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1. |
Is there one "go-to" guide for
farm to school already developed for
school food service staff? |
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Over the years, USDA has issued
several publications to help connect
local farms to the school meal
programs. While USDA does not have
“one” document related to farm to
school; however, there are several
publications listed below that
address various areas related to
farm to school. Schools and farmers
are also encouraged to contact their
State Departments of Agriculture and
Education, as well as their local
extension office, to inquire about
available local and regional
resources. Many non-profit
organizations, such as the National
Farm to School Network and School
Nutrition Association, also offer
resources pertaining to the
implementation of farm to school
activities, including resources for
linking schools with farmers in your
area. USDA’s earlier efforts to
provide resources on farm to school
included the development of the
following publications: (Please note
that within these publications,
procurement policies related to
geographic preference are out of
date). For current information on
geographic preference, reference the
Farm to School website’s policy
section.
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Small
Farms/School Meals Initiative: a
Step-by-Step Guide on How to
Bring Small Farms and Local
Schools Together
This guide, published in 2000,
details how to connect small
farms and local schools to
initiate Farm to School projects
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How
Local Farmers and School Food
Service Buyers are Building
Alliances
This report, published in 2000,
summarizes the educational
highlights of a workshop held in
May of 2000 in an effort to help
small farmers and school food
service buyers throughout the
country explore how they might
be able to establish similar
business relationships in their
own communities
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Eat
Smart—Farm Fresh! A Guide to
Buying and Serving Locally-Grown
Produce in School Meals
Published in 2005, this is a
handbook that offers information
on procurement, types and
examples of Farm to School
distribution models, how to find
locally grown food and farmers,
menu planning considerations,
and strategies for success
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Innovative Marketing
Opportunities for Small Farmers:
Local Schools as Customers
This 2000 publication, details
the events of a 1997 farm to
school pilot project in northern
Florida.
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In
addition, the
Farm to School
website serves as an online toolkit for
schools and farmers interested
in beginning and/or expanding
farm to school efforts in their
community. Please check the
Farm
to School website often, as
information will continually be
added.
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2. |
In order
to participate in farm to school
efforts, does my school district have to
serve locally grown foods every day? |
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Each school district’s farm to
school efforts are different. It is
up to the individuals involved in
the district to determine how much
and how often they want to include
locally grown foods into their
school meal programs. Besides
offering locally grown/raised food
products in your school meal
programs, there are other supporting
activities that help enhance the
farm to school experience for the
students, such as nutrition and/or
agriculture related curriculum;
school gardens; farm tours; and
education sessions for parents and
the community.
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3. |
Has a Farm to School
self-assessment been developed for
schools? |
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Many of the resources we mentioned
in the “How to Get Started” section
of the October 7, 2010, webinar
titled,
Digging through the Farm to
School Resources,
include self-assessment tools for
farm to school, as well as contact
information on how to obtain those
resources.
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4. |
Is there anyone on the USDA Farm
to School Team or in the National Farm
to School Network who works specifically
with Indian tribes? |
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Yes. The USDA Farm to School Team
has been working with the US
Department of Agriculture’s Rural
Development agency and the US
Department of the Interior’s Bureau
of Indian Education to find ways in
which traditional food items may be
incorporated into the school meal
programs.
In addition, the
National Farm to School
Network and the Urban
and Environmental Policy
Institute at Occidental
College published
Farm to Cafeteria
Initiatives: Connections
with the Tribal Food
Sovereignty Movement,
which profiles work being done in
Native American communities to
restore traditional food systems for
children in tribal schools.
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5. |
Many child care centers can
benefit from farm to school efforts. Are
there resources available on farm to
child care activities? Are there any
states implementing farm to child care? |
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Children of all ages may benefit
from farm to school related
activities. Many of USDA’s Team
Nutrition resources are geared
toward pre-school and child care
facilities and could be used to help
foster nutrition education with
these age groups. See available
resources on the following Team
Nutrition’s Child Care Providers
webpages:
Child Care Provides
Spotlight and
Child Care Provides Resources.
Furthermore, several States have
begun farm to preschool efforts.
Please check with the State
Department that administers the
Child and Adult Care Food Program to
learn what your State is doing.
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6. |
As a community partner, how can I
best advocate with local school
districts to jump on board with farm to
school efforts? |
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The “How to Get Started” section of
the October 7, 2010, webinar titled
Digging through the Farm to School
Resources,
highlights many different paths for
beginning dialog with various
stakeholders to implement farm to
school activities.
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7. |
Where is the best place to start
with policy change for purchasing local
food products? |
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There are many avenues you could
take toward making policy changes.
Policy changes could occur at the
school, district, county, state and
national levels. The best place to
start is becoming familiar with what
policies are currently in place that
support or deter local food
purchases. From there you can
determine what steps are needed to
reach your goal. In general, you may
consider talking to the school food
service director, school board
members, as well as county and State
legislative representatives. You may
also consider contacting non-profit
organizations, many of which were
highlighted in our October 7, 2010
webinar titled
Digging Through the
Farm to School Resources,
who may track legislative activities
in your State. Finally, USDA’s Team
Nutrition provides resources on
building community support for a
healthy school environment. These
resources may be accessed through
the resource section of the USDA’s
Farm to School website.
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8. |
Does USDA have curriculum
available for nutrition education and/or
agriculture practices? |
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Yes. The
Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)
makes a variety of nutrition
education lessons and curricula
available through its
Team
Nutrition website.
USDA’s efforts to provide resources
on nutrition and agriculture
education include the development of
the following publications:
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Grow It, Try It, Like It!
Preschool Fun with Fruits and
Vegetables.
In May 2010, FNS released a new
garden-based nutrition education
kit targeted to 3-5 year olds to
childcare providers
participating in the Child
Nutrition Programs. The kit
includes seven booklets
featuring three fruits—peaches,
strawberries, and cantaloupe and
three vegetables—spinach, sweet
potatoes, and crookneck squash.
Each booklet includes hands-on
activities, planting activities,
stories, songs, MyPyramid for
Preschoolers nutrition education
activities, home activities with
parent/child activity sheets,
family-sized recipes, and tips
for cooking with children. Other
tools include a Teaching Guide,
Art and Crafts, a MyPyramid for
Preschoolers Poster, the Cool
Puppy Pup video series, and
other resources.
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Nutrition Through the Seasons.
This resource is from USDA’s SNA-Ed
Connection and it identifies
which foods are most naturally
available during different times
of the year. Additional
resources can be found on
SNAP-Ed Connection.
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Farm Service Agency Kid’s Site.
At USDA’s Farm Services Agency
(FSA) kids can find fun farm
facts, stories about youth
farmers, word searches and
mazes, and more through the FSA
Kids website.
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USDA
Rural Development’s
Agriculture in the Classroom
Kid's Zone
Here kids and teens can find
information about animals,
foods, ag questions, Science
Fair projects, Ag Fun and
virtual field trips.
In
addition, schools are encouraged to
contact their Departments of
Agriculture and Education, and their
local extension office to learn
about local and regional resources.
For example, farmers and educators
in Santa Fe, New Mexico published
“Building a Community Garden/Construcción
de un Jardín de la Comunidad” a
culturally appropriate guide for
building community gardens in tribal
communities. |
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9. |
Does USDA have a resource that
addresses transportation of fresh fruits
and vegetables from the farm? |
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The USDA publication
titled
Protecting Perishable
Foods During Transport
by Truck
is a comprehensive guide to food
transportation and includes
vegetable specific temperature
guidelines, sanitation
recommendations, and more. |
