Harvest of the Month Poster Contest Winners Announced

WEAKLEY COUNTY (August 24) — The Weakley County Farm to School Project, in collaboration with the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network and Weakley County Schools, has featured Harvest of the Month (HOTM) posters in each cafeteria across Weakley County since last August 2019. This coordinated program’s goal is to encourage healthy food choices by increasing Northwest Tennessee residents’ exposure to seasonal foods while also supporting local farmers and building excitement about home-cooked meals.

During the spring 2020, the Local Food Network, Weakley County School Nutrition Department and Weakley ArtsCan organized a Harvest of the Month poster contest for all Weakley County Students K-12. A total of 40 entries from K-11th grades were received and 13 winners were selected. The winning artwork was crafted into a 12-month school year calendar by Elizabeth Emmons, a member of Weakley ArtsCan, one of the sponsor organizations.

“This turned out to be a great art project to work on from home as COVID-19 had just started,” commented Samantha Goyret, executive director of the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network. “The entries showed great artistic skill and knowledge as to how the selected locally-grown item was depicted.”

“We are grateful for partnerships we have with organizations like the Local Food Network and Weakley ArtsCan that allow for both creativity and information-sharing among our students,” noted Weakley County Schools Director Randy Frazier.

The calendar will be distributed throughout the Weakley County School System and featured in each cafeteria. The calendars are for sale for a $10 donation online at https://www.gofundme.com/f/hotm-calendar. All proceeds will support Farm to School Programming through the Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based out of Martin.

The winning entries, their choice of art and teacher are:

* Cover winner — drawing of three bees on a piece of honeycomb: Madelynn Parham, Dresden Elementary, second-grade teacher: Kristy Jolly;

* August — tomato collage: Zac Castleman, Dresden Elementary, kindergarten teacher: Michele Wade;

* September — apple painting: Sofia Goyret, Martin Primary, kindergarten teacher: Alex Smith;

* October — pumpkin drawing in pencil and crayon: Jayne Long, Greenfield School, third-grade teacher: Alyse Darby;

* November — sweet potato drawing in colored pencil: Annabelle Lovell, Greenfield School, fifth-grade teacher: Missy Galey;

* December — pecan drawing in colored pencil: Gabe Ostenson, Weakley County homeschool, third-grade teacher: Bethany Ostenson;

* January — pork caricature drawing: Christopher Ostenson, Westview, ninth-grade teacher: Kristen Vernon;

* February — honey drawing in colored pencil: Betsy Mantooth, Westview, ninth-grade teacher: Chris Coleman;

* March — herbs drawing in colored pencil: Liz Ostenson, Westview, tenth-grade teacher: Jennifer Wenz;

* April — asparagus drawing in colored pencil: Isaac Ostenson, Weakley County homeschool, sixth-grade teacher: Bethany Ostenson;

* May — strawberries caricature drawing: Jason Paul Cupples, Greenfield School, sixth-grade teacher: Beverly Williams;

* June — potato caricature drawing: Jack Mantooth, Martin Middle, sixth-grade teacher: Natalie Brent and

* July — blackberries drawing in pen and marker: Scarlett Lovell, Greenfield School, kindergarten teacher: Keri Adams.

The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network serves as a catalyst for a thriving and equitable local food system that is accessible to all. This program’s material is based upon work that is supported by the Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Weakley County School District through the Weakley County Farm to School Project.

More information about the Harvest of the Month program, recipes, how to purchase a calendar and informational posters can be found at nwtnlfn.org.