Nineteen school districts in northeast Georgia, including Gainesville and Hall County, are winners of this year's Golden Radish Awards, which recognize "farm to school" programs in their schools.
The awards are presented by the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Public Health, the UGA Cooperative Extension, Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, and Georgia Organics.
The programs bring locally grown foods to schools and offer the opportunity to educate children about nutrition and agriculture.
Learn more about the awarded districts. Click the link to access the Golden Radish Media Engagement Toolkit. This kit includes photos and information about each participating school district. All information is for public use.
The awards are given to Local Educational Agencies in Georgia who are doing extraordinary work in farm to school. LEAs are recognized at five levels. Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Radishes are awarded to recognize LEAs with varying levels of farm to school programs. Honorary Radishes are awarded to programs that are just getting started and satisfy at least one criterion within the Bronze level or higher. LEAs that satisfy the Gold level for all ten criteria are awarded a Platinum Radish. An additional award, the Outstanding Award, is given to the district/LEA with the outstanding farm to school program.
Additionally, each Golden Radish Award partner organization recognizes and celebrates particular aspects of farm to school success through Farm to School Innovation Best Practice Awards.
