Nourishing Kids and Communities Farm to School: Statewide Organizing Strategies Anupama Joshi Director, National Farm to School Network Alaska Farm to School Summit, April 26, 2011

Nourishing Kids and Communities 2 Defining Farm to School Community Classroom Cafeteria Policy Promotion Procurement

Nourishing Kids and Communities 3 Farm to School in 10,000+ schools, All 50 States

Nourishing Kids and Communities 4 National Farm to School Network 8 Regional Lead Agencies 50 State Leads 5 National Staff

Nourishing Kids and Communities 5 Organization of Statewide Efforts  Led / staffed by: Grassroots / non-profit organization University State Department (s) Volunteers  Statewide scope / regional chapters  With or without legislation

Nourishing Kids and Communities 6 Structure  Taskforce / Council / Working Group (appointed by State or not)  Regional chapters  Informal network / coalition  Supported by federal, state and foundation funds

Nourishing Kids and Communities 7 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 8 Policies  70+ pieces of legislation  30+ states supporting Farm to School (December 2010 data)

Nourishing Kids and Communities 9 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 10 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 11 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 12 Pilot Program Vermont: (2009) Pilot program to test the feasibility of centralized statewide purchasing of milk and meat for school meals

Nourishing Kids and Communities 13 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 14 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 15 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 16 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 17 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 Encourages farm to school efforts as part of a broader wellness or food security policy

Nourishing Kids and Communities 18 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 19 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)

Nourishing Kids and Communities 20 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 21 Promotions Statewide Farm to School Cooking Contest VA Farm to School Week

Nourishing Kids and Communities 22 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.

Nourishing Kids and Communities 23 No-Cost / Low-cost Legislative Options Resolutions Supporting Local Preferences Task Force/Working Group Promotional event/program Authorizing agencies to seek funds Suggestions/Recommendations

Nourishing Kids and Communities 24 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 25 Strategic Plan - Alaska F2S Census (baseline data) Development of information resources Pilot program Training programs Website (Food Hub) Networking opportunities Funding

Nourishing Kids and Communities 26 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

Nourishing Kids and Communities 27 Anupama Joshi, National Farm to School Network