Polk Central fourth grader Amon Villarreal is one of 13 elementary school students across the state to have artwork chosen to appear in the North Carolina Farm to School 2018-2019 calendar.

The contest was open to all public elementary students across the state. The winners received $50 gift cards sponsored by the N.C. Farm to School Cooperative, the group of farmers supplying produce to the program, and the School Nutrition Association of N.C. The N.C. Grange sponsored the Farm to School calendar.

Winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Got to Be NC Festival in Raleigh. The winning artwork will be on display throughout the year in the Agriculture Building and at the N.C. State Fair in October.

The Farm to School program began in 1997 as a collaborative effort of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Food Distribution and Marketing divisions. The two divisions work together to secure orders from child nutrition directors and then source and deliver locally grown fruits and vegetables for school lunch programs. During the 2017-2018 school year, the program generated nearly $1.3 million with participation by 87 school districts statewide.

“The judges had an outstanding selection of artwork to choose from with more than 2,700 entries,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “It is interesting to see agriculture from their perspective, and I am proud they are learning more about where their food comes from, and that agriculture and agribusiness is North Carolina’s leading industry.”

-Submitted by PolkStudents.com