RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Virginia officials are working to connect schools, students and agricultural producers throughout the state. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Virginia Department of Education say schools across the state are participating in Virginia Farm-to-School Week. The annual program seeks to bring more fruits, vegetables, meat and dairy from Virginia farms to the state’s K-12 schools, colleges and universities. Officials say Virginia’s public elementary, middle and high schools serve 670,000 lunches, 250,000 breakfasts and 7,240 afterschool snacks each day. As part of Virginia’s efforts, state agriculture officials also were recently awarded a grant of $20,750 for a statewide Farm-to-School Conference. That event is scheduled for March 2015.
