WHO/WHAT:The Golden Radish Award publicly recognizes Georgia school districts for best practices in farm to school programs, such as local food procurement, exposing students to new foods through taste tests and incorporating cooking and gardening activities in curriculum. This year, the Golden Radish partners – Georgia Organics, Georgia’s Departments of Agriculture (GDOA), Education (GaDOE), Public Health (GDPH), and the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (UGA Extension) presented five new awards recognizing innovative farm to school efforts.

Awardees include:

  • Georgia Organics will present an Organic Radish Award to Warren County Public Schools for including certified organic food in the meals program and teaching organic growing practices to students.
  • GaDOE will present an award to farmer Lisa Dojan of Fisheads Aquaponics for her exemplary work with Georgia students.
  • DPH will present an “Innovative Partnership” award to Clark County School District for their partnerships and programs with local restaurants, Americorps, UGA “Grow It, Know It” and UGA Extension, local farmers, and the local food bank.
  • GDA will present a “Georgia Grown” award
  • UGA Extension will present the Outstanding Extension Farm to School Program Award to Warren County Public School to recognize the comprehensive school garden plan, complete with harvest parade and-3 acre production garden, a model for our state.
  • The Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) will present a Baby Golden Radish Award to Bleckley County School District for innovative implementation of Farm to Early Care and Education into their embedded preschool Program.

WHEN: Oct. 22, 2018 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

WHERE: Georgia Railroad Freight Depot, 65 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Atlanta, GA 30312

WHY: Georgia is a leader in school nutrition. Eighty-four of Georgia’s 181 school districts participate in the Golden Radish Awards program and more than 45 percent of districts have farm to school programs. These programs teach students about food and agriculture through hands-on food and garden education, supporting the local economy through local food purchases for school meals, and fighting childhood obesity and other preventable, food-related disease

The 84 school systems being recognized are:

Platinum

Baldwin County School District

Barrow County School System

Bartow County School System

Bleckley County School District

Burke County Public School System

Carrollton City Schools

Cherokee County School District

Clarke County School District

Dade County Schools

Effingham County Schools

Elbert County School District

Fannin County School System

Fulton County Schools

Gainesville City School System

Henry County Schools

Jackson County Schools

Laurens County Schools

Paulding County School District

Sumter County Schools

Tift County Schools

Valdosta City Schools

Warren County Public Schools

Gold

Atlanta Public Schools

City Schools of Decatur

Clayton County Public Schools

Cobb County School District

Coweta County School System

DeKalb County School District

Dougherty County School System

Fayette County Public Schools

Floyd County Schools

Gwinnett County Public Schools

Hart County Charter System

Marietta City Schools

Morgan County Charter School System

Newton County Schools

Rockdale County Public Schools

Savannah-Chatham County Public School System

Treutlen County Schools

Trion City Schools

Wayne County School System

Silver

Atlanta Neighborhood Charter School

Brantley County School System

Carroll County Schools

Columbia County School District

Douglas County School System

Forsyth County Schools

Lee County School System

Lowndes County School District

Lumpkin County School System

Madison County School District

Muscogee County School District

Polk School District

Toombs County Schools

Bronze

Bibb County School District

Buford City Schools

Butts County School System

Calhoun City School System

Coffee County School System

Dalton Public Schools

Dawson County School System

Dublin City Schools

Emanuel County School System

Glascock County School System

Glynn County School System

Habersham County Schools

Hall County Schools

Harris County School District

Irwin County School System

Johnson County Schools

Lincoln County School District

Pickens County Schools

Richmond County School System

Stephens County School System

Wilkinson County Board of Education

Honorary

Dooly County School System

Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice

Grady County Schools

Griffin-Spalding County School System

Scintilla Charter Academy

DODEA Americus Southeast District

Union County Schools

Ware County School District

Wilcox County Schools