Animated Videos for School Produce Safety

Background
The Department of Education and Workforce received a 2024 Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant aimed at developing the Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program. This initiative seeks to enhance access to local foods in eligible Child Nutrition Program sites through comprehensive farm-to-school programming, which includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts.

The program is designed to improve produce safety education for children involved in school gardening activities, addressing the increased risk of foodborne illnesses among young children due to their developing immune systems.

Work Details
The selected Offeror will create six animated videos, each focusing on a specific produce safety topic:
1) Introduction to Produce Safety,
2) Student Health, Hygiene, and Training,
3) Soil,
4) Wildlife, Domesticated Animals, and Land Use,
5) Water,
6) Postharvest Handling and Sanitation.

Each video will be no more than five minutes long and must include closed captioning and professional voiceovers in both English and Spanish. The videos will incorporate child-friendly characters developed by DEW and will be based on the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course. Initial drafts are due by October 30, 2025, with a maximum of two rounds of revisions allowed based on feedback from pilot testing in two elementary schools and two childcare centers. Finalized videos must be delivered in digital format by March 2026.

Period of Performance
The contract will commence on July 22, 2024, following the grant period until June 30, 2026.

Place of Performance
The work will primarily take place in Ohio, specifically targeting Child Nutrition Program sites within the state.