In 2015, Louisiana Farm to School was beginning to build a statewide network around a simple idea: When schools connect students with agriculture, local food and their communities, everyone benefits.
As time passed, that network has grown into a statewide movement. The LSU AgCenter’s Seeds to Success: The Louisiana Farm to School Program will bring the farm-to-school community together Oct. 28 in Baton Rouge for its 10th annual Growing Together conference.
The conference will bring farm-to-school advocates together across classrooms, cafeterias, school gardens, farms and communities for a full day of new ideas, useful strategies and time to learn from one another. Attendees will explore approaches to incorporating local foods into school meals, bringing agriculture into the classroom and using school gardens and hands-on experiences to support student learning.
“Our annual conference is one of the few times each year when so many different parts of the farm-to-school community are in the same room,” said Crystal Besse, Louisiana Farm to School Program director. “It gives people the opportunity to share what they are doing, learn from others and find ideas and resources that can strengthen their work when they return to their schools and communities.”
This year’s conference will feature a variety of sessions designed to give participants ideas they can put into practice. A panel of school nutrition directors will share real-world strategies for serving local foods while other sessions will focus on early learners, school gardens and agricultural education.
In the afternoon, learning labs will give participants a chance to explore hands-on activities and techniques they can take back to their own schools and programs.
One featured workshop, “Saving Seeds, Growing Stories: Seed Saving and Seed Starting,” will feature James Beard Foundation Award winner and Utopian Seed Project founder Chris Smith. Participants will learn practical seed-saving techniques while exploring how seed stewardship can help preserve agricultural diversity and local food traditions. Other learning labs will explore physical activity and farm to school, Louisiana agriculture lessons and food waste reduction.
“Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to see farm to school grow in ways we could not have predicted when this work began,” said Carl Motsenbocker, executive director of the Louisiana Farm to School Program. “What has stayed consistent is the commitment of the people doing this work. They continue to find ways to bring students closer to where their food comes from, create meaningful learning experiences and strengthen the communities around them.”
There is no single model for farm to school. What works in one school or community may look different in another, and the conference allows participants to explore real world examples, discover ideas that fit their own unique circumstances and build relationships with others working toward similar goals.
As Louisiana Farm to School celebrates its 10th conference, Growing Together offers a chance to recognize how far the work has come while giving participants ideas and resources they can bring back to their schools and communities to continue growing.
The conference will be held at the Lod Cook Hotel and Conference Center at LSU from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Oct. 28 in Baton Rouge. Registration is $35 and includes full-day conference access, refreshments, lunch and learning labs. Advance registration is required for learning labs, and space is limited.
Registration as well as information for organizations interested in exhibiting is available at lsuagcenter.regfox.com/2026-louisiana-conference.
