What is Farm to School?

Farm to school is a three-pronged approach, it includes: school gardening, nutrition education, and local food purchases for school cafeterias. It is an effort ultimately to help students actively think about what they eat, where it comes from, how it’s grown and makes its way to their plate, and what foods will help their bodies thrive. Farm to school programs or organizations are created to fit the needs of their communities. Some communities or schools have strong gardening initiatives but only purchase food from nearby farmers once or twice a year. Others have strong local procurement efforts but struggle to engage teachers in maintaining and sustaining school gardens and a strong nutritional education component. Regardless of the strength and weaknesses of each effort, they are all important and serving a need in their communities.