parent one time use beets actually for painting in the classroom. That’s fun. And then just to really have fun with it.

The educational piece is really up to you and you can see kind of what the kids like throughout the school year. But on that flyer, it is front and back and it will have engaging questions, reasons to eat the produce, botanical facts, produce tips, history of the produce, fun facts about the produce, its connection to California, and then a few growing facts. And then just that hands on activity is also really fun just to talk about the color, taste, texture, smell, what it sounds like.

It’s really up to you. You can have as much fun with this and get creative as you’d like. So now it is Harvest of the Month tasting day.

So bring your tasting, your education, and stickers to the classroom. Have the teacher also determine the best sitting arrangement for the students during the tasting. And then make sure you coordinate with the teacher.

But ideally, the lesson should be around 20 to 30 minutes. And then remember to have fun. That is the main thing here is we want it to be fun for our harvest helpers and our students in the classroom as well.

The students really love seeing you in the classroom. And this program allows them to experience produce that they may have not tried before. So it’s about making this a fun experience overall.

It’s not supposed to be scary. It’s not supposed to be strict. Just have a fun and good time and you will all do great.

So that is it for the Harvest of the Month training. Please make sure to complete the five question survey. This really just confirms your completion.

You can do this by scanning the bottom right QR code. This is mandatory as well for all volunteers that do not attend our live training. So make sure you fill it out.

It is super quick. And then again, it makes sure if you are volunteering, you have signed up through our Google Volunteer Forum. That is the top QR code.

Feel free to scan that and make sure you are signed up. And again, if not, please email us your information. And if you have any questions or need anything throughout this school year for Harvest of the Month, or if you want to share any fun, creative ideas or feedback, please let us know.

You can email us at communityhealthattfhd.com. Lastly, thank you so much for volunteering. You will have a blast. The kiddos are so excited.

And yeah, have fun with it. Thank you. Bye.