Farm to School: An Introduction
By Camille Stuyvesant, Research and Advocacy Intern at Slow Food Portland
If you have ever tried to get a child to eat a new vegetable, you know it can be a challenge. Promoting foods grown by regional farms in schools can help expose children to a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, while inciting a curiosity about new foods and their local food systems. In this series, we will look at how farm to school programs can be beneficial for children’s health while supporting the local farms and communities through the lense of economic development, public health, education, the environment, and equity and community engagement on a national and regional level.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) started the National Farm to School Network in the 1990s to connect small farms to school meal programs in order to provide children with more access to fresh, healthy foods. Every program established includes at least one of the three core elements set in place by the National Farm to School Network; procurement, education, and promotion. Procurement ensures that local foods are served at the school either in the cafeteria during meal times or in the classroom as a snack or taste-testing activity. The educational guidelines state that activities are added into the curriculum relating to agriculture, food, and health and nutrition. The third element, promotion, includes a collaborative effort between the community and the school through various outlets including a school garden.
Farm to school, inclusive of farm to early care and education, empowers children and their families to make informed food choices while strengthening the local economy and contributing to vibrant communities. 1
According to the USDA Farm to School Census, in 2019, 67,369 schools featured local foods on their school menu or were including local foods into academic activities. The 2019 Census was sent to 19,000 of these schools, with 12,634 responses. Over half of the responding schools had participated in farm to school activities for less than 3 years, were more likely to be located in rural areas and had a higher percentage of students who were eligible for free or reduced meals. The reported benefits from the program included a higher volume of quality foods, increased student knowledge and engagement with local and healthy foods, and an increase in the consumption of these foods during school meals (USDA, 2021).
The interest in farm to school programs has increased throughout the years as the results show how children, communities, and farmers win with this collaboration. Children are able to access healthy, nutritiously dense food, while having the opportunity to learn about where their food comes from in a hands-on experience. Communities, which include parents, teachers, farmers and students are able to build stronger bonds through shared experiences such as working in the school garden or promoting sustainable food sources. Farmers local to the school’s area are able to financially gain from the partnership, potentially creating more agricultural jobs and stimulating the local economy.
In upcoming blog posts we will look at the specific ways Farm to School programs benefit childrens' health and support local farms and communities.
References:
1 National Farm to School Network. (2020). The Benefits of Farm to School.
United States Department of Agriculture. (July 2021). 2019 Farm to School Census Report.
https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/2019-Farm-to-School-Census.pdf
United States Department of Agriculture. (2015). Research Shows Farm to School Works
https://fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/ResearchShows.pdf