After a successful launch of the Harvest of the Month educational marketing program in the fall, organizers are encouraging student artists to submit entries for the July 2020-June 2021 school calendar.
An initiative of the Farm to School program that includes the Weakley County School Nutrition Department, the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network and Weakley Arts Can working together, the July to June calendar will feature artwork selected by a panel of judges. All students in Weakley County Schools are invited to participate.
Harvest of the Month is an educational marketing program that encourages students to learn more about local food including its seasonality and sustainability. Each month a different fruit or vegetable is highlighted, reflecting the current growing season in Northwest Tennessee.
The Harvest of the Month program’s goal is to encourage healthy food choices by increasing Northwest Tennessee residents’ exposure to seasonal local foods while also supporting farmers and building excitement about home cooked meals, explain organizers.
To enter the poster contest, students must portray one of the prescribed fruits or vegetables (see photo) and submit entries to the school cafeteria manager by March 31.
Each artist can choose the harvest product to illustrate from one of three assigned to their grade level.
Kindergarten through 2nd grade can choose between July, August, or September; 3rd - 5th grades are assigned October, November, and December; 6th – 8th have April, May, June; and 9th -12th will select from January, February, or March
Entries will be judged on originality, technique and ability to reproduce. No words should be included in the artwork, only images.
The size should not exceed 8 1/2" x 11" sketch paper. Horizontal pictures and vibrant colors are suggested.
The student's complete name, grade, teacher, school and featured item must be written on the back of the artwork.
Winning artwork will be displayed in the 2020-2021 Weakley County Schools Calendar online and used for Harvest of the Month marketing materials. The winning student artists will be recognized in the press, on the school website and via social media.
“We were thrilled to see the work of our students appearing in the printed calendars that were released in January of this year,” said Randy Frazier, director of Weakley County Schools. “And we look forward to seeing what the next edition of this valuable learning tool. We are grateful to the Farm to School team for their leadership on this initiative.”
Harvest of the Month is a program of the NWTN Local Food Network to help increase access to local foods. To learn more visit:
nwtnlfn.org/hotm-calendar, email
[email protected] or call (731) 281-4770.