Farm to School

1
Farm to School
2
What is Farm to School?
Connecting kids to local food and farms to

• Improve student nutrition
• Provide nutrition, agriculture and health
  education
• Support smaller, local and sustainable farmers
• Support the local economy

3
Why do we need Farm to School?

• School food is the best chance many kids have for
  getting a square meal
• 1 in 3 children born in 2000 will become diabetic
• Todays children may be the first generation to
  have a life expectancy shorter than their parents.

4
Farm to School

• Offers less processed, fresher foods
• Introduces kids to new food options
• Kids learn where and how their food is grown
• Supports academic performance

5
And it.

• Keeps circulating in local economies
• Supports small, medium and sustainable farmers
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the time that
  fresh food is in transit

6
Farm to School happens in the

• Cafeteria
• Community
• Classroom

7

• Farm to School is a positive strategy in the face
  of a troubled economy, rising rates of
  diet-related disease, struggling family farms and
  schools budgetary challenges.

8
A Nation-wide Movement

• F2S programs exist in 45 states

9
In Minnesota

• MSNA is partnering with IATP to develop new tools
  and resources
• Farm to School is one of top 5 priorities for
  MSNA in 2009-2011

10
At least 25 districts now have F2S
programs40 of districts are very
interested in purchasing directly from
farmers60 in purchasing local through a
distributor
11
New Support Systems

• New F2S website
• Staff training
• Educational tools for kids
• Possible state legislative effort
• Public outreach strategy
• And

12
.. the new F2S logo
13
A Year-round Supply of Local Foods

• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Whole grains
• Meat
• Dairy
• Dried beans, honey, wild rice, etc.

14
Getting Started

• Start small and start early
• Find workable options given staffing, facilities
  and budget
• Coordinate with farmers and distributors

15
And.

• Weave local foods into menus, taste testings
• Engage students, parents and community partners
• Consider farm visits, school gardening,
  Smartboard videos, etc. to re-enforce educational
  goals

16
In our district, we are

• Doing these cool things now.
• Hoping to expand our F2S program by .
• And were getting this feedback about our F2S
  program from students, parents, farmers,
  teachers, others.

17

• You can support our F2S program by..

18
You can learn more at

• Farmtoschool.org
• Mn-farmtoschool.umn.edu

19
Thank You!

• This material was prepared by the
• Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in
  association with MSNA