Agriculture Secretary Visits Carroll County Schools to Present Farm-to-School Youth Video Contest Awards

ANNAPOLIS, MD (Oct. 27, 2010) – Today, Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance visited Liberty High and Sykesville Middle schools to present awards to the winners of its first statewide Farm to School student video contest. As one of two Grand Prize winners for their video, “Maryland Farm to School,” Raleigh and Owen Linville and Robert Penn, from Liberty High School each received Apple iPod Touch, 2011 Maryland State Park Passports and Maryland’s Best tote bags.  The Popular Prize winner was “Local Food News” by Maureen Grauel, Kelsea and Shannon Floyd, students at Sykesville Middle School.  They each received 2011 Maryland State Park Passports and Maryland’s Best tote bags.  A visit with the second Grand Prize winner, Fiona Voeks, from Rocky Hill Middle School in Montgomery County is being scheduled.

“It was wonderful to meet these kids and see their enthusiasm for buying local. They are our future consumers and already understand the connections between fresh, local food and our farms, our health and our environment,” said Agriculture Secretary Hance. “We congratulate them on their video productions and look forward to running the contest next year”

Each winning video answered the question, “What does ‘local food’ mean to you?”  Fifteen videos were submitted for the inaugural contest. Students demonstrated their creativity with video content ranging from skits to interviewing farmers to the abstract.  Contestants were from Anne Arundel, Carroll, Cecil, Montgomery, St. Mary’s and Talbot counties and Baltimore City. The students ranged in age from 2nd graders to high school seniors.   Judges included representatives of the agricultural community, Maryland Department of Agriculture, Maryland Agricultural Education Foundation, Maryland State Department of Education, and the film industry.  The passes were donated by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

The contest was part of the Jane Lawton Farm-to-School Program, which was established to bring more locally grown food to Maryland schools and to educate students about the importance of local agriculture.    Governor Martin O’Malley officially designated September 13-17, 2010, as Maryland Homegrown School Lunch Week.

The demand for Maryland-grown food is growing. Buying locally is a key to ensuring a smart, green and growing future for Maryland families. It preserves farmland, protects the environment, bolsters local economies, and promotes health by providing wholesome, nutritious, great-tasting fresh food.

To view all of the video submissions, visit http://www.youtube.com/marylandsbest1.  For more information about Maryland Farm to School log onto www.marylandfarmtoschool.org.

# # #
Photos available.
Follow MDA on Twitter @MdAgDept