Presentation at 2014 Massachusetts Sustainable Communities and Campuses Conference

1. What is farm to school?

2. CLASSROOMCOMMUNITY
CAFETERIA
What is farm to school?

3. What is farm to school?

4. Experiential Nutrition & Food Education
IN THE CAFETERIA:
• Implementing taste-tests in cafeterias and classrooms
• Cooking demonstrations
• Eating local foods in school meals and snacks
IN THE CLASSROOM:
• In-class curriculum to link local food to traditional areas of study
• Hands-on learning in addition to or instead of school garden

5. IN THE COMMUNITY:
• Going on farm, community garden, or farmers market visits
• Having farmers visit schools
IN THE SCHOOL GARDEN:
• Encouraging students to understand where food comes from/how it’s
grown
• Teaching about local food environment
• Encouraging different learning styles
• Creating an alternative classroom space for any subject
Experiential Nutrition & Food Education

6. Local Sourcing
• Buying local products directly from farmers in your region
• Purchasing from distributors who source locally
• Increasing transparency and tracking of local products
• Celebrating local through promotion in the cafeteria and
communication with families

7. Sustainable Farm to School Programs…
• Use contracts and policies to your advantage
• Invest in lasting equipment
• Make local foods purchasing profitable for the farm and fit
within your school budget
• Work with community partners to help plan and implement
programming
• Involve families

8. What Mass. Farm
to School Does

9. • Technical Assistance –
“Matchmaking”
• Local Foods Promotion
• Education
• Advocacy
• Farm to School
Network
• Systems Approach
What Mass. Farm
to School Does

10. Don’t know where to find
locally-grown food
Systems and relationships
aren’t in place
Food Service staff not trained
to cook fresh
Not enough space or right
equipment
Local food might cost more
Not enough time in the school
day
Common Hurdles:

11. Children eat better when they eat
local.
Children learn better when they
eat better.
School procurement of locally-
grown makes a real difference in
the local economy.
Relationships with local family
farms matter to community
identity.
Farm to School makes learning
FUN!
Farm to school is good
for your city or town:

12. Federal
State
City/Town
School
Ability to leverage
change
Support for farm to school programs can be found at every level of governance

13. Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act
USDA Food and Nutrition
Service
• Nutrition Standards
• Free/Reduced Meals
• School Breakfast
• Geographic Preference
• Wellness Policies
• etc.
Federal

14. House Bill 4919 (186th General Court) (2010)
Promoting state purchasing of local agricultural products
The legislation requires the state purchasing agent to make reasonable efforts to purchase state-grown
products unless the price of the good exceeds the price of products grown outside the state by more
than 10%. It also authorizes the procurement officer to award contracts without seeking quotations
and allows individual purchases of less than $25,000 to Massachusetts farm operations for the
procurement of agriculture products, including fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, meats, aquatic
products, crops, horticultural products, and products processed into value-added products. The
legislation requires the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Elementary and Secondary
Education to collect data from schools and food producers and work with programs that facilitate the
acquisition of local agricultural products by public schools.
House Bill 4429 (Acts of 2006, Chapter 123) (2006)
Regarding procurement of Massachusetts-grown and produced products by state agencies
This legislation allows state agencies to pay up to 10% above the lowest bid to purchase
Massachusetts-produced fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood, egg, dairy, horticultural, and value-added
products, as long as there is no conflict with other state or federal laws. State procurement officers
may award contracts up to $25,000 without seeking other bids, as required by standard procurement
procedures.
State

15. In your city/town
Agriculture Commission
Health Department
School Committee
Wellness Committee
School Business Department
School Food Service Director
Superintendent

16. Agricultural
Commissions
Draft and promote a
preferential purchasing
ordinance.
Contact your town
administrator or mayor and
ask that local foods be
served at town functions.
Encourage area farmers to
consider selling to schools.

17. Agricultural
Commissions
WHEREAS: The City of Easthampton recognizes the
importance of fruits and vegetables as part of a
nutritional diet for the health of our residents,
especially our children, and
WHEREAS: We understand the importance of healthy
food in reducing the occurrence of childhood obesity
and associated health concerns, and
WHEREAS: We support our farms in Easthampton
and neighboring communities for the preservation of
our cultural heritage and for the economic benefit,
and
WHEREAS: We support legislations, in both the
Federal and State legislatures that promote the
“Farm to School” project, be it
RESOLVED: That we the City Council of Easthampton,
MA, hereby recognize the commitment of our city’s
food service contractor to use fruit and vegetables
from small and medium sized farms in school lunches
year-round and that we make it a priority to favor
companies in the future that follow a policy of
purchasing local agricultural products.

18. Health Department
Support school and
community gardens by
developing practices and
procedures for safe
harvest and handling.

19. Food Service RFP &
Contract
Build local procurement
language into RFPs for food
service management
companies and/or distributor
contracts.
• Make your objectives clear
• Design a structure for
assigning points or value to
meeting those objectives
• Build in accountability

20. Food Service RFP &
Contract
Criterion: FSMC emphasizes the use of locally
grown and locally grown-and-processed produce
and encourages the use of locally grown
additional agricultural products (including
proteins, dairy and grains) and has policies that
support purchasing from local farmers,
mindfulness of seasonal availability and
demonstrates commitment to minimize waste and
maximize composting. Local is defined as within a
50 mile radius.
Highly Advantageous:
The FSMC has documented policies and
procedures that support the “green” operation of
the program and the use of greater than 20%
locally grown and processed produce in all of their
programs. Also includes a focus on reducing food
waste both from preparation and consumption.
The FSMC will provide monthly reports
documenting the purchase of locally grown
products and the farmers who provide them.

21. Produce Bids
If your school is writing a
produce bid, USDA
provides a framework for
using the location of the
product as an evaluation
tool.
It’s not just about price.
SOURCING
2.1 Geographic Preference, Provide produce grown
within a 250 mile radius of Oakland, Ca.
Rated Best Able to Meet Guidelines –
20 points
Rated 2nd Best Able to Meet Guidelines –
15 points
Rated 3rd Best Able to Meet Guidelines –
10 points

22. Wellness Policies
Next phase of HHFKA will
require Wellness Policy
accountability.
Use the Wellness Policy to
link fresh, local foods to
student wellbeing.
For meals and snacks provided by the School District,
preference will be given to foods that are locally
grown and processed (canned or frozen); -when
possible, within 50 miles of City, Massachusetts and
secondarily within the state of Massachusetts. Fresh
foods or freshly cooked (and non-fried) food will be
given a preference over canned or preserved foods.
Our goal is to spend at least 15% of the annual
produce budget on locally grown fruits and
vegetables.

23. Programs
• USDA School Meals
• Dept. of Defense Fresh
• Fresh Fruit and
Vegetable Program
• School Breakfast
• Summer Food Service

24. Resources
Website:
www.massfarmtoschool.org
Email:
info@massfarmtoschool.org
Facebook:
/massfarmtoschool
National Farm to School
Network:
www.farmtoschool.org
USDA FNS:
www.fns.usda.gov/
farmtoschool