nourishing kids and communities farm to school: statewide organizing strategies anupama joshi...
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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
Nourishing Kids and Communitieswww.farmtoschool.org
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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 (#
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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
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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