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Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions
A Resource Guide for Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Programs
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Barbara C. Bellows, Rex Dufour, and Janet Bachmann
NCAT Agriculture Specialists Published 2003 ATTRA Publication #IP242 |
 A printable PDF version of this entire document is available at:http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/farmtoschool.pdf 28 pages — 556K Download Acrobat Reader |
Abstract
 The Farm-to-School salad bar at Malcolm X Middle School in Berkeley, CA, proves that the fresh taste of locally-purchased food appeals to kids of all ages. |
This publication provides farmers, school administrators, and institutional food-service planners with contact information and descriptions of existing programs that have made these connections between local farmers and local school lunchrooms, college dining halls, or cafeterias in other institutions. To help communities initiate similar programs, this publication includes resource lists of:
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Publications on how to initiate and manage farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs.
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Sources of funding and technical assistance from government and non-government programs.
- Provisions within the 2002 Farm Bill supporting implementation of farm-to-school and other community food programs.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Benefits and Constraints of Farm-to-School or Institution Programs
- Program Coordination
- Program Implementation Steps
- Successful Programs
- Acknowledgements
- References
- Table 4: Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Publications
- Table 5: Local Food Security Publications
- Table 6: Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Programs
Introduction
Small-scale farmers are often unable to sell their produce and processed meats directly to local markets such as grocery stores, schools, hospitals, prisons, and other institutional dining facilities. Food production and processing are very centralized in America, with most of our food grown and distributed by large-scale or corporate farms—some located in other nations.
Consumers overall are disconnected from one of the most important components for their own health and happiness—the food they eat. Rarely do they have contact with or personal knowledge about the farms and farmers who grow their food. As a result, most consumers have very limited control over the quality and safety of their food.
When small-scale farmers are able to sell their products to local stores and institutions, they gain new and reliable markets, consumers gain access to what is often higher-quality, more healthful food, and more food dollars are invested in the local economy.
Benefits and Constraints of Farm-to-School or Institution Programs
Benefits
As mentioned above, selling to schools, colleges, hospitals, prisons, or other institutions provides smaller-scale farmers with a dependable market.
 A good way to get students interested in eating vegetables and fruit is having them grow produce in school gardens. |
For consumers, local produce means fresh food from a known source. Breakfasts and lunches provided by schools are often the major source of nutrition for children from low-income homes. At other institutions, the food service may be the predominant, if not only, source of food for consumers. Consumers who have access to local food in schools or other institutions become more aware of local food systems and may be encouraged by the superior taste and quality to increase their purchases of locally produced food through farmers markets, farm stands, or other venues. This has positive ripple effects on the local economy. For colleges and universities, farm-to-campus programs can help break down barriers between "town and gown," while stimulating the local economy. These programs also provide opportunities for student involvement in related educational and community-based activities such as composting, recycling, and community gardening.
Potential Constraints
While schools and institutions a generation ago relied heavily on local products for meal planning and preparation, the majority of today's institutions use food obtained through national food distributors. Much of this food is processed and prepared by food service companies, thus eliminating the need for schools and institutions to have cooking staff or kitchen facilities. Simultaneously, the huge growth in the fast foods industry has affected food preferences of both children and adults. As a result, students and other institutional customers often reject, rather than embrace, the introduction of fresh salads, fruit plates, or other dishes prepared from local produce. (1)
| Farmers & Institutions: Critical Constraints They Face Both farmers and the schools or institutions they seek to serve face several critical constraints in the development of farm-to-school or farm-to-institution programs. From the perspective of the institution, these constraints include (2):
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Program Coordination
To be successful, farm-to-school programs must have a good buying, selling, and distribution system. Food service buyers want to make their food purchases using a one-stop shopping approach that allows them to order, receive, and pay for produce in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Farmers want a dependable buyer who pays them a reasonable price, while not requiring them to absorb excess processing or distribution expenses.
Distribution Systems
Kelli Sanger with the Washington State Department of Agriculture Small Farm and Direct Marketing Program summarized distribution approaches that existing farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs have used successfully (3):
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A farmers' cooperative acts as a distributor and broker. Individual farmers belong to a cooperative that collects their produce, then processes and distributes it to schools and/or institutions.
Examples: New North Florida Cooperative of Small Farmers and University of Wisconsin campus diner service program -
A non-profit organization acts as distributor and broker. A community-based nonprofit organization serves as a liaison between growers and institutional buyers. The organization receives food orders from institutions and coordinates with the cooperating farmers to fill and deliver the order.
Example: All-Iowa Meals project with Iowa State University -
A local wholesaler acts as distributor and broker. A local food wholesaler picks up, processes, and delivers produce to schools and/or institutions.
Example: America Fresh Distribution System -
Farmers' markets serve as the central location where schools pick up farm products. Schools or institutions purchase produce at a local farmers' market. To ensure that institutional buyers get the type and quantity of produce they desire, orders are placed in advance with specific vendors. A coordinator is required to order, pick up, and deliver produce from the market to the schools.
Example: Santa Monica-Malibu School District and the Occidental College Center for Food and Justice -
State government acts as the distributor of state commodities and produce. The State Department of Agriculture works with the U.S. Department of Defense produce procurement program to identify and contract with farmers. These agencies coordinate the purchase and distribution of produce for the program.
Example: North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services -
Fresh Produce Program: The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) acts as a procurement agency for produce used in school lunch programs. It purchases food from farmers and then serves as vendor to the schools. The DOD does not deliver produce to schools.
Examples: North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Washington State are working with the U.S. Department of Defense in coordination with the USDA's Small Farms/School Meals Initiative. California and Illinois also have pilot programs underway. -
Food service companies as intermediaries in farm-to-campus programs. Private food service companies that contract with colleges and universities to procure, process, and deliver food to cafeterias procure some of their meat and produce from local farmers rather than through institutional brokers.
Examples: Aramark at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania, Burlington Food Services at Middlebury College in Vermont, Bon Appetit at Evergreen State College in Washington.
Farmer Agreements with Schools or Institutions
Farmers who propose to sell food products to schools or institutions need to carefully analyze what they can offer, when they can provide it, and the quantity that they can deliver. If they are approaching a school or institution that has not previously made purchases from farmers, producers also need to conduct some basic market research to determine what products the school wants or needs.
| Suggestions for Creating Contracts Once farmers have an initial agreement to supply food to schools or institutions, they should draw up finalized contracts that include the following components (5):
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In addition, producers need to convince the institution of the benefits of buying from local farmers. (2) Smaller-scale farmers may need to form cooperative agreements with other farmers in the area or work through existing distribution networks, such as the U.S. Department of Defense procurement agency, to provide schools and institutions with the necessary volume of farm products on a continuing basis. (4) Often, farmers can form initial agreements with schools and institutions by agreeing to provide products that serve a particular niche, such as foods favored by various cultural groups or products that are hard to obtain through the usual institutional food service companies. (4)
Several face-to-face meetings between the farmer and the institutional buyer may be necessary before an agreement can be signed. Institutional buyers will probably need to visit the farm or cooperative site to inspect the fields and washing and cooling facilities. The farmer may encourage a visit from institutional chefs, who generally are trained to appreciate food quality and freshness.
Once the farm-institution link is established, some institutions hold an annual training for their food service staff at a participating farm. During these trainings, staff can see, taste, and prepare the produce freshly harvested from the field. They can also meet participating farmers to learn about growing and harvesting produce and suggest additional varieties for the farmer to grow.
Farmers wanting to establish and maintain marketing agreements with schools or institutions should be particularly sensitive to the need to deliver their products in a timely manner that is consistent with food preparation schedules. Their products also need to be stored in a manner that retains product freshness until the contracted delivery time. Farmers may also need to change their production schedules and the manner in which they process and package their products to meet the needs of the food service provider. (4)
| Table 1. Funding and Assistance Programs | ||
| Program | Comments | Web |
| Procurement Programs: | ||
| Department of Defense Fresh Produce Program | The DOD developed a partnership with the USDA in 1994 that would enable the national school lunch program to use DOD's procurement and distribution system for fresh fruits and vegetables. School districts pay an overhead fee of 5.8% to use this procurement service. Farmers must be registered through the Defense Supply Center's Central Contractor Registration database. | DOD Fresh Produce Program: www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/ |
| USDA-AMS Commodity Procurement Program | While many commodity purchases use strict competitive bidding processes, other purchases are explicitly designed to increase the participation of small, minority-owned, or economically disadvantaged business as suppliers to the National School Lunch Program and other federally sponsored feeding programs. Purchases are made in semitrailer load quantities. | USDA/AMS Food Purchase Resources: www.ams.usda.gov /cp/resources.htm |
| AMS, Federal-State Marketing Improvement Program | The FSMIP gives high priority to small farms, direct marketing, and sustainable agriculture practices. Grants awarded to state-sponsored marketing projects. | Description of the application process for SMIP grants: www.ams.usda.gov /tmd/fsmip.htm #Application_Procedures |
| United States Department of Agriculture Programs: | ||
| Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service | The USDA-CSREES Web site has a wealth of information and links to a variety of programs related to food systems, including funding sources and contacts for state and local partners. | www.csrees.usda.gov/ |
| Rural Development | This site has information and links to Rural Business Enterprise Grants and Rural Business Opportunity Grants. It focuses on funding for agricultural marketing and production innovations. | www.csrees.usda.gov/ |
| Rural Business Cooperative Services Rural Cooperative Development Grant(RCDG) Program |
Rural Cooperative Development grants are made for establishing and operating centers for cooperative development for the primary purpose of improving the economic condition of rural areas through the development of new cooperatives and improving operations of existing cooperatives. | www.rurdev.usda.gov |
| Rural Business Cooperative Services Value-Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grants (VADG) |
One objective of this program is to encourage independent producers of agricultural commodities to further refine these products and increase their value to end users. The second objective is to establish an information resource center to collect, coordinate, and disseminate information on value-added processing to independent producers and processors. | www.rurdev.usda.gov /rbs/coops/tvadg.htm |
| Food and Nutrition Service | Lists the programs under the FNS, including Food Stamps, WIC/Farmers Markets, Food Distribution, Team Nutrition, and Child Nutrition and Federal State Marketing Improvement Program (FSMIP). | www.fns.usda.gov/fns |
| Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Program | Funded by the USDA and organized by region, the SARE program has competitive grants that may be used to fund creation of new marketing strategies for farmers and other innovative projects. SARE also funds multi-institutional, collaborative approaches to sustaining local food systems. | www.sare.org |
| American School Food Service Association | Coordinates, along with USDA, the implementaion of a provision in the 2002 Farm Bill calling for the creation of a pilot program with school food services designed to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables children eat by providing them free during the school day. Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio serve as pilot sites. Each of 25 schools in each state may receive up to about $50,000 to offer fresh and dried fruits and vegetables at no charge to all children in the school. The American School Food Service Association can provide information on industry trends and directions. |
www.ers.usda.gov Briefing/ChildNutrition/ fruitandvegetablepilot.htm |
| Community Food Projects Competitive Grant Program | Federal grants to support the development of Community Food Projects designed to meet the needs of low-income people by increasing their access to fresher, more nutritious food supplies; increase the self-reliance of communities in providing for their own food needs; and promote comprehensive responses to local food, farm, and nutrition issues. | http://www.csrees.usda.gov /fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1080 |
| National Non-Government Programs: | ||
| Food and Society Initiative | This is a project of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to support the creation and expansion of community-based food systems enterprises (CBEs) that are locally owned and controlled, environmentally sound, and promote good health. | www.foodandsociety.org/ |
| Foundation Databases: | ||
| Community Foundation Locator | Lists foundations by state with an easy-to-use U.S. map graphic. Also uses maps to show locations of each community foundation. | www.foodandsociety.org/ |
| igrant.com | Corporate and community foundations listed by state or grant category with links on "How to Write a Grant Proposal." Grant categories include environmental nonprofit organizations and agricultural resources. | www.onlinegrants.com /wri_proposal.asp ?Affil=&Prod=& ClickID=&AssocID= |
| Foundation Center | For a $20 monthly fee one can have access to and search the Foundation Center database for possible funding opportunities. Many grant directories are also available. | www.fdncenter.org/ |
Program Implementation Steps
 Stanford Food Service Director, Nadem Saddiqui, inspects organic strawberries at ALBA, the Agricultural Land Based Training Association. |
The initial phase of program implementation is typically time consuming, involves several face-to-face meetings, and may require the purchase of processing, storage, or distribution equipment. This program development step usually requires the work of a program coordinator or facilitator. Examples of initiators of farm-to-school or farm-to-institution agreements include:
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A government organization
Example: Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) working with the New North Florida Cooperative Program -
An interested college student
Examples: Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and the University of Wisconsin -
A faculty member in the School of Hospitality
Examples: Pennsylvania College of Technology and Cornell University -
A non-profit organization
Example: Practical Farmers of Iowa selling farm products to Iowa State University and Grinnell College - An interested food service director
Examples: High School District 211 in NW Cook County, Illinois, and Williams College in Massachussetts.
Farm-to-institution coordinators educate food service buyers and consumers about the benefits of using locally produced food. They also serve as meeting coordinators and manage the negotiation, inspection, and distribution processes required to develop and maintain farm-to-school or farm-to-institutions contracts. They may also be responsible for seeking outside financial assistance to cover management and equipment costs.
 Every effort should be made to make purchasing local foods easy for institutional staff. |
Specific steps used to implement a successful farm-to-school or farm-to-institution program will differ from one situation to the next. The common theme in all these steps is building a trusting relationaship between buyers and sellers, which increases the sustainability of the program. To build this trust, it also helps to start small (i.e., one school or one cafeteria, or even one type of food/produce, such as a salad bar), then build on successes.
Often the first step in developing a farm-to-school or farm-to-institution program involves the formation of a food advisory committee. For a farm-to-school program this committee would probably include farmers, food purchasers for the school, kitchen personnel, school board members, and representatives from any coordinating organization. Based on the experience of existing farm-to-school programs, this committee guides new program development by (2, 4, 6):
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Examining logistical and management concerns such as:
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type of food consumed by school children
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cooking and storage facilities available at schools
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food preparation skills of food service personnel
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access to processing facilities (and cost)
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amount of produce that schools can use and when
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type and amount of produce that farmers can provide and when
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processes for food quality and food safety oversight
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selling prices for produce
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pick-up and distribution systems that are available and their cost
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billing and payment systems
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regulations affecting food handling and marketing practices
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Addressing issues identified in the feasibility study. In most cases this can involve developing a pick-up, processing, and delivery system, as well as a business office to coordinate orders, billing, and payment. The economic sustainability of the program is important to keep in mind. In their initial years, many of these programs require external funding, but that will last only a short time. Many programs enlist volunteers, drawing on parental or student interest, but unless the volunteers' time is well coordinated, their interest will wane. Program development should include processes to "institutionalize" contractual agreements between farmers and food service operations.
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Identifying or establishing a coordinator position or coordination structure to facilitate communication and business management.
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Identifying and coordinating with available funding or coordination structures such as U.S. Department of Defense procurement programs and local processing and distribution facilities.
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Assisting schools or institutions to identify and obtain federal, state, or local exemptions to standard competitive bidding requirements when purchasing from local or minority-owned businesses.
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Assisting producers to increase the diversity of their products and extend their growing season.
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Ensuring that the program maintains professionalism, accountability, and strict adherence to food safety and quality standards.
- Helping integrate appreciation for food production into the curriculum by developing farm visits or other food-system-related activities for school children.
Successful Programs
Farmers and food service directors wanting to establish local farm-to-school or farm-to-institution programs can learn from the experience of established programs. Schools and institutions are becoming increasingly receptive to these programs, as are the food services with which they contract. Funding and government support for these programs is also becoming increasingly available. The 2002 Farm Bill provides funds for selected schools in four pilot states (Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio) to offer fresh and dried fruits and vegetables to children at no charge. (7) Based on a 1994 agreement between the United States Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Defense, national school lunch programs can use the DOD procurement and distribution system, referred to as DOD Fresh, to obtain fresh fruits and vegetables.
| Table 3. United States Department of Agriculture Programs | |
| Organization and Web Information | Comments |
| Agricultural Marketing Service Direct marketing publications |
Several excellent farmer-direct marketing publications, including "How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers Are Building Alliances", and an overview of the New North Florida Cooperative, an early, innovative farm-to-school effort. Also see the following Web page for a PowerPoint presentation of the New North Florida Cooperative (MS PowerPoint / 1.8MB]. |
| Food and Nutrition Service – WIC and Senior Farmers' Market Food Stamps – Local purchase of produce for school lunch programs |
Farm Bill provisions, farm-to-school planning documents. |
| Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service Community Supported Agriculture |
This site has links to many others with information about CSAs, including a link to a national state-by-state CSA database. |
 Institutional markets like this Stanford, CA, salad bar are great for small farmers. |
Local and state organizations are also working to change policies to favor procurement of locally produced foods. In New York State, NY Farms! is urging the state legislature to ease the bidding requirements for contracts with school lunch programs to allow school food service directors to use more locally produced foods. The Community Food Security Coalition works with local organizations to develop farm-to-school programs, while the Center for Food and Justice in the Urban and Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College works to promote policies that make schools healthier places to learn.
The farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs described in the following resource list cover a broad range of marketing interactions, food products, and types of community involvement. For example:
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Farmers in north Florida formed a cooperative to process and distribute collard greens and other crops to local schools. This cooperative has expanded its operations to work with 15 school districts in three states, while also increasing its product line and packaging capabilities. (8)
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Cafeterias at colleges and universities associated with the University of Wisconsin system purchase up to one-third of their ingredients from local and organic farmers. (10)
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Schools in upstate New York (11), and in Minnesota (12), provide markets for local farmers, while seeking to influence children's food preferences, by involving youth with food in many ways, including growing, harvesting, preparing, taste-testing, learning about it, and touring farms and farmers' markets.
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High schools in Pennsylvania have established School Market Programs where, by creating and operating farmers' markets, students learn about nutrition, food marketing, and the role of food in their community. (13)
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Professors and students at the University of Northern Iowa helped establish marketing links between local farmers and a county hospital. The hospital now buys almost 25% of its food locally. (14)
These programs also demonstrate how farm-to-school or farm-to-college programs can help promote more sustainable lifestyles on campuses, in schools, and within the community. For example:
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Bates College, Bowdoin College, Bastyr University, Middlebury College, Slippery Rock University, and Tufts University all have composting programs in conjunction with their farm-to-college programs.
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Some schools' food services have adopted "green" mission statements to guide all their activities, not just food purchases. For example, Northland College is adopting more sustainable practices in its dining services, including switching to more environmentally safe cleaning supplies, installing and using energy and water-saving devices, increasing recycling and reuse efforts, and working with renewable energy sources.
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The Oberlin College Food Service purchases foods from local producers who support the rights of farm workers.
 Fresh fruits and vegetables at Malcolm X Middle School in Berkeley, CA, leave patrons smiling. |
People interested in establishing farm-to-school or farm-to-institution marketing arrangements can also share their experiences at several regional and national conferences.
In 2002, the Community Food Security Coalition sponsored the first national conference on Farm to Cafeteria: Healthy Farms, Healthy Students. The enthusiastic response to this conference no doubt ensures that other conferences and workshops will focus on this subject in the future.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their thanks to NCAT Technical Specialists Nancy Matheson and Julia Sampson for their insightful review of this document. Marion Kalb, the Farm to School Coordinator for the Community Food Security Coalition, provided invaluable assistance through her review of and many additions to the programs list.
References
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Stern, Robert. 2002. Community Food Security Coalition listserve. November 1.
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Gregoire, Mary, Catherine A. Strohbehn, and Jim Huss. 2000. Local Food Connections from Farms to Schools. Iowa State University. University Extension, Ames, IA. 4 p.
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Sanger, Kelli. 2001. Creative ways to sell and distribute locally produced foods to school and university cafeterias: Examples of selling and distributing food from across the nation. Washington State Department of Agriculture, Olympia, WA. 19 p.
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Tropp, Debra, and Surajudeen Olowolayemo. 2000. How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers are Building Alliances. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, Washington, D.C. 30 p. www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/mta/FarmToSchoolMarketing.pdf [PDF/1686KB]
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Visher, David. 1996. Selling Directly to Local Schools. Small Farms Center, University of California, Davis, CA. 2 p. www.sfc.ucdavis.edu/pubs/SFNews/archive/96032.htm
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Valen, Gary. 2001. Local Food Project. A How-to Manual. Humane Society of the United States, Washington, D.C. 41 p.
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USDA to Select Schools for Fruit and Vegetable Pilot. American School Food Service Association. asfsa.org Web page.
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Holmes, Glyen, Vonda Richardson, and Dan Schofer. 2002. Taking it to the next level: Success of small Floida vegetable co-op leads to a network of similar cooperatives. Rural Cooperatives. September/October. p. 18-23, 37. www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/sep02/sep02.pdf [PDF/2.4MB]
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Mascarenhas, Michelle, and Robert Gottlieb. 2000. The Farmers' Market Salad Bar: Assessing the First Three Years of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Program. Community Food Security Coalition, Los Angeles, CA. 24 p.
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The College Food Project. Institutional Food Purchasing. Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. University of Wisconsin. Web page. www.cias.wisc.edu/collegefood.php
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Neff, Glenda. 2002. Community Food Security Coalition list serve. November 1.
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Koester, Ulrich. 1999. Giving Children a Role in Sustainable Agriculture. Midwest Food Connection, Minneapolis, MN. 28 p.
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The Food Trust. Building Strong Communities Through Healthy Foods. Web page. www.thefoodtrust.org/php/programs/index.php
- Strohbehn, Catherine A., and Mary Gregoire. 2002. Local Food Connections: Food Service Considerations. Iowa State University. University Extension. Ames, IA. 4 p. www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/PM1853C.pdf [PDF/116KB]
| Table 4. Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Publications | |
| Citation | Annotation |
| USDA. Innovative Marketing Opportunities for Small Farmers: Local Schools as Customers. 2000. USDA. 61 p. |
Describes the formation and marketing strategies of the New North Florida Cooperative and its development of a farm-to-school program. |
| USDA. Small Farms/School Meals Initiative Town Hall Meetings. 2000. USDA Food and Nutrition Service. 22 p. |
A step-by-step guide of activities for groups to plan, conduct, and publicize professional town meetings that encourage small farmers and local school food officials to begin a farm-to-school project. |
| Tropp, Debra, and Surajudeen Olowolayemo. 2000. How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers are Building Alliances [PDF/168KB]. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service. 30 p. |
Provides an overview of lessons learned from the USDA Small Farm/School Meals Workshop. Chapters include: Food service preferences, Potential barriers for small farmers to enter into food service contracts, Strategies for small farmers approaching school meal services, Government programs, Marketing checklist for small farmers, and Marketing checklist for school food service directors. |
| Azuma, Andrea, and Andy Fisher. 2001. Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids: Evaluating the Barriers and Opportunities to Farm to School Programs. Community Food Security Cooalition. 64 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition P.O. Box 209 Venice, CA 90294 310-822-5410 |
This book describes in detail seven farm-to-school projects from around the country, examining the barriers and opportunities surrounding farm-to-school programs, including childhood obesity, the struggles of family farmers, and the changing school food environment with the rise of fast food and soft drinks in the school lunchroom. The report also includes an analysis of federal policies related to nutrition and local food systems, and makes a series of policy recommendations. |
| Mascarenhas, Michelle, and Robert Gottlieb. 2000. The Farmer's Market Salad Bar: Assessing the First Three Years of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Program. Community Food Security Coalition. 24 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition P.O. Box 209 Venice, CA 90294 310-822-5410 |
The Occidental College for Food and Justice initiated the Farmers' Market Salad Bar at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. This booklet has some preliminary data on cost of this program and describes the potential for such a program as well as problems encountered. |
| Valen, Gary. 2001. Local Food Project. A How-to Manual. Humane Society of the United States.
41 p. Available from: Humane Society of the United States 2100 L. St., NW Washington, DC 20037 202-452-1100 301-258-3081 FAX |
An excellent resource for people interested in starting a local food project. Drawing upon his experience in developing a farm-to-college project at Hendrix College in Arkansas, Valen outlines why local food systems are important and what steps to take to implement a local food systems project. This booklet contains a good resource list. |
| Gregoire, Mary, Catherine A. Strohbehn, and Jim Huss. 2000. Local Food Connections from Farms to Schools [PDF/39KB]. Iowa State University Extension. 4 p. |
Provides an overview of potential opportunities and issues to be addressed in implementing farm-to-school programs. This booklet also provides guidelines for individual farmers and community organizations seeking access to schools as markets. |
| UW CIAS. 2000. New markets for producers: selling to colleges. Research Brief 39. University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. |
This report, based on interviews with personnel from six U.S. colleges with significant local, sustainable food buying components, identifies opportunities and barriers facing producers who would like to market to colleges. While these institutions are trying to increase efficiency and meet budgetary and safety requirements, marketing opportunities do exist for producers of local, sustainably produced food, even within the largest and most structured food service departments. Institutional food buyers were more interested in buying locally produced foods that benefited their communities than they were in buying certified organic foods. |
| UW CIAS. 2001. Dishing up local food on Wisconsin campuses. Research Brief 55. University of Wisconsin Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems. |
Report on interviews conducted with food service directors at 34 colleges and universities in Wisconsin to learn more about their potential as local food buyers. |
| Koester, Ulrich. 1999. Giving Children a Role in Sustainable Agriculture. Midwest Food Connection, Minneapolis, MN. 28 p. 612-871-0317, ext. 345 |
A guide to classroom and farm visit activities for grade school students. These activities may be coordinated with a farm-to-school program to enhance student appreciation of agriculture. |
| University of Missouri. 2000. The Food Circles Networking Project: Report on 1999–2000 Activities [PDF/2.3MB]. Missouri Community Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture Program. 4 p. |
The Food Circles Networking Project works in the Columbia and Kansas City, MO, areas promoting local food systems, including farmers’ markets, farm-to-school and farm-to-institution programs, and community gardens. |
| Vallianatos, Mark. 2002. Healthy School Food Policies: A Checklist [PDF/236KB]. Center for Food and Justice, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute, Occidental College. 10 p. |
An evolving document that provides policy recommendations for healthy school lunch programs, including integration with school educational, health, and environmental missions, and purchasing to promote community economic development and the livlihoods of local farmers. |
| Malloy, Claudia, Joy Johanson, and Margo Wootan. 2003. CSPI School Foods Tool Kit. Center for Science in the Public Interest 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 300 Washington, DC 20009 202-777-8352 nutritionpolicy@cspinet.org |
Addresses goals and strategies for improving school foods and beverages and contains background materials and fact sheets on children’s diets and health, school meal programs, and vending and other school food venues. It also has a section on techniques that you can use to effect change, with guidance and model materials for communicating with decision makers, the press, and other members of your community. |
| McDermott, Maura. 2003. The Oklahoma Farm-To-School Report. Oklahoma Food Policy Council/Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Poteau, OK |
A survey of 638 public institutions (including colleges and universities, technology centers, prisons, state hospitals, and state resorts) indicated that food managers have a significant interest in using more locally-produced food in their food service programs. They also thought that many of the perceived obstacles could be solved through education. The Oklahoma Food Policy Council outlines steps that may be used to increase the use of local foods by institutions while working to improve the access of people, especially school children, to healthy diets. |
| Campbell, Shawn. 2003. The Oklahoma Food Connection 2003. Oklahoma Food Policy Council/Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
58 p. Poteau, OK |
Addressing a demand for local food in Oklahoma, this directory lists farmers, where they are located, and what they produce. Consumers and public institutions wanting to buy locally may wish to contact farmers in their area. This publication also lists schools that have expressed interest in buying local produce. |
| Table 5. Local Food Security Publications | |
| Citation | Annotation |
| USDA. 2000. Community Food Security Resource Kit: How to Find Money, Technical Assistance, and Other Help to Fight Hunger and Strengthen Local Food Systems. USDA. 92 p. |
This kit is an excellent resource for those working on food system projects, providing information about programs and projects (including many funding sources) across the nation that are working on community-centered food security activities. |
| Tauber, Maya, and Andy Fisher. 2002. A Guide to Community Food Projects. Community Food Security Coalition. 19 p. |
This guide features case studies of seven diverse and innovative projects funded by USDA’s Community Food Projects grant program. It also includes basic information about the CFP program and sources for more information. |
| Fisher, Andy, Kai Siedenburg, Mark Winne, and Jill Zachary. 1999. Getting Food on the Table: An Action Guide to Local Food Policy. Community Food Security Coalition. 70 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition |
The guide includes an inventory of California programs, policies and functions that provide opportunities for supporting community food security. The guide also includes case studies, advice from experienced food policy advocates, a resource guide, and federal funding sources. |
| Bailkey, Martin, and Jerry Kaufman. 2000. Farming Inside Cities. Community Food Security Coalition. 125 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition |
This report investigates the nature and characteristics of city farming for market sales. It also discusses obstacles to market-based city farming activities and ways of overcoming these obstacles. More than 120 people served as informants, and some 70 entrepreneurial urban agriculture projects in the United States were found for this study. |
| Fisher, Andy. 1999. Hot Peppers and Parking Lot Peaches: Evaluating Farmers’ Markets in Low Income Communities. Community Food Security Coalition. 61 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition |
This booklet examines farmers’ markets, WIC (Woman, Infant, Child) Farmers Market Nutrition Programs, case studies, electronic benefit transfer, farmstands, policy issues, guidelines for successful markets, and policy recommendations. |
| Ashman, Linda (ed.) 1993. Seeds of Change: Strategies for Food Security for the Inner City. Community Food Security Coalition. 400 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition |
This is perhaps the most thorough documentation of an urban community’s food system. Sections on hunger, nutrition, food industry, supermarket industry, community case study, farmers’ markets, urban agriculture, joint ventures, and food policy councils. |
| Joseph, Hugh (ed.) 1997. Community Food Security: A Guide to Concept, Design, and Implementation [PDF/218KB]. Community Food Security Coalition. 57 p. Available from: Community Food Security Coalition. |
This guidebook details such issues as the concept of CFS, community food planning, needs assessments, building collaborations and coalitions, project implementation, entrepreneurship, funding, program sustainability, case studies, and multiple attachments. |
| McDermott, Maura. 2001. Healthy Farms, Food and Communities. Field Notes [PDF/381KB] Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. 9 p. |
Excerpts from the "Bringing in the Sheaves" symposium, a meeting focusing on community food systems, economic and ethical impacts of food choices, and community supported agriculture. |
| Table 6. Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Programs | |||
| National | Iowa | Montana | Pennsylvania |
| California | Kansas | New Mexico | Texas |
| Connecticut | Maine | New York | Vermont |
| Florida | Massachusetts | North Carolina | Washington |
| Illinois | Minnesota | Ohio | Wisconsin |
| National Programs | |
| Program Name and Contact Information | Comments |
| Community Food Security Coalition Marion Kalb Farm to School Program Director P.O. Box 363 Davis, CA 95617 530-756-8518, Ext. 32 530-756-7857 FAX marion@ foodsecurity.org Community Food Security Coalition Kristen Markley Farm to College Program Manager P.O. Box 109 Markley Lane Beaver Springs, PA 17812 310-822-5410 310-822-1440 FAX kristen@ foodsecurity.org |
The Community Food Security Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to building strong, sustainable, local and regional food systems that ensure access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all people at all times. CFSC seeks to develop self-reliance among all communities in obtaining their food, and to create a system of growing, manufacturing, processing, distributing, and selling food that is regionally based and grounded in justice, democracy, and sustainability. CFSC has more than 250 member organizations. Publications, conferences, and other activities focus on community food projects including farmers’ markets, farm-to-school projects, and community gardens. CFSC Farm-to-School and Farm-to-College programs provide information, workshops, and development assistance in the initiation and implementation of these programs across the country. |
| National Farm to School Program Anupama Joshi Center for Food and Justice Occidental College 323-341-5095 323-258-2917 FAX mwall@oxy.edu and Marion Kalb, Co-Director Community Food Security Coalition (See above for contact information) |
This partnership of several educational institutions, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, and the Community Food Security Coalition—with the Center for Food & Justice as the lead organization—is creating a database of every school and college that has a farm-to-school element in their educational work. Currently working on nine projects funded by the USDA, the program has helped create school projects that buy from local farmers, a Food Service Director’s Guide to Farm to School, educational seminars, evaluation of existing projects, and ongoing technical assistance to potential and current projects. |
| California | |
| Farmers’ Market Salad Bar Tracie Thomas, Coordinator 1651 Sixteenth Street Santa Monica, CA 90404 310-450-8338, Ext. 324 310-399-2993 FAX payton@smmusd.org |
This began as a project of the Occidental College Center for Food and Justice. The program is also linked to school garden programs and educational activities, such as farmers’ markets and farm tours, to promote a holistic view of food. |
| Center for Eco-Literacy Janet Brown 2522 San Pablo Avenue Berkeley, CA 510-845-4945 janet@ecoliteracy.org |
The Center for Eco-Literacy coordinated the Berkeley Food Systems Project and was instrumental in drafting the Food Policy for the Berkeley Unified School District. |
| Davis Joint Unified School District (DJUSD) Rafaelita M. Curva Director of Student Nutrition Services 1919 Fifth Street Davis, CA 95616 530-757-5385, Ext. 119 530-758-3889 FAX |
The program began at three elementary school sites and has now expanded to seven schools, with an eighth expected to join in the fall of 2003. The integrated programs include salad bars (Crunch Lunch!), composting/recycling, gardens, cooking carts, and farm visits. Food preparation for the salad bars is centrally done from the Davis High School Kitchen and delivered to the various sites. Start-up costs and direct labor costs were funded by grants. Now, grants cover equipment procurement and outreach/curriculum connections. All food, supply, and other direct costs are covered by Student Nutrition Services. The program purchases roughly $8000/year of produce from local farmers, and the main constraint to increasing that figure is the physical size of the prep area and time constraints of staff. |
| Ventura Unified Farm to School Program Marilyn Godfree Healthy Projects Coordinator 805-641-5050 and Tammy Nelson Salad Bar Coordinator 805-641-5054 mgodfree@vtusd.k12.ca.us |
This program started in 2001 and is now operating in three schools. Marilyn Godfree is responsible for the educational and outreach components of the program, while Tammy Nelson manages the salad bars, orders food, and works with vendors. The salad bar operates twice per week at one school and once per week at the other two, where it is the only meal choice for that lunch day. The salad bar lunch reaches roughly 1,000 children and, combined with gardening activities, is integrated into the curriculum. Schools have complete kitchens and use parent volunteers for non-food preparation activities. Local vendors have agreed to buy from local farmers "whenever possible." Some fruit and other food items are bought directly from farmers. Start-up funds for this project came from a combination of tobacco settlement money, PTA funds, and grant monies obtained by a non-profit. Ms. Godfree notes that kids using the salad bar throw away much less food compared to the hot lunch. |
| Occidental College Center for Community-Based Learning (CCBL) 323-259-2904 ccbl@oxy.edu Center for Food and Justice Maggie Haase, Director 323-341-5096 |
The Center for Community-Based Learning at Occidental College runs the "Market Basket Program" in which students subscribe to the program and receive weekly boxes of produce from the farmers’ market. The College’s Center for Food and Justice is the lead organization for both the National Farm to School Program and the California Farm to School Program. |
| University of California, Santa Barbara Bonnie Crouse, Coordinator Residential Dining Services, Systems and Procurement University of California, Santa Barbara 1501 Residential Services Santa Barbara, CA 93106 805-893-3315 805-893-4766 FAX bcrouse@housing.ucsb.edu |
UCSB contracts with a local food service vendor (The Berry Man), who buys part of their produce from local farmers. While UCSB is willing to contract directly with local farmers, it has not done so yet. For contracting information, contact the local representative for The Berry Man, Les Clark, at 805-963-6184. |
| Connecticut | |
| Department of Corrections Robert Frank Director of Nutritional Services 201 West Main Street Niantic, CT 06357 860-691-6989 860-691-6874 FAX |
The DOC may be the single largest buyer of food in Connecticut. DOC began buying Connecticut-grown in July 2002 and completed the first season in November. 20 farmers participated, and the program will continue in 2003 and is considered a success. DOC would place their weekly order with the US FoodService (USF), which holds the master contract with the State for all institutional food purchasing (except U. Conn.) USF would then place their produce order with M&M Produce. Whenever available and when the price was "close," M&M would buy as much of the fresh produce as possible from the CT farmers. By "close" this meant the buyers were generally willing to grant CT farmers up to a 5% premium. |
| Florida | |
| New North Florida Cooperative Program Glyen Holmes NRCS/USDA 215 Perry Paite Bldg. S. FAMU Tallahassee, FL 32307 859-599-3546 nnfc@digitalexp.com |
This program is facilitated by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), which helped organize a group of North Florida farmers to supply local schools with fresh produce. This project is now operating in 15 school districts with 300,000 children in three states (FL, SC, and AL). Several publications about this program are available on the NRCS Farmer Direct Marketing Web page under Farm-to-School Programs. |
| Illinois | |
| Illinois Farm-to-School Initiative Rhonda Williams Generation Green P.O. Box 7027 Evanston, IL 60201 312-419-1810 rhonda@generationgreen.org |
Generation Green is initiating a process to connect farmers and small farm co-ops with interested school districts through educational programs and interactions with food service directors and state policy makers. They are participaring in the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Department of Defense Commodity Program. |
| Township High School District 211 Ruth Jonen District 211 Director of Food Services Towns of Palatine and Schaumburg in NW Cook County, IL 847-755-1600 |
Jonen has been buying produce for the school lunch program from the Schaumburg Farmers’ Market for more than 15 years. Purchases run from August through October and serve approximately 2,500 students. |
| Iowa | |
| Sunflower Fields Farm and CSA Michael Nash 776 Old Stage Road Postville, IA 52162 563-864-3847 563-864-3837 FAX |
Michael is a member of a growers co-op that distributes food to schools and other institutions. |
| Practical Farmers of Iowa Rick Hartmann, Food Systems Program Staff Robert Karp, Gary Huber 300 Main St. # 1 Ames, IA 50010 515-232-5661(phone & Fax) rick@isunet.net |
Primary buyers from PFI are Iowa State University and Grinnell College. The Institutional Buying and Producer Cooperation project of the Practical Farmers of Iowa began in 2001 as a two year in-depth feasibility study of various approaches for linking Iowa farmers practicing sustainable agriculture to hotel, restaurant, and institutional (HRI) markets. |
| University of Northern Iowa Local Food Project Prof. Kamyar Enshayan and Scott Cooley, Adjunct Faculty Department of Physics University of Northern Iowa Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0150 319-273-7575 or 319-273-6895 319-273-7136 FAX kamyar.enshayan@uni.edu |
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture provided funding for this project, which works with institutional food buyers (hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, and groceries) to explore ways to purchase a greater portion of their food from local/regional farmers and food processors. In this way, they seek to increase investment of food dollars in the local community. |
| Kansas | |
| Community Mercantile Education Foundation Nancy O’Connor, Executive Director 901 Iowa Street Lawrence, KS 66044 785-843-8544 cmef@sunflower.com |
The Community Mercantile Education Foundation (CMEF) and area farmers initiated this program in northeast Kansas to help create understanding and support of regionally and sustainably grown agricultural products. The CMEF is the not-for-profit arm of the Community Mercantile Co-op, a natural foods store in Lawrence. |
| Maine | |
| Bates College Nelson Pray, Buyer for Dining Services 56 Campus Avenue, Chase Hall Lewiston, ME 04240 207-786-6300 207-786-6302 FAX npray@bates.edu |
A member of the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association (MOFGA), Bates has bought organic produce from local farmers since 1996. Bates buys turkeys, potatoes, and tomatoes from MOFGA. The college food service also composts preconsumer wastes and collects postconsumer wastes as feed for a local hog farmer. |
| Bowdoin College Michele Gaillard, Purchasing Manager 3700 College Station Brunswick, ME 04011-8428 207-725-3000 207-725-3974 FAX mgaillar@bowdoin.edu |
Bowdoin College dining service purchases local foods for several special events throughout the year, notably a "return to school" lobsterbake. In the spring of 2001 a dining service oversight team was formed to develop new sustainability programs within the department and oversee programs already in place. Bowdoin has a pre-consumer waste composting program and has also established a refillable mug program. |
| Massachusetts | |
| Tufts University Patti Lee Klos Director of Dining & Business Services 89-91 Curtis Street Medford, MA 02155 617-627-3751 617-627-3902 FAX patti.lee@tufts.edu |
The Tufts Dining Services Department feels it is important to source foods locally, which includes produce and locally produced food items. During the fall they promote locally grown apples, and throughout the year they seek first to provide produce, that is grown in Massachusetts and the New England states. When searching for new suppliers, TDSD first seeks to support the immediate communities of Medford and Somerville, and then the greater Boston area. TDSD recycles corrugated cardboard, tin cans, glass, and plastics. More than two tons of food waste is diverted from the waste stream each week during the school year. |
| Williams College Robert Volpi Director Dining Services 413-597-2051 Robert.P.Volpi@williams.edu |
With the efforts of student organizations, CEAC (Campus Environmental Advisory Committee), Greensense, and SSJ (Students for Social Justice), along with Administrators and Dining Services, the Eco-Café, located in the Science Building atrium, opened on April 1, 2002. The Café features organic fair-trade coffee, organic teas, and bottled water, all natural tea breads, cookies, and biscotti from local bakeries. |
| Minnesota | |
| Saint Olaf College Gene Bakko Professor of Biology Biology Dept. St. Olaf College 1520 St. Olaf Avenue Northfield, MN 55057-1098 507-646-3399 507-646-3968 FAX bakko@stolaf.edu |
St. Olaf College had a three year program about 10 years ago (1989-1991, funded by the McKnight Foundation). Carlton College also participated (five students at each college). The students examined the orgins of campus-served food, which in turn spawned an effort by the dining services to procure local food. |
| St John’s University Dave Schoenberg Executive Director of Dining and Events P.O. Box 2000 Collegeville, MN 56321 320-363-3490 320-363-2658 FAX dschoenberg@csbsju.edu |
St. John’s University is a Benedictine University and has an overall philosophy of good stewardship, not only in food purchasing. St. John’s does not have targets for local food purchases, but purchases local honey, maple syrup, apples, and some flour, in addition to running a community garden from which they purchase some of the extra food available. St. John’s also purchases some cheese products from a local (within state) cooperative. Local growers supply apples to campus, but all other produce purchase efforts eventually fell through because local growers are small and could not, or were not willing to, plant for the College market. In 2002, St. John’s did a week long "buy local" educational campaign, exposing students to local foods and transporting them to local farms. |
| Montana | |
| University of Montana, Missoula Steve Murphy Purchasing Manager University Dining Services Lommasson Center 145 The University of Montana Missoula, Montana 59812-1944 406-243-4042 SMurphy@mso.umt.eduz |
The UM Farm to College Program strives to be a model for institutional local (Montana) and regional food purchasing. In the last year, UM Dining Services has purchased from more than 40 local producers, recirculating at least $150,000 back into Montana's economy. As part of this sustainable effort, the Dining Service also composts all vegetable wastes. The compost is used on campus and on the student farm. |
| New Mexico | |
| Cooking with Kids Lynn Walters Program Coordinator 3508 Camino Jalisco Santa Fe, NM 87505 505-473-4703 505-473-4703 FAX lwalters@unm.edu |
Cooking with Kids is a multicultural food education program that works to improve children’s nutrition by involving public school students in hands-on learning about culturally diverse foods that are healthy and appealing. Cooking with Kids’ activities use an integrated curriculum format that provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning, including math, science, social studies, language arts, music, and art. Cooking with Kids models healthy food choices in elementary school classrooms and school dining rooms. |
| New York | |
| From Farm to School: Improving Small Farm Viability and School Meals Jennifer Wilkins, Program Director Division of Nutritional Sciences 305 MVR Hall Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853-4401 607-255-2730 607-255-0178 FAX jlw15@cornell.edu |
New York is a partner in a new multi-state project funded by the USDA Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS). The New York portion of this project, From Farm to School: Improving Small Farm Viability and School Meals, will follow the development of farm-to-school connections in four pilot school districts in different regions of the state. |
| Cornell University Dining Services Coleen Wright-Riva Acting Director Dining Office 233 Day Hall Ithaca, NY 14853-6006 607-255-5952 dining@cornell.edu |
The Cornell University Dining Service purchases one-third of its food from New York farmers, processors, and vendors, and has implemented farm-to-school educational programs about the importance of using local foods. They also work with students, faculty, and staff to offer ethnic and multi-cultural cuisine, including kosher foods. The dining service has an internship program with the Culinary Institute of America and has won several national "Best of Show" awards. |
| NY Farms! 125 Williams Road Candor, NY 13743 |
NY Farms! coordinates an effort to increase awareness of opportunities for schools to connect with local food producers. As a task force of the New York State School Food Service Association, they are talking with the NY state legislature to ease the bidding requirements for contracts with school lunch programs, making the process easier for school food service directors. |
| North Carolina | |
| North Carolina Direct Vendor Delivery Program Gerald German, Produce Office P.O. Box 471 Wicomico, VA 23184-0471 804-642-1902 804-642-1903 FAX Ggerman@dscp.dla.mil |
The state of North Carolina distributes the produce, but the Department of Defense does the buying. This program allows school districts to buy more fresh produce without the school food service fund footing the bill. All invoices are sent to the state’s Commodity Food Programs, which retrieves money from the DOD food fund to pay the local produce bills. |
| Ohio | |
| Kenyon College Howard L. Sacks Director Rural Life Center, Kenyon College Gambier, OH 43022 740-427-5850 sacksh@kenyon.edu |
Kenyon College, in cooperation with various local organizations, launched an initiative in 2000 to build a sustainable local market for foods produced in Knox County, Ohio. Working through the college's Rural Life Center, Kenyon has produced a guide to local food products and established a local farmers market in the county seat. Kenyon's dining halls use local foods at all meals. Area businesses have begun to incorporate home grown foods, with publicity materials provided by the College. Efforts are currently underway to establish a food warehouse, community kitchen, and retail store for use by local farmers. For over a decade, the Rural Life Center has produced public educational programs and publications about food, farming, and community life. |
| Oberlin College Brad Masi, Executive Director Ecological Design Innovation Center Lewis Center for Envir. Studies 122 Elm Street Oberlin, OH 44074 440-775-8409 440-775-8946 FAX brad.masi@oberlin.edu |
Oberlin College Dining Service makes extensive use of locally grown organic foods that are minimally processed. The Food Service purchases foods from local producers and uses only food suppliers who support the rights of farm workers. Oberlin College has purchased directly from local farmers since 2000. |
| Ohio University Randy Shelton Director of Housing and Food Service 1 Riverside Dr. Ohio University Athens, OH 45701 740-593-4094 shelton@ohio.edu or shelton@filesrv.facilities.ohio.edu |
The O.U. Food Service goal is to supply 10% of direct local produce within 4-5 years. In 2002 it purchased pork, organic dairy, fruit, and veggies from eight farmers. Randy Shelton is working with farmers to develop a signature (Ohio University) brand of sausage that can be used as a marketing tool by farmers. |
| Pennsylvania | |
| Pennsylvania College of Technology Mike Ditchfield Faculty Instructor in the School of Hospitality 1 College Ave DIF#AD Williamsport, PA 17701 570-326-3761, Ext. 7813 570-320-5260 FAX mditchfi@pct.edu |
Mike Ditchfield started this program in 1995 and facilitated the process of connecting local sustainable farmers with the School of Hospitality and with the Penn College food service. Local purchases include milk and cheese from grass-fed cows, pastured poultry, and some elk from about a dozen local farmers. The school is a member of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA). This effort helps the School of Hospitality teach about quality as an important component of food service. SoH students also visit organic farms to see and harvest the produce. |
| School Market Program Katrima Rose School Market Program Partners Coordinator 215-568-0830, Ext. 27 and Donna Pitz Ag Market Developer 215-568-0830, Ext. 25 contact@thefoodtrust.org |
Students create, own, and operate farmers’ markets in their schools, where they sell fruit and vegetable products to fellow students and teachers during the school year. Through a grant from SARE, the Food Trust is working with farmers and buyers to increase sales and demand for sustainable and locally grown farm products in urban communities throughout the region. |
| Slippery Rock University Debra Pincek Director of Auxilliary Student Services University Food Services Office Weisenfluh Hall Slippery Rock University 724-738-2038 debra.pincek@sru.edu |
This project is working to require food service contracts to purchase a minimum of 10% of the food used from local producers. "Local" in this sense is tentatively identified as one hour’s driving time. A full time graduate assistanceship (20 hrs/wKB] is funded to implement the project using money from Slippery Rock U and Aramark (the present food service contractor). PASA (PA Association for Sustainable Ag) provided funding for a trial run of this concept with local farmers in the summer of 2002. |
| Texas | |
| Healthy Food for Healthy Kids Susan Combs Allen Spelce Texas Agricultural Commissioner 512-463-7664 |
Nutrition campaign for children to promote consumption of Texas fruits and vegetables. Includes summer workshops for school district food service purchasers on the availability of local fresh fruits and vegetables. |
| Vermont | |
| Middlebury College Connie Leach Bisson Sustainable Campus Coordinator Farrell House Middlebury, VT 05753 802-443-5043 802-443-2458 FAX cbisson@middlebury.edu |
Middlebury purchases about 75% of their food through Burlington Food Service (BFS), a private distributor based in Burlington, VT. Middlebury is BFS’s largest customer. BFS buys from local farms when in season. Middlebury purchases about $1.5 million worth of food from BFS annually. Middlebury encourages local organic growers to work through distributors in order to establish a reliable supply. Middlebury has been composting since 1993, diverting 75% (300 tons/year) of college food waste from the landfill. It turns food residuals into compost for soil amendments in campus landscaping and vegetable production. The food composting operation is also used as a vehicle for education and research within the college. |
| Washington | |
| Evergreen State College Jennifer Hall, General Manager Bon Appetit c/o Nordstrom 500 Pine Street, Suite 500 Seattle, WA 98109 206-628-1669 cafegm@evergreen.edu and Piper Kapin Farm to College Project Manager Housing A 322-J 2700 Evergreen Parkway NW Olympia, WA 98505 360-867-6501 360-866-6681 FAX kapinp@evergreen.edu |
Evergreen State College uses seasonal ingredients, organic fruits, vegetables, and meats to supply their food service. Bon Appétit Onsite Custom Restaurants runs Evergreen’s food service. Bon Appétit emphasizes local produce and partners with the campus Organic Farm in supplying a "made with organic" menu, which by Federal standards equates to a 75% minimum organic content. |
| Bastyr University Pete Soucy Food Services Manager 14500 Juanita Dr. NE Kenmore, WA 98028-4966 425-602-3018 425-823-6222 FAX psoucy@bastyr.edu |
Bastyr University grows some food in their own garden and also buys unsold produce from a local weekend farmers’ market. In addition to fresh produce, B.U. also buys local value-added products, such as pickled peppers and energy bars, for their cafeteria. This school plans to host a CSA pickup for a local farmer starting in the spring of 2003 that will take advantage of B.U.’s walk-in cooler. The B.U. kitchen composts all their pre-consumer waste. |
| Wisconsin | |
| University of Wisconsin, The College Food Project Margaret Monahan Assistant Food Service Director Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems 1450 Linden Drive Madison, WI 53706 608-262-5200 or 608-262-9619 608-265-3020 FAX phaza@facstaff.wisc.edu or margaret.monahan@mail.housing.wisc.edu |
Six campuses in Wisconsin buy food for their dining services directly from local Wisconsin farms and farmer cooperatives. Four of them are buying from local farms and cooperatives that use organic and sustainable farming practices. The UW-Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems is helping to connect farmers with campus dining services. |
| Northland College Tom Wojciechowski Adjunct Instructor Environmental Studies Northland College 1411 Ellis Avenue Ashland, WI 54806 715-682-1261 715-682-1690 FAX TWojo@northland.edu |
In addition to purchasing locally grown organic produce for the dining hall, current campus sustainability efforts include switching to more environmentally safe cleaning supplies, installing and using energy-and water-saving devices, increased recycling and reuse efforts, and working with renewable energy sources. |
Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions
Barbara C. Bellows, Rex Dufour, and Janet Bachmann
NCAT Agriculture Specialists
Tiffany Nitschke, HTML Production
IP242
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This page was last updated on: June 23, 2010
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