Project Information
Purpose
The purpose of the Farm to School project is to ensure that our Pre-K through College students consume the highest quality, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods from local farms and ranches.
Scope
A multi-faceted, inclusive process is envisioned — one that works toward the highest possible nutritional offerings in our schools and that supports local agriculture and food. Farm to School activities include:
- Getting local food into schools single products as a pilot program, as special event local meals, or as an ongoing part of the menu.
- Ensuring nutritious food whatever the source in school meals, special events, and vending machines.
- Food and ag education nutrition education in the classroom, cooking demos, farm trips, school gardens, etc.
Goals
- Increased understanding about healthy food, sustainable food production, and local agriculture among students, their parents, and the public at large (by providing curricular materials, farm tours, producer visits to the classroom, and public education).
- Increased acceptance of high quality, culturally appropriate, sustainably produced, local foods by students, their families, and the general public (through school gardens, cooking classes, tasting events, special event meals, and similar participatory activities).
- Increased production of these foods in our area coupled with local value-added processing and an appropriate distribution system.
- Increased consumption of these foods in our schools to the greatest extent possible given current state and federal policies.
- Partnerships with other groups to change state and federal policies to allow greater inclusion of these foods in our schools.
- Increased participation in farm to school programs on the part of students, their parents, school administrators, community leaders, and the general public through increased understanding of the importance of farm to school programs, the obstacles involved, and what can be done by community members to promote these programs.
