Explore, taste, and learn.

Louisiana Harvest of the Month is a downloadable marketing initiative that is designed to make learning about local products like fruits and vegetables easy, tasty, and fun! These ready-to-go materials and guides are designed to help educators, nutrition staff, and farm to school advocates develop a successful Louisiana Harvest of the Month program. Learn more about these programs and take advantage of our versatile resources by exploring the tabs below.

The Louisiana Harvest of the Month program showcases locally grown foods in Louisiana schools, institutions, and communities. Louisiana Harvest of the Month cultivates a healthy food and farm connection by increasing students’ exposure to seasonal foods while also supporting local farmers. For each Harvest of the Month item, we have provided activities, recipes, and a wealth of additional resources to help teams implement a successful program. Through Louisiana Harvest of the Month, educators are equipped to offer students hands-on opportunities to explore, taste, and learn about the importance of eating fresh, local food.

The resources and guides below are designed to help educators, nutrition staff, and farm to school advocates develop a successful Louisiana Harvest of the Month program. 

Offering local foods to students in the form of taste tests and on school menus, along with school gardening and educational lessons on nutrition and agriculture, has proven to be an effective way to increase students’ interest in healthy food, expand taste palates, and develop lasting healthy eating habits. Planning and promotion of farm to school activities is important to the success of these efforts, and these tools will help throughout that process.

  • Intro Guides

    Louisiana Harvest of the Month Promotional Flyer

    Learn more about the Louisiana Harvest of the Month program and how you can integrate it in your school!

    Download Overview

    Louisiana Harvest of the Month Tool Kit

    This tool kit will help guide you in using the resources available to implement a successful Louisiana Harvest of the Month program. Learn how to integrate Harvest of the Month into curriculum, engage families and the community, and spread the word about what you are doing.

    Download Tool Kit

    Harvest of the Month Calendar

    The Louisiana Harvest of the Month product cycle calendar will help you choose a product to suit your needs and match the availability of items across the state.

    Download Calendar
  • Harvest of the Month 101

    HOM 101 | Cafeteria – Food Service

    A guide to using Harvest of the Month in cafeterias.

    Download Cafeteria Guide

    HOM 101 | Classroom – Educators

    A guide to using Harvest of the Month in classrooms.

    Download Classroom Guide

    HOM 101 | Extension – Nutrition Educators

    A guide to using Harvest of the Month in extension programs.

    Download Extension Guide

    HOM 101 | Producers – Food Business

    A guide to using Harvest of the Month with producers.

    Download Producers Guide
  • Classroom Curriculum

    Harvest of the Month Lessons

    Our compendium contains Louisiana standards-based lessons, books, and videos on each of our Louisiana Harvest of the Month items. This resource is perfect for teachers who want to incorporate Harvest of the Month into the classroom. Find all of the Harvest of the Month lessons by product on the Seeds to Know page according to grade levels. Create an account to easily bookmark and save the lessons you love or want to teach in the future!

    Seeds to Know

    Harvest of the Month Coloring Book

    The Louisiana Harvest of the Month coloring book is a collection of 19 local products grown and harvest in Louisiana. Use the collection of fun images to help children understand the value of Louisiana Harvest of the Month foods.

    Download Coloring Book
  • Taste Test Guide

    Taste Test Guide

    If you want to learn more about how to conduct and evaluate a taste test, this tool is full of tips for organizing a successful system in your school. Use the Taste Test Guide to set up a taste test system that works for you.

    Download Taste Test Guide
  • Purchasing Local

    School Guide for Local Food Purchasing

    If you are wondering how you can get local food into your school, then you’re in luck! Use this guide to learn about procurement rules as they apply to local school food purchases and how to help increase school districts’ use of local and Louisiana-grown foods for meal and snack programs.

    Download School Guide

    What’s in Season? Louisiana-Grown Produce Seasonality Chart

    This chart features the peak availability for all fruits and vegetables typically grown in Louisiana. For child nutrition staff, vegetables are separated by the vegetable subgroups to aid in incorporating meal pattern requirements.

    Download Seasonality Chart

    Louisiana MarketMaker

    MarketMaker is an online platform for agricultural growers and producers as well as their customers. It allows its users to connect and network with one another and paves the way for producers to reach new markets or buyers to connect with local suppliers.

    Similar to other social media sites, MarketMaker is completely free and provides its users with unrestricted access to all of its functions. For example, the highly detailed search function allows consumers looking for agricultural goods and services to find these by conducting statewide as well as more specific parish-wide searches. A consumer looking for strawberries can find farmers who grow and sell strawberries and display their locations on an interactive map. 

    Step-by-step instructions on how to search and find local producers