COVID-19 Spring 2020 Field Trip Updates

Dear Educators,

Following VA Governor Ralph Northam’s announcement to close all Virginia schools for the remaining portion of SY 2019/20, it is with a heavy heart that Arcadia has decided to cancel the upcoming Spring 2020 Field Trip season.

In order to make this situation a little easier, we wanted to offer schools who are already scheduled for a Spring 2020 field trip two options for refunding their payments and rescheduling: 

Option 1: Reschedule your school’s confirmed field trip to the Fall 2020 Field Trip season with a guaranteed spot on the calendar, dates TBD. Arcadia will contact you in late August 2020. We will reassess student numbers, and arrangements will be made to accommodate changes in group size. New contracts will be distributed and signed. We will hold on to any payments that your school has made thus far.

Option 2: Cancel your field trip and waive the option to schedule a Fall 2020 Field Trip at this time. Arcadia will return your field trip fees in the form of a check at the beginning of the 2020/21 school year. Checks will be mailed to your school’s office administrator.

We understand that this decision may take some time, and we ask all schools to let us know how they would like to adjust their plans by August 30th.

Please contact Ivy Mitchell at Ivy@Arcadiafood.org with your preference or for more information. 

In the meantime, Arcadia is sharing links to online educational resources as well as locations where affected students and families can access meals and food supplies. Feel free to share the link to our Educational Resource Master Sheet which we will update as new materials become available: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PVKfR7hc6hC5wV6OrcdRq1unYNec8KRlkM2fT9AOyn8/edit?usp=sharing.

Finally, stay tuned to our social media as our Farm Education staff and farmers share educational videos and farm inspired crafts.

Thank you for your continued support — we will miss you all so much this Spring. Stay safe and take care of yourselves.

All the best,

Ivy Mitchell, Farm Education Director and the entire Arcadia Farm Staff