This content series highlights the goals, challenges and successes of procuring and serving local foods in school meal programs.
Getting Started
Part I: Food Safety Considerations when Procuring Local Foods for Your Cafeteria
Food remains an important topic with health implications tied to chronic diseases, policy, and ethics. Over time, this focus has evolved into farm-to-fork, eating local, and supporting one’s agricultural community. READ MORE
Part Two: Procurement Regulations Surrounding Local Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Dairy Products for Your Cafeter
Currently, there is increasing interest from school districts to source local foods such as, meat, poultry, egg and dairy products. READ MORE
Buy Local for Your School: Getting Started
Interested in buying local products for your cafeterias but unsure where to start? Try a few of these tips so get the ball rolling for a Farm to School program in your district. READ MORE
From Plant to Plate: Benefits of Farm to School Programs
There are many farm-to-school programs, at the national, state, and regional level. The overarching objectives of these programs are uniform… READ MORE
Exploring the Movement to Healthy School Meals through Farm to School (VIDEO)
In addition to describing the movement to include local and regional foods in school meal programs, cultivate school gardens, and provide students with agricultural and food related experiential learning … READ MORE
Make the “Best of Fresh” with Farm to School (VIDEO)
Almost anything can be purchased locally in different parts of the country. Local purchasing is not just about fresh fruits and vegetables, and it is not just about farmers… READ MORE
Farm to School Bottom Line
Farm to School is an important and exciting program that supports local economies and promotes student interest in foods that are grown near their school or on site… READ MORE
Local Food in Schools: How to Overcome the Barriers
If you’ve worked in school food service for any length of time you’ve probably been approached about incorporating locally grown foods into your menus… READ MORE
How to Support Farm-to-School Initiatives in Your Community
We’ve all probably heard that nutrition is very important for children’s health and ability to succeed in the classroom. School lunchrooms nationwide have been improving… READ MORE
Monthly Harvest Toolkits Provide Support for Farm to School
Research shows that the most effective way to get kids excited about eating more fruits and vegetables is to engage them in the growing, cooking, and tasting of delicious, fresh, produce…READ MORE
Farm to School Resources- Colorado Department of Education
The Colorado Department of Education Office of School Nutrition (CDE OSN), has compiled some resources to assist districts in implementing a successful Farm to School program…READ MORE
Success Stories
Foodtastic 4-H Field Trips Packed into The Tiny Market
What can you do when you can’t bring the kids to the farmers market for a field trip? You bring the field trip to the kids! ….READ MORE
From Farm to School: Increasing Children’s Fruit and Vegetable Intake through School Food Co-ops
In Houston, Texas researchers applied a new model to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables among low-income families: a school food cooperative called Brighter Bites….READ MORE
Increasing Local Produce in School Lunch
Sarasota County Florida has a thriving Farm to School program. In the 2014-2015 school year each month during the growing season, 30-67% of all produce served came from Florida…READ MORE
Building Synergies between Farm to School and Smarter Lunchrooms
The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Science (UF/IFAS) Extension’s Family Nutrition Program has an innovative training program that links Farm to School and Smarter Lunchrooms elements. … READ MORE
Harvest of the Month
Florida’s Farm-to- School Harvest of the Month program provides educational materials that highlight a different Florida-grown food item each month…READ MORE
School-Based Farmers’ Market Brings Fresh Produce to Kids
Growing up in an inner city, children of the Syracuse City School District don’t necessarily get the chance to visit farms, farms stands, and even large grocery stores… READ MORE
Food Hub Supplies School Kitchens with Local Produce
Despite increasing demand, finding and buying local food can still be a hassle. When feeding hundreds or thousands of school children, convenience is key… READ MORE
Obtaining and Processing Local Foods: A Food Service Director Perspective
While evidence about the benefits of eating local food continues to build, farm-to-school endeavors present challenges when considering unique needs of school foodservice operations… READ MORE
Serving Up Sliced Apples: Wayne County, NY Schools, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Regional Food Bank Make It Happen
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Wayne County (CCE) began working with school district food service directors (FSDs) several years ago to pursue ways to increase… READ MORE