Nourishing Kids and Communities Farm to School: Statewide Organizing Strategies Anupama Joshi Director, National Farm to School Network.

Nourishing Kids and Communitieswww.farmtoschool.org

Farm to School: Statewide Organizing

StrategiesAnupama Joshi

Director, National Farm to School Network Alaska Farm to School Summit, April 26, 2011


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Defining Farm to School

Community

Classroom

Cafeteria

PolicyPromotion

Procurement


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Farm to School in 10,000+ schools, All 50

StatesGrowth of Farm to School Programs

6400

1000

2000

5

20

3843

0500

1000150020002500

1997 2004 2006 2010

Year

Prog

ram

s (#

)

0

20

40

60

Stat

es (#

)

Operational Programs (#) States (#)


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National Farm to School Network

8 Regional Lead Agencies

50 State Leads

5 National Staff


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Organization of Statewide Efforts

Led / staffed by: • Grassroots / non-profit

organization • University• State Department (s)• Volunteers

Statewide scope / regional chapters

With or without legislation


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Structure

Taskforce / Council / Working Group

(appointed by State or not)

Regional chapters Informal network /

coalitionSupported by federal,

state and foundation funds


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Stakeholder participation

State Departments • Agriculture• Education• Health• Community Development

Legislators Schools, food service, Farm Bureau, farmers, 4H, Ag in the Classroom Non-profits, universities,

Coop. Extension Others


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Policies

70+ pieces of legislation 30+ states supporting Farm to School www.farmtoschool.org/policies.php (December 2010 data)


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• Project implementation• Creating a task force/council• Pilot program implementation• Budget appropriations or creation of an official

state fund• Grant money allocation• Local preference• Additional reimbursements• Promotional event or program• Creating a directory or database• Wellness policies• Resolutions

Legislation Categories


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Program Implementation

Washington: (2008)• Creates the Washington Grown Fresh Fruit

and Vegetable Grant Program • Permits school districts to develop policies

and procedures to maximize purchases of Washington grown food, and to operate school gardens or farms


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Task Force/ Council

Maine: (2009) • Directive to establish a work group• Report to legislature with recommendations on how to strengthen

Farm to School efforts within the state of Maine

Iowa: (2007)• Farm to school Council ( 7 members), selected by the

governor • Requires partnership with other government agencies,

nonprofit organizations


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Pilot Program

Vermont: (2009) • Pilot program to test the feasibility of centralized

statewide purchasing of milk and meat for school meals


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Budget or State Fund

Oregon: (2008) • Creates the Oregon Farm to School and School Garden

Program, appropriates $95,000 from the General Fund for implementation

Connecticut: (2005)• Allocates $100,000/yr to encourage sale of CT-grown foods

to schools, restaurants, retailers, other institutions and businesses

Iowa: (2007)• Appropriates $80,000 for farm to school programs


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Grant Program

Vermont: (2006) • Mini-grant program (maximum $15,000

awards) to help schools increase their use of local farm products and/or teach children about farm to school connections

Ohio: (2008)• Healthy Farms and Healthy Schools Grant Program

established - to support schools in educating kindergarten students and their families about the importance of choosing healthy, locally produced foods and to increase awareness of agriculture in Ohio


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Additional Reimbursements

California: (2005) • Reimburses schools 10 cents for every breakfast offering an

additional serving of fruit and vegetables, encouraging schools to buy California products when commercially available

Washington, D.C.: (2010) • The legislation creates an extra 5-cent reimbursement for meals

with locally-grown and unprocessed foods


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Directory or Database

North Carolina: (2006) • Establishes Farm to School administrator that would develop and

maintaining a list of farmers interested in selling farm products to school systems

Virginia: (2007)• Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services

establishes and maintains a public website that facilitates and promotes the purchase of VA agricultural products by schools, universities, and other educational institutions


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Wellness Policy

• States can use legislation to emphasize that farm to school programming has the potential to benefit the well-being of the state as a whole, examples include: • Banning soft drink sales (California, 2001),

• Requiring schools to be held accountable to their wellness policies (DC, 2010)

• Incorporating school food issues into larger legislation promoting food security (Oklahoma, 2007)

How to include farm to school initiatives in school or school district wellness policies, visit http://www.foodsecurity.org/F2Cwellness.html

Encourages farm to school efforts as part of a broader wellness or food security policy

http://www.foodsecurity.org/F2Cwellness.html


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Resolutions

New Hampshire: (2008) • Encourages schools and their food service directors to put more

emphasis on procuring local food and to search out in their locales

Hawaii: (2010)• Urges the Legislature to support a farm to school program

and to implement a statewide policy.

Vermont: (2004) • Urges the United States Congress to enact the proposed “Farm to

Cafeteria Projects Act” or similar legislation


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Other Support

Investment program as part of a broader economic development policy (Vermont 2009)

Local food procurement goal-setting (Illinois 2009) Projects focused on processing or distribution infrastructure

(Montana 2009, Vermont 2007) Income tax credit incentives (Rhode Island 2007)


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Procurement: Local Preferences

Michigan: (2008) • Creates a state law exception allowing school districts and other

school entities to make food purchases costing less than $100,000 without formal competitive bids

Alaska: (2010)• Amends the Procurement Code to grant a 7% cost

preference for agricultural products harvested in the state – rather than to the lowest bid

Montana: (2007) • Establishes an optional procurement exception that is applicable

to the purchase of Montana-produced food products


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Promotions

• Statewide Farm to School Cooking Contest

• VA Farm to School Week


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Promotions

“Connecticut Farm Fresh School” label Can be used by any public / nonpublic educational

institution if at least 20% of food served consists on in-state agriculture.


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No-Cost / Low-cost Legislative Options

• Resolutions• Supporting Local Preferences • Task Force/Working Group• Promotional event/program • Authorizing agencies to seek funds• Suggestions/Recommendations


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Policy gains in Alaska

7% cost preference for Alaskan grown than to lowest bid

Farm to School program in DNR – Advisory Committee with other State Departments


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Strategic Plan - Alaska F2S

Census (baseline data)Development of information

resources Pilot program Training programs Website (Food Hub)Networking opportunitiesFunding


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Options to consider - Alaska F2S

Moving ahead without $$ State-wide promotional event / week Partnerships with non-traditional partners Links with School Nutrition Association (Regional

Bounty Atrium) Investing in Research & Evaluation Demonstration sites Communication avenues – listserv, NING,

basecamp, other, social media, introductory video Mini-grant program


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Anupama Joshi, National Farm to School Network

[email protected], 323-341-5095

mailto:[email protected]

Nourishing Kids and Communities Farm to School: Statewide Organizing Strategies Anupama Joshi Director, National Farm to School Network.

Documents

nourishing kids

school council

school efforts

school summit

school districts

school meals

school gardens

school garden program