Resources

Farm-to-School Programs

Farm-to-School Programs Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids: Evaluating the Barriers and Opportunities for Farm-to-School Programs, 62 pages, 2001, Andrea Misako Azuma and Andrew Fisher, UC SAREP. School lunch isn’t just pizza and french fries anymore. Food service departments at schools across the country are joining forces with parents, teachers, community activists, and farmers to create new opportunities for healthy student lunch offerings while simultaneously supporting small farmers within their region. These farm-to-school programs usually include the following:

• Salad bars stocked with farmers’ market fruits and vegetables;
• Recipes integrating appropriate seasonal, regionally grown produce;
• Farmer cooperatives supplying produce directly to school districts;
• Farmers selling produce directly to schools using an innovative program of the Department of Defense and the USDA.

Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids, funded by a grant from SAREP, describes seven farm-to-school projects from around the country, providing useful information to help start local projects. It examines the barriers and opportunities surrounding the programs including childhood obesity, the struggles of family farmers, and the changing school food environment that may include fast food and soft drinks in the lunchroom. The report also provides an analysis of federal policies related to nutrition and local food systems. To order, send a check for $12 plus $4 shipping/handling to CFSC, PO Box 209, Venice CA 90294. For information about credit card orders contact Fisher by phone at (310) 822-5410, Fax: (310) 822-1440 or Email: asfisher@aol.com.