Cafeterias Going Local: National Food Advocate Network Helps Put Local Food on School Lunch Plates, in Curricula

CHICAGO, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As students settle into the new school year, they're finding more local food on their lunch trays, more nutrition and agriculture-related topics in their curriculum and more gardens in the schoolyard thanks, in part, to the "Farm to School" movement.

The U.S. will observe the second annual National Farm to School Month this October, but the Farm to School movement dates back to the early '90s, when only a handful of programs existed.  Today, over 12,500 schools in all 50 states participate in some form of Farm to School activity, according to Anupama Joshi, Executive Director of the National Farm to School Network (NFSN).

"Farm to School programs are sprouting up everywhere because people understand that children are much more likely to enjoy eating broccoli or zucchini when they help plant it in a school garden," Joshi said. "In addition to helping improve school food and combat childhood obesity, Farm to School programs support local farmers and strengthen local and regional economies."

Farm to School is getting a boost this year from the new USDA nutrition guidelines for school meal programs. Beginning this school year, the nearly 32 million children who participate in school meal programs will be served nearly twice the previous amount of fruits and vegetables each day. While schools operating Child Nutrition programs are not required to purchase locally grown and locally raised foods, they are allowed to use geographic preferences in the procurement bidding process for school meal programs.   

Congress approved a resolution officially designating October as National Farm to School Month in November 2010. Many schools will celebrate by taking advantage of the harvest season to prepare the last of the locally grown tomatoes. Others will schedule visits to farms or bring farmers or chefs into the classroom.

NFSN is encouraging schools to celebrate Farm to School Month by participating in "Farm to School Counts," a promotion designed to demonstrate the sheer volume of Farm to School activity taking place across the country in October. Using a simple form on the National Farm to School Month website, www.farmtoschoolmonth.org, schools will pledge to estimate the dollar value of local foods they plan to serve or the number of students who will participate in related educational activities in October. The total number of local foods served and activities held will be reported in November.

About The National Farm to School Network

NFSN is a network of national staff, state and regional leads and thousands of Farm to School practitioners, advocates and community leaders working to make Farm to School programs an essential component of strong and just local and regional food systems, ensuring the health of all school children, farms, the environment, economy and communities. NFSN is a project of The Tides Center.

CONTACTS:
Chelsey Simpson
National Farm to School Network
[email protected]
405-684-7608

Myrna Greenfield
[email protected]
617-642-3562

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SOURCE National Farm to School Network