There Is An Alternative
Fortunately, you can help counteract this dangerous trend by starting Farm to School programs in your area. Through a Farm to School program, concerned parents, teachers, students and administrators can get local, farm-fresh produce served in school cafeterias.
- Cornell University?s Farm to School pilot project helped get a variety of local produce served in several New York school districts, including fresh apples, cabbage, onion, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, pears, and milk.
- Other successful farm to school programs have been started in California, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.
- In 2000, the USDA began supporting the farm to school movement with a substantial grant. The 2002 Farm Bill directs school food service officials to buy locally whenever possible.
Resources
If you?d like to initiate a farm to school program in your school district, check out some of these great resources to get started:
- The Community Food Security Coalition?s (CFSC) Farm to School Program for tips, tools, technical assistance, and funding opportunities ? also, contact their program director Marion Kalb at (310) 822-5410 or marion@foodsecurity.org
- The National Farm to School Program Web site, a growing resource of information about farm to school.
- The USDA?s report, How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers Are Building Alliances, with recommend strategies and success stories
- Our Communicator's toolkit Where
Does Your Food Come From? discusses how to effectively develop
a local foods campaign and what kinds of messages resonate with public audiences
- Public Citizen's Stop Food Irradiation School Lunch Organizing Kit which helps interested parents, students, teachers, and community members keep irradiated food out of their schools
- The publication, Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids, available from CFSC
Also be sure to check back here often for the latest Farm to School news, publications and links on the Web!