October 30, 2019
Contact:
Kat Maramba, [email protected], 202-280-2398
Sherry Johnson, [email protected], 720-583-9180
FoodCorps Partners With CoBank To Grow a Healthier Rural America
Partnership will amplify nutritional education and healthy food access in key states
New York, October 30, 2019 – Today FoodCorps announced the launch of a new partnership with CoBank, a mission-based cooperative lender and one of the largest private providers of credit to the rural economy. The partnership will support nutrition education and healthy school meals in five states and provide opportunities to strengthen farm-to-school connections during the 2019-2020 school year.
FoodCorps serves in nearly 400 schools across the country, including approximately 75 rural districts. Its AmeriCorps service members teach hands-on food education in the classroom and garden, partner with farmers and food service leaders to create healthy school meals, and collaborate with communities to foster a school-wide culture of health. A recent study by Columbia University found that at schools with more of FoodCorps’ hands-on learning activities, students are eating up to three times as many fruits and vegetables: a win-win for kids and their families, schools, and local food economies.
CoBank will support FoodCorps programming in Arizona, Arkansas, Michigan, New Jersey, and North Carolina. The partnership coincides with National Farm to School Month and celebrates children’s connections to local food and farms around the country.
“FoodCorps believes that every kid—regardless of race, place, or class—deserves access to healthy food at school, and when there’s a strong link between schools and local farms, everybody wins,” said Curt Ellis, CEO and Co-Founder of FoodCorps. “We’re grateful to CoBank for its investment in our farm-to-school programs.”
“CoBank and FoodCorps share a commitment to creating greater access to healthy food at schools,” said Sarah Tyree, Vice President, Policy and Public Affairs of CoBank. “The benefits of FoodCorps programs reach beyond the classroom, increasing community collaboration and demonstrating a positive impact on local economies. CoBank is proud to support the FoodCorps program and looks forward to expanding their reach.”
About FoodCorps
Together with communities, FoodCorps connects kids to healthy food in school so that every child—regardless of race, place, or class—gets the nourishment they need to thrive. Our AmeriCorps leaders transform schools into places where all students learn what healthy food is, fall in love with it, and eat it every day. Building on this foundation of direct impact, FoodCorps develops leaders, forges networks, and pursues policy reforms that in time have the potential to improve all of our nation’s 100,000 schools. To learn more about FoodCorps’ work across the country, visit http://www.foodcorps.org.
About CoBank
CoBank is a $139 billion cooperative bank serving vital industries across rural America. The bank provides loans, leases, export financing and other financial services to agribusinesses and rural power, water and communications providers in all 50 states. The bank also provides wholesale loans and other financial services to affiliated Farm Credit associations serving more than 70,000 farmers, ranchers and other rural borrowers in 23 states around the country.
CoBank is a member of the Farm Credit System, a nationwide network of banks and retail lending associations chartered to support the borrowing needs of U.S. agriculture, rural infrastructure and rural communities. Headquartered outside Denver, Colorado, CoBank serves customers from regional banking centers across the U.S. and also maintains an international representative office in Singapore.
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