Farm-to-School

policy

The California Department of Education has compiled a list of resrouces, initiatives, and policies geared towards improving nutrition and establishing healthy eating habits in school, child care, adult, and after school settings. Topics include California's Farm-to-School Program and Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Classroom Cooking, Competitive Foods...

operations

This website provides links to a multitude of resources, (PDFs, powerpoint presentations, and webinars) that support health and wellness. Topics include CalFresh, Urban Agriculture, Working with Farmers' Markets, Food Recovery, and School Wellness.

research

Evaluation for Transformation defines outcomes that farm-to-school has the potential to achieve and offers language, guidelines, and metrics to understand outcomes and assess programs. Beyond the four sectors (public health, community economic development, education, and environmental quality), the framework is structured around three levels of...

service

This article reviews the benefits and challenges of farm-to-school efforts, describing some of the innovative ways that food service directors on California’s Central Coast are working to overcome challenges by forming effective partnerships with other school districts and with food banks and produce distributors.

It also describes how efforts to...

policy

This farm to school policy brief was written to inform policymakers and farm to school educators and advocates about the benefits and challenges faced by school food service managers as they attempt to purchase food from regional farms. It concludes with some possible practical and policy options to consider to support farm to school activities. 

service

According to the NRDC, up to 40% of food in the United States is wasted. At the same time, one in six individuals lack adequate access to food. Food Forward presents a simple solution to this disparity by connecting surplus produce with the food insecure people in Southern California communities. They collect fresh fruits and vegetables that would...

service

Growing Minds (GM), headquartered in North Carolina, works with schools in 60 "Appalachian Grown" Counties.  GM provides training for teachers, school nutrition staff, parents, community members, and farmers/ag professionals, as well as producing an annual farm-to-school conference.

The GM website offers lesson plans, recipes, a searchable...

operations

Drawing on over thirty-five years of work with young people in gardens, Life Lab is a national leader in the garden-based learning movement. Through workshops and consultations, they provide tens of thousands of educators across the country with the inspiration and information necessary to engage young people in gardens and on farms.

This website...

service

NFSN is an information, advocacy, and networking hub for communities bringing local food sourcing and food-and-agriculture education into school systems and preschools. It has curated thousands of resources related to farm-to-school and farm-to-preschool.

It provides vision, leadership, and support at the state, regional and national levels to...

curriculum

Seeds to Plate, based out of LAUSD's Mark Twain Middle School in Mar Vista, California, believes that school garden programs foster a deep understanding of academic subjects by connecting traditional content areas to the natural world. This academically integrated curriculum was created for sixth to eighth graders using the California Common Core, Next...

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