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Understanding participation in farm to school programs: Results integrating school and supply-side factors
Abstract
Despite their status as the largest and most systematic of government programs to promote local foods in the US, few studies identify the factors that are associated with the school district decision to participate in farm to school (FTS) programs. We are the first to leverage the USDA's Farm to School Census to analyze factors associated with FTS participation, the types of FTS activities implemented, and the challenges faced by participating school districts. Because a school's participation is circumscribed by access to local foods, we control for the supply of local foods. We use spatially articulate data to estimate the spatial spillover effects of FTS participation. The results demonstrate that both school characteristics and local farm production factors are associated with FTS participation. The estimated spatial spillover effect is positive suggesting that areas with a high penetration of FTS activities have lower barriers associated with implementing FTS programs.
... "Local" public food procurement is perhaps the most frequently leveraged food-based strategy implemented in the United States (U.S.) to achieve public sector sustainability goals (Botkins and Roe 2018;Jablonski et al. 2023;NFSN and CAFS 2021). The National School Lunch Program (part of a suite of child nutrition programs available in schools), provided 4.9 billion lunches at a total cost of $14.2 billion in FY 2019 (prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) (USDA ERS 2022;USDA FNS 2024). ...
... Challenges associated with FTS procurement have been well-documented and include availability, price and budget constraints, communication barriers, lack of supply chain infrastructure, lack of staff time to prepare local foods, and concerns about food safety (Botkins and Roe 2018;Long et al. 2021;Stokes 2014;USDA FNS 2021a). Although the U.S. has had a specific FTS grant program since 2012 (part of the 2010 Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act), state incentives far exceed federal FTS funds (O'Hara et al. 2022). ...
... Previous agri-supply chain and farm to school research Many FTS studies provide qualitative descriptions of constraints faced by SFAs that want to purchase more local food (Botkins and Roe 2018;Stokes 2014), but few quantify the trade-offs between constraints and outcomes for SFAs. Optimization models are a useful tool for this type of evaluation because they allow the researcher to estimate the potential impacts of changing various policy and market constraints and purchasing decisions on an SFA's budget and the quantity of meals purchased. ...
Public food procurement incentives and targeted policies by state and Federal governments are one of the most frequently enacted strategies to leverage food spending to promote co-benefits related to economic, environmental, and social outcomes. Here we use an optimization model to explore potential outcomes of policy alternatives and integrate co-benefit dimensions into schools' agri-food supply chains via Farm to School procurement incentives. We find that in the absence of policy supports, school food authorities are unlikely to participate in local food procurement programs. We then place the findings in context by inferring the level of financial incentives that are needed to reduce barriers to schools' participation. Our findings have implications for community and economic development policies, particularly those seeking to support agriculturally dependent areas via elevated institutional food procurement using the case of policies framed for a school setting.
... Studies can generally be split into two categories: those that look at the probability of having a farm to school program and those that identify predictors of total expenditures. Variables that were positively related to the presence or continuation of a farm to school program included school size (O'Hara and Benson 2017; Botkins and Roe 2018; Bonanno and Mendis 2021), local agricultural production (O'Hara and Benson 2017), the proportion of local farms that participated in directmarketing (Botkins and Roe 2018), the number of farmers' markets (Botkins and Roe 2018), the percent of students that are Hispanic or Black (Botkins and Roe 2018), the proportion of nearby schools that already had a farm to school program (Botkins and Roe 2018), and being in a more urban location (Botkins and Roe 2018). Variables that had a negative relationship to the presence of a farm to school program included the county poverty rate (O'Hara and Benson 2017), the percent of students eligible for reduced or free school lunch (O'Hara and Benson 2017), local milk prices (Botkins and Roe 2018), and student expenditures (Bonanno and Mendis 2021). ...
... Studies can generally be split into two categories: those that look at the probability of having a farm to school program and those that identify predictors of total expenditures. Variables that were positively related to the presence or continuation of a farm to school program included school size (O'Hara and Benson 2017; Botkins and Roe 2018; Bonanno and Mendis 2021), local agricultural production (O'Hara and Benson 2017), the proportion of local farms that participated in directmarketing (Botkins and Roe 2018), the number of farmers' markets (Botkins and Roe 2018), the percent of students that are Hispanic or Black (Botkins and Roe 2018), the proportion of nearby schools that already had a farm to school program (Botkins and Roe 2018), and being in a more urban location (Botkins and Roe 2018). Variables that had a negative relationship to the presence of a farm to school program included the county poverty rate (O'Hara and Benson 2017), the percent of students eligible for reduced or free school lunch (O'Hara and Benson 2017), local milk prices (Botkins and Roe 2018), and student expenditures (Bonanno and Mendis 2021). ...
... Studies can generally be split into two categories: those that look at the probability of having a farm to school program and those that identify predictors of total expenditures. Variables that were positively related to the presence or continuation of a farm to school program included school size (O'Hara and Benson 2017; Botkins and Roe 2018; Bonanno and Mendis 2021), local agricultural production (O'Hara and Benson 2017), the proportion of local farms that participated in directmarketing (Botkins and Roe 2018), the number of farmers' markets (Botkins and Roe 2018), the percent of students that are Hispanic or Black (Botkins and Roe 2018), the proportion of nearby schools that already had a farm to school program (Botkins and Roe 2018), and being in a more urban location (Botkins and Roe 2018). Variables that had a negative relationship to the presence of a farm to school program included the county poverty rate (O'Hara and Benson 2017), the percent of students eligible for reduced or free school lunch (O'Hara and Benson 2017), local milk prices (Botkins and Roe 2018), and student expenditures (Bonanno and Mendis 2021). ...
We investigated two potential mechanisms facilitating local food procurement in schools, food hubs, and funded farm to school policies. Using all three waves of the USDA’s farm to school census, we assessed the factors that support school districts that have stated an intention of beginning a farm to school program. We find that neither food hubs nor funded policies have an impact on farm to school programming. Instead, it is large-scale farms that play a role in the farm to school supply chain. Coupled with the positive impact of school size and receipt of increased federal funding, this suggests that while both cost and transactional barriers impact school procurement, current policy solutions are insufficient. This study improves our understanding of the role of facilitation mechanisms on farm to school implementation in the United States.
... At the school level, we further control for F2S program activities and the type of products purchased. Following Ralston et al. (2017) and Botkins and Roe (2018), we control for the demographic attributes, state, and proximate food environment of the SFAs. ...
... The 2013 and 2015 USDA-FNS F2S Censuses have enabled national-level studies of F2S programs. Several studies use F2S Census data to examine the determinants of F2S adoption (Lyson 2016;McCarthy, Steiner, and Houser 2017;Ralston et al. 2017;Botkins and Roe 2018;O'Hara and Benson 2019) but do not investigate the market channels that SFAs use. One exception is Christensen, Jablonski, and O'Hara (2019), who find a negative correlation between the local food expenditures of SFAs and whether they made local purchases directly from farmers and other nontraditional suppliers. ...
... This variable is equal to one if school meal costs declined and equal to zero otherwise. 4 School meal costs could be influenced by characteristics of the SFAs (School), the location of the SFAs (Location), characteristics of how SFAs implement F2S programs (Implementation) (Fitzsimmons and Lass 2015;Motta and Sharma 2016), procurement challenges that SFAs experience (Problem) (Hobbs 1997;Gregoire, Arendt, and Strohbehn 2005;Conner et al. 2014;Fitzsimmons and Lass 2015;Motta and Sharma 2016), the food environment proximate to the SFAs (Environment) (Ralston et al. 2017;Botkins and Roe 2018;Christensen, Jablonski, and O'Hara 2019), and the market channel procurement strategy of SFAs (Procurement Strategy). ...
Farm-to-school (F2S) local food procurement must be cost-effective to be financially sustainable without policy support. We test, among schools participating in F2S programs, whether market channel procurement strategies for local foods affect schools’ perceptions of whether meal costs decline as a result of F2S participation. Schools that buy local foods exclusively from intermediaries are 7 percentage points less likely to report lower costs from undertaking F2S initiatives. We further demonstrate that the probability that schools source local foods exclusively from intermediaries is influenced by the number of direct marketing farmers in their county.
... Studies showed that family-farming food purchased by public institutions results in improved meal quality by increasing the availability and variety of fruits, vegetables, and regional foods [6,7,19,20]. However, several difficulties have been reported, including bureaucratic public procurement processes [7,18,19] and the limited production capacity of family farming to provide the required food products in sufficient amounts [19,21,22]. ...
... As in previous studies [19,21,22], school Feeding Program nutritionists identified low product availability as a significant hindrance in purchasing family-farming food. Although purchases increased the availability and variety of foods in school meals, family farming could not provide a constant supply of widely used food items, such as potatoes, onions, and bananas, which may be because schools have a large daily food demand to meet all schoolchildren, or the menus need to consider production seasonality. ...
Objectives: To explore the opinions of Brazilian National School Feeding Program (NSFP) nutritionists concerning the benefits and difficulties of implementing family-farming food purchases for the school feeding program.
Methods: Exploratory and descriptive qualitative study conducted through the analysis of inductive content of open interviews carried out with technically responsible nutritionists of the School Feeding Program of 21 municipalities in Southern Brazil.
Results: The qualitative analysis of the interviews resulted in 17 codes grouped into four categories that show the opinion of nutritionists on the benefits and difficulties of purchasing family-farming food: 1. increasing the visibility of rural areas and 2. improving the quality of food provided in school meals; 3. low product availability and 4. limited infrastructure for production and delivery.
Conclusion: According to nutritionists, purchasing family-farming food in NSFP can increase the supply of healthy food in schools and stimulate rural development. However, efforts are needed to adjust institutional food demands for local food production and improve infrastructure for food production and distribution.
... Moderate 17 Izumi, Wright, Hamm, 2010, Journal of Rural Studies [43] In the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States ...
... It has been suggested in studies that when schools purchase local food from conventional distributors, the financial costs may be higher compared to schools purchasing directly from farmers [32,36,41,47]. In addition, instability in food prices can also dictate the dynamics of acquisitions, so when prices rise, the supply and demand opportunities for the programs decrease [17]. ...
Family farming is strengthening its strategic role in school nutrition, but coordinating between school feeding programs and the agricultural sector has proven to be challenging. The goal of this review was to identify the problems that school feeding programs face in acquiring food from family farms. We selected studies from Web of Science, Medline/PubMed, and Scopus and evaluated their methodological quality. Out of 338 studies identified, 37 were considered relevant. We used PRISMA to guide the review process, and we chose not to limit the year or design of the study because it was important to include the largest amount of existing evidence on the topic. We summarized the main conclusions in six categories: local food production, marketing, and logistics channels, legislation, financial costs, communication and coordination, and quality of school menus. In general, the most critical problems emerge from the most fragile point, which is family farming, particularly in the production and support of food, and are influenced by the network of actors, markets, and governments involved. The main problems stem from the lack of investment in family farming and inefficient logistics, which can negatively impact the quality of school meals. Viable solutions include strategies that promote investment in agricultural policies and the organization of family farmers.
... Our results also agree with previous studies that identified that the implementation of the direct purchase policy of food from local farmers is more frequent in self-managed food service institutions [33,40] and smaller, rural municipalities [33]. This situation may be related to a more structured, productive fabric in these regions [41]. ...
... Depending on food availability in the region [41], the implementation requires the adaptation/adequacy of the institution's food supply to local food production. Besides nutritional aspects, menus and food shopping lists must be constructed considering the productive capacity and the production's seasonality [50]. ...
This study aims to explore and compare Brazilian public institutional food services’ characteristics concerning the implementation of the government policy for the procurement of food from family farming (FF) and the opinions of food service managers on the benefits and difficulties of its implementation. We conducted a cross-sectional study employing an online questionnaire. The results were stratified by purchase. The Chi-square and Fisher’s Exact tests were applied. Five hundred forty-one food services’ managers participated in the study. Most claimed to buy food from FF, and this acquisition was more frequent among those working in institutions of municipalities <50,000 inhabitants, and educational and self-managed institutions. Those buying from FF developed more actions to promote healthy and sustainable food. Most recognized that the purchase could boost local farming and the economy and improve the institution’s food. However, the managers believe that the productive capacity of FF, the lack of technical assistance to farmers, production seasonality, and the bureaucratic procurement process hinder this type of purchase. The self-management of food services and the small size of the municipality might be associated with implementing the direct purchase policy from FF, which can contribute to building healthier and more sustainable food systems. However, the lack of public management support and the weak productive fabric may pose an obstacle to its maintenance or dissemination. The strengthening and consolidation of these policies require more significant government investments in productive infrastructure for family farming.
... Mais pour de nombreux acteurs de l'agriculture de proximité, l'échelle locale suppose une plus grande proximité géographique et relationnelle entre les acteurs des systèmes alimentaires et se déploie sur des espaces plus restreints (Feagan, 2007 ;Martinez et al., 2010 ;Skallerud et Wien, 2029 ;Beingessner et Fletcher, 2020 Le rapprochement entre les achats institutionnels et l'agriculture de proximité a été étudié dans plusieurs pays. Aux États-Unis, plusieurs programmes en ce sens coexistent, notamment Farm to School, qui vise à encourager l'achat par les écoles de produits venant directement des fermes (Izumi et al., 2010 ;Botkins et Roe, 2018) et Farm to Institution, qui incite toutes les institutions publiques à soutenir l'approvisionnement local en lien avec les préconisations des guides alimentaires (Harris et al., 2012). Nous verrons dans le chapitre suivant que le développement des food hubs bénéficie de ces programmes. ...
Mundler, P., Afif, K., Azima, S., Drouin, C., Genest-Richard, P., & Ubertino, S. (2025). Enjeux de rentabilité et besoins des fermes de proximité en matière de commercialisation et de distribution de leurs produits (2025RP-06, Rapports de projets, CIRANO.) https://doi.org/10.54932/JFLJ1412
... School districts that do not participate or that discontinue FTS participation cite a lack of champions and the cost of local food procurement as barriers to participation. [23][24][25] Liaisons between school meal service providers and local farmers are vital for a program's continued success. 23 Advocacy groups such as the National Farm to School Network have been instrumental in bringing together partners in all 50 states to actively track and shape local and national FTS program policy initiatives in the US. 1 The goals of such champions and advocacy groups are multi-faceted and include not only policies and initiatives to promote sustained FTS participation, but also policies that will maximize the local economic impact of FTS programs. ...
... This project analysis has revealed positive outcomes in enhancing children's agri-food knowledge, nutritional awareness and behaviours (Joshi et al., 2008). The effective school-farm collaboration implemented by the Farm-to-School program also generated several benefits such as supplying local products to school canteens, hosting community events across the farms (Botkins and Roe, 2018), and creating a regular market for local producers (Allen and Guthman, 2006;Selmer et al., 2014). ...
This literature review stems from the need to investigate the assumption that farms are learning
environments whose value is further enhanced when teaching-learning activities are co-designed by teachers and
farmers. The literature was intended to theoretically support the rationale for the DEMETER project, which aims to
develop an interdisciplinary teaching methodology and identify strategies and tools to assess farm-based learning
outcomes (in terms of both disciplinary and cross-curricular competencies). We reviewed existing research that tested
tools and gathered evidence regarding the project's focuses: farm-school partnerships, outdoor learning outcomes, and
teaching strategies for outdoor learning contexts. The reviewed studies were selected based on the reliability of their
contents and the rigor with which the authors formulated the research questions and analysed the empirical data.
Overall, despite the popularity of many forms of outdoor learning, scholars converge on the need for greater scrutiny
of the effectiveness and reliability of the teaching methodologies deployed.
... Farm to School), jo šalininkai akcentuoja vietoje užauginto maisto viešuosius pirkimus, kaip pagrindinę rinkos galimybę ūkininkams (Watts ir kt., 2005). "Nuo ūkio iki mokyklos" ir panašaus pobūdžio programos paplitusios išsivysčiusiose ir besivystančiose Pietų Amerikos, Šiaurės Amerikos, Azijos ir Europos šalyse (Botkins, Roe, 2018). Pavyzdžiui: "Ūkiai gelbsti mokyklas" (angl. ...
The article analyses the prospects for small and medium-size farms relating to the development of the ‘From Farm to School’ model in the Klaipėda region. The research aimed to reveal the possibilities for involving farmers in the Klaipėda region in cooperation with educational institutions in order to provide them with farm products/services. Questions relevant to the study were discussed during a focused group discussion with representatives of small and medium-size farms in the Klaipėda region: Are farmers interested in providing services and products to educational institutions? How do they evaluate the public procurement system? What are the possible cooperation opportunities and obstacles? etc. The results show that the needs and expectations for cooperation between Klaipėda region farmers, municipal employees and educational institutions as buyers of services basically coincide. The participants in the research agreed that the food from local growers is good, and they would like children to be fed quality food from local farms in schools. However, the results of the study assumed the insufficient literacy of small and medium-size farmers in order to effectively develop cooperation with educational institutions. Therefore, the article aims to raise awareness of representatives of small and medium-size farms and all interested groups about the ‘From Farm to School’ model, which could have an impact on the better involvement of farmers, and strengthen the connection between local farming communities and educational institutions. Better awareness could help to develop targeted actions of interested parties in order to shorten food supply chains, improve the quality of food in school meals, and promote the supply of products from small and medium-size farms to educational institutions in the Klaipėda region. The research also aims to contribute to the goals of the national Sustainable Development Strategy, by developing knowledge on how it is possible to preserve or restore natural ecosystems with the help of the activities and services of small and medium-size farms.
... In recent years, there has been increasing emphasis on the possibility of improving school meals by including locally grown products, thus contributing to the development of local economic systems [4]. This model has been called "Farm to School" in practice of some countries and, according to its proponents, emphasizes public procurement of locally grown food as a key market opportunity for farmers [5]. Farm-to-school and similar programs are common in developed and developing countries in South America, North America, Asia and Europe [6], e.g. ...
The focus of the article is on school meal programs that are common throughout the world and are implemented to promote students’ healthy eating habits and bring added value to their learning outcomes. In recent years there has been increasing emphasis on the possibility of improving school meals by including locally grown products, thus contributing to the development of local economic systems. This model has acquired the name "Farm to School" in practice of some countries and, according to its supporters, emphasizes public procurement of locally grown food as a key market opportunity for farmers. The article has been prepared within the BSR Food Coalition project (funded by Interreg Baltic Sea Region Program, contract #S002). The project seeks to create the conditions for the emergence of the "From farm to school" model in the Baltic States. The study presented in the article aims at disclosing the conditions and opportunities for the promotion and use of foods produced by local farmers in general education schools in Klaipeda region, Lithuania as well as at defining necessary educational efforts to increase healthy nutrition, develop general health habits, and agricultural and food system literacy within general education schools and their communities. To achieve the aim the surveys with project target groups (school administration, students and their parents) have been carried out in Klaipeda region. The objectives of the survey were to gather data on target groups’ perceptions of local school food procurement and to disclose their opinion, needs and expectations related to model development. The findings of the study would be helpful for designing the further steps of collaboration between schools and local farmers in Klaipeda region. .
... The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been promoting the "farm to school" program since 2012, allowing public schools to procure ingredients from local farms to teach students about food production. Some schools have even set up vegetable gardens directly on their campuses [67]. In Taiwan, since the 1980s, tourist and civic farms have led to widespread attention to the issue of "food and farming education." ...
In discussions on urban food security and healthy aging, urban agriculture is described in the context of changing approaches to sustainable urban development under crises. Space planning-related urban agriculture practices, such as edible landscaping combing design and small-scale crop production, are the primary active strategies and environmental policy tools. This paper addresses urban food security and health aging by practicing campus agriculture and community gardens around National Taiwan University. In particular, this study adopts participatory action research, participatory observation, and semi-structured, in-depth interviews as the research method. We examined the challenges and benefits of implementing urban agriculture in Taipei. Further, we proposed that urban agricultural space building and planning based on a social support network of urban agriculture can effectively address food supply and healthy aging for an aging urban society to some extent.
... [21][22][23][24] In the most recent FTS census, 45.3% of responding school districts cited pricing as a barrier to FTS procurement, and 67.5% of schools indicated availability was a significant barrier to local food purchasing. 25 There is also preliminary evidence that spending on local food is negatively correlated with profits of individual lunch programs. 26 Other identified challenges include burdensome school foodservice guidelines, 27 communication barriers between FSDs and producers, lack of regional supply chain infrastructure, 24,27,28 challenges with product quality and amount of processing required, 29 lack of parental support for FTS programs, 27 and lack of food safety certifications among local producers. ...
BACKGROUND
The most recent Farm to School (FTS) Census reported that of the 42% of US schools that participate in FTS, 77% procure food locally. In 2019, Colorado joined many other states in passing legislation that provides per‐meal incentives for purchasing local foods. However, little is known about how these incentives impact procurement decisions of school Food Service Directors (FSDs), and purported benefits of FTS cannot accrue without additional local purchases by school FSDs.
METHODS
We constructed a unique, primary dataset of fresh fruit and vegetable purchases from 18 months of school invoices in 3 Northern Colorado school districts and parameterized an optimization model that mimics FSD decisions. Subsequently, we simulated how procurement is impacted by local food reimbursements.
RESULTS
Assuming 2017 and 2018 purchasing behavior, at $0.05 per meal reimbursement, FSDs would increase fresh fruit and vegetable purchasing by 11‐12% in August‐October, but by only 0‐1% in November‐December, likely due to seasonality constraints.
CONCLUSIONS
While an increase in FTS procurement was expected, the magnitude of the potential increase when aligned with the Colorado growing season is notable. This work underscores that adequately funded reimbursement‐based FTS policies can increase FTS procurement without disrupting normal cost‐minimizing purchasing behavior.
Depuis plusieurs décennies, l’agriculture dans les pays industrialisés est marquée par la confrontation de deux grands paradigmes. À l’opposé du paradigme conventionnel qui prône une agriculture productiviste, longtemps soutenue par les gouvernements mais désormais critiquée pour son manque de durabilité, se déploie un paradigme alternatif, qui valorise l’autonomie, la coopération, le respect des limites naturelles, la relocalisation alimentaire et prône une agriculture multifonctionnelle. Cependant, la frontière est parfois floue entre le système alimentaire conventionnel et les systèmes alimentaires alternatifs (SAA) qui se réclament de ces différents paradigmes. En Amérique du Nord, ces systèmes alimentaires alternatifs bénéficient d’une reconnaissance politique croissante mais inégale. Nous adaptons le concept de référentiel de Pierre Muller pour repérer les valeurs et les normes agricoles qui traversent plus de deux cents lois en lien avec l’agriculture publiées dans les provinces canadiennes entre 2000 et 2021 et étudier la vision de l’agriculture revendiquée par 613 agriculteurs en circuits courts au Canada interrogés lors d’une enquête Web. Les résultats révèlent que dans les régions du Canada avec un référentiel de l’agriculture plutôt conventionnel, les agriculteurs en circuits courts revendiquent un référentiel plutôt alternatif (cas des agriculteurs en circuits courts dans les Prairies) ou relativement conventionnel (cas des provinces de l’Atlantique). Ils montrent aussi que c’est dans les situations d’alignement entre le référentiel des agriculteurs dans les SAA et celui de l’agriculture dans la région que la vente directe se développe mieux.
Public procurement is a key policy tool for promoting more sustainable agri-food systems. In Brazil, the National School Feeding Program (PNAE) has played an important role in integrating family farmers into institutional markets, yet various factors affect their participation. This study investigates the most important factors influencing family farmers’ participation in public procurement under the PNAE. It examines three analytical dimensions: demographic characteristics, state capacities, and family farming features. Using logistic regressions and classification trees, the research finds that municipality density negatively impacts family farm procurement targets, while state capacities have positive effects. Agricultural characteristics such as the proportion of family farming establishments relative to all agricultural establishments, technical assistance, financing, and formalization also play significant roles. The findings underscore the importance of regional variables in Brazilian agricultural dynamics. By analyzing all Brazilian municipalities with both linear and nonlinear analytical techniques, this study contributes to understanding the effective implementation of the PNAE, providing valuable insights for researchers and public managers.
The number of US school food authority's (SFA) implementing Farm to School Programming (FTSP) is growing. Little is known about potential spillover effects of school children's exposure to FTSP on household food purchases. We measure the relationship between school age children's exposure to FTSP and household‐level Food‐At‐Home fruits and vegetables (FV) expenditures and expenditure shares. Combining Farm to School Census data on SFAs' FTSP participation with household‐level scanner data, we estimate positive relationships between FV expenditures and different measures of children's exposure to FTSPs, especially for metro households. However, the magnitude of these relationships is likely too small to be meaningful.
Children spend most of their time at school; thus, agricultural experiences (AEs) in school gardens through school organizations are important for children to remain connected to agriculture and nature. Although various studies confirm the tremendous benefits of school gardens, the lack of studies on the characteristics of school gardens and the factors that influence the effectiveness of their AEs is telling. In this study, a questionnaire was developed and sent to the school garden managers of the public elementary schools in an urban area in Japan to analyze the characteristics of school garden and their influencing factors through descriptive analysis and inferential statistics. The results identified the location effects on the type of school gardens: school gardens inside the school are better able to ensure the safety of children but have less connection with the community; school farms outside the school are better able to ensure a place for children to have AEs; schools with both a school garden and farm have a stronger connection to the community than those with only school gardens, however, safety is decreased. In addition, the lack of budget, teachers, supportive policies, and motivation among school garden managers in operating school gardens was noted. Therefore, ensuring government support, coordinating the time of school garden managers, and strengthening the connection and cooperation between elementary schools and local communities are primary issues for consideration in the future.
Issue addressed:
Australian school canteen guidelines do not broadly incentivise procuring food from local producers, despite evidence of this occurring abroad. This scoping review aims to investigate what is known about local food procurement for school foodservice.
Methods:
A scoping review of peer-reviewed articles published since 2000 was undertaken using MEDLINE, CINAHL and Scopus.
Results:
Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Local food was generally perceived as fresher and more nutritious. Small, positive impacts on fruit and vegetable intake have been demonstrated when food is procured locally. Challenges identified included concerns around food safety, varied availability, time spent coordinating food supply, lack of incentive from regional or national guidelines, inadequate kitchen facilities and budget constraints.
Conclusions:
There is no universal definition or standard for procuring 'local food'. The main motivation for local food procurement was a sense of social responsibility, however there are barriers, including cost, facilities and food safety. Purchasing food locally holds potential to benefit the local economy but government funding and policy supporting local and small-scale producers is an important enabler. So what? Government support to build stakeholder capacity is important in establishing and maintaining these programs and would be crucial in achieving change in Australian schools. Investigating feasibility of a national school lunch service would be beneficial, as these programs may have merit not just in feeding children but also in supporting the local economy. Further research is warranted in this area.
State-level reimbursement programs are increasingly being used to incentivize procurement of local foods by US K-12 school food authorities (SFAs), which are schools or school districts that administer a food service program. However, few studies have explored the characteristics of SFAs that are associated with applying for and receiving reimbursement incentives. We consider reimbursement incentive programs in two states, Oregon and Michigan. In 2018–2019, the school year we study, Oregon used an opt-in model in which all SFAs were eligible to receive reimbursement incentives. In contrast, Michigan used a competitive funding model in which only some SFAs were eligible to apply and only some SFAs that applied received support. Using data from the Farm to School Census, as well as data from the two states' Departments of Education, we estimate discrete choice regressions to explore the factors that are associated with SFAs' application for and receipt of these reimbursement incentives. We find that SFAs that opted into Oregon's procurement program are larger, in metropolitan areas, and more likely to purchase fruits and vegetables locally. Thus, the reimbursement incentives are directed toward SFAs with characteristics that complement F2S program development, instead of SFAs with greater structural impediments. In Michigan, we find that SFAs with past F2S experience and community support for F2S were the most likely to apply for reimbursement incentives. However, conditional on applying, the SFAs most likely to receive funding in Michigan were those located in rural areas, more likely to source meat and seafood locally, and more likely to source directly from producers. Thus, Michigan's support, which was more budget constrained, appeared to target SFAs with distance-based challenges and non-traditional procurement strategies.
Farm to school (FTS) programs are becoming more prevalent throughout the United States. Yet, their impacts on students' behaviors are still not well understood. This study analyzes the impacts of introducing the local procurement aspect of a FTS program in a Florida school district on the number of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meals served and the selection of salad meals prepared with FTS products using daily school-level point of sale (POS) data, product procurement records, NSLP menu data and linear panel regression analyses. The study district implemented the FTS program in 15 of its 22 elementary schools between mid-October of 2015 and mid-January of 2016. Weighted difference in differences regressions that account for the non-random assignment of the district's elementary schools into the FTS program and variation in the timing of implementation across schools indicate that the introduction of the FTS program did not affect the number of NSLP meals served or type of meals served at schools with FTS programs. We find some evidence that students selected more NSLP salad offerings on days when these meals were prepared with FTS products; however, these findings were no longer significant when school-level fixed effects were included in the model.
Proper nutrition is an essential need for children's balanced biological, psychological, mental, and social development. The shortage of proper nutrition, either in quantity or quality, will impact the child's health, causing many diseases and even death (WHO, 2021). Malnutrition has different forms, including undernutrition and hunger, and overweight and obesity due to a deficiency of micronutrients, which play an essential role in growth, bone health, fluid balance, and several other processes. Children's hunger is a pressing challenge facing the global community as around 10,000 children worldwide die from hunger each day (Chinyoka, 2014). Accordingly, there is severe pressure on governments and international organizations to fight malnutrition and hunger and provide multiple alternatives to healthy food sources.
This book highlights the potential of school farms to fight hunger and malnutrition by providing access to locally produced, fresh, and healthy food as well as providing young students with educational opportunities to learn, interact with nature, and develop their skills.
Hunger is one of the most pressing concerns we face today and there is a clear need to provide alternative sources of food to feed a fast-growing population. School farms offer a sustainable opportunity to produce food locally in order to feed underprivileged students who rely on school meals as an integral part of their daily diet. Approaching the concept of school farms through four themes, Problem, People, Process, and Place, the book shows how they can play an essential role in providing sustainable and healthy food for students, the critical role educational institutions can play in promoting this process, and the positive impact hands-on farming can have on students' mental and physical wellbeing. Utilizing the authors' personal hands-on experiences, and drawing on global case studies, the book provides a theoretical framework and practical guidance to help with the establishment of school farms and community-based gardening projects and an education system which promotes a sustainable and healthy approach to food, agriculture, and the environment.
This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of food security, agriculture, healthy and sustainable diets, education for sustainable development, and urban studies. It will also be of great interest to practitioners and policymakers involved in food policy, developing school and community projects, global health and international development, as well as education professionals.
Among the various food school programs adopted in the U.S., the Farm to School Program (FTSP) is unique in its aims to improve school children’s dietary outcomes and to support farm income. As repeated food school interventions/programs are more likely to affect students’ dietary outcomes than one-time efforts, school districts’ continued participation in FTSP activities is paramount for the program’s effectiveness. We use data from the Farm to School Census to evaluate differences across school districts participating in the FTSP which decided to continue or not the program, and to assess the determinants of their continuation decision, using a sample-selection probit estimator. Mean comparisons show that, compared to school districs staying in the program, school districts ceasing FTSP are smaller, more reliant on federal assistance programs, with a higher share of students on federal benefits programs, lower overall per-student expenditures, higher per-student food services expenditure and lower awareness of the USDA geographic preference option. However, these factors do not appear to be direct determinants of the probability of continuation, except the awareness of the USDA geographic preference option, which is strongly associated with continuation. Also, we find that the types and number of FTS activities (particularly promotional activities, and activities taking place in the cafeteria) contribute to explaining the decision to continue FTSP more than the challenges experienced when procuring local foods. We find mixed results regarding the association between state-level policies and a school district's probability of participating and continuing in FTSP. In summary, while policy efforts to ensure continued FTSP participation by smaller and more disadvantaged school districts are needed, efforts to increase awareness of the federal geographic procurement preference option, and policies focusing on promotional and cafetia based activites, may sustain continued FTSP participation in the long-run.
An original preserved-farm (PF) label was invented to examine consumers’ interest in farmland preservation and willingness to pay (WTP) a premium for products from such farms. Using field experiments with watermelons, the new label was also compared with a local (LL) label which may capture some of the same sources of consumer utility. In total, 328 consumers participated across field experiment sessions in three states (Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania) in two types of locations (farmer’s markets, public parks). Tests showed significant premiums for both LL and PF labels. Importantly though, the PF label premium surpassed that for the LL label at all locations except Maryland and held its value across states better than the LL label. Latent class analysis was used to further examine the data, dividing consumers into four clusters. Tobit models run on these clusters identified distinct marketing opportunities for users of the PF label. Overall, evidence showed a PF label may be able to aid in increasing preserved farmland while increasing farmer income.
The article explores the problem of achieving Zero Hunger from the point of view policy implementation at both global and local levels. To this end it was conducted critical analysis of the system and functions of UN specialized agencies, programs and funds ensuring the implementation of GSD2 and determining the extent to which they are distributed and their impact on achievement goals. The study found that global initiatives for successful implementation of the Zero Hunger Policy are based on three components: regulatory support, the activities of international organizations coordinated by the UN, and the implementation of the GSD2 framework and programs at the national level, which support most countries across the globe interaction with FAO. The results obtained are important for building a network of institutional and international cooperation for the successful implementation of Zero Hunger government policies.
Food hubs are proliferating. But what exactly are they? What are they for? And why do we need them? This Discussion Paper, based on collaborative work involving local food practitioners and academic researchers, aims to answer some of these questions.
Broadly speaking, food hubs are entities that sit between people who produce food and people who use it, gathering food from growers and distributing it either to commercial customers or directly to consumers. Often, they focus on helping small-scale suppliers find markets, and operate within an explicit ethical framework. They can fill gaps in local food infrastructure, help consumers find locally sourced produce, support new forms of food retail, incubate food enterprises, or create a space for community education and action.
The paper has been written for people who want to understand the role of multifunctional food hubs in the UK, or to determine whether a food hub (or what type of food hub) is appropriate for their locality and purposes. We hope the report will spark debate and provide pointers for people who are already busy in this expanding and energised sector. We also hope it will help policymakers, investors and funders to engage with, and potentially support, the role of food hubs in sustainable food systems.
In recent years both in the world and in Latvia, food consumption as close to the production site as possible or local food has been increasingly discussed among scientists and the general public. According to a number of authors, the demand for local products increases, and localness is one the most latest trends in the global food market. Local food systems, in which the production, processing, sale and consumption of food products occurs within relatively small distances, make a significant positive effect on the local economy.The paper is based on the implementation results for the research grant "Opportunities for the Green Public Procurement of Food by Municipal Institutions in Rezekne Municipality”. The research aim is to identify the opinions of local entrepreneurs on their opportunities for and barriers to participating in public food procurement in Rezekne municipality.Research methods used: monographic, descriptive, analysis, synthesis, statistical (data grouping, cross-table analysis, averages) and a sociological research method – a pilot survey of local food production, processing and sale enterprises. The pilot survey of entrepreneurs showed that the enterprises which rated their readiness to participate in municipal public procurement tenders as very low and low justified this fact by their inability to supply the required quantity and assortment of products throughout the whole period specified, the lack of knowledge of green public procurement and the short period for paperwork, which could be classified as the lack of motivation for their participation in GPP.The survey questionnaires included a question aiming to identify the enterprises’ ratings of the key barriers to participating in public food procurement. The respondents rated the following barriers at five or as very significant: too low purchase prices on products, an insufficiently broad assortment of the products, an inability to supply the necessary quantity of the products, an inability to ensure regular deliveries of the products and a too long distance to deliver the products.
We sought to examine the benefits and barriers of farm to school participation among small or limited-resource farmers in the Charleston tricounty area within South Carolina and to discuss food policy factors that contribute to both the scalability and sustainability of farm to school programs in South Carolina and nationwide. To achieve these objectives, we administered a modified version of the Farmer Survey developed by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and conducted qualitative research with area farmers. Study findings suggest that, before small or limited-resource farmers will be able to truly consider entering “school” markets, appropriate state- and local-level agriculture infrastructure supports (eg, food safety and good agriculture practice training, market-ready workshops, accessible value-add processing centers, and contract-grow procurement options) should be put in place. Moreover, farm to school trainings and networking events that include school foodservice directors, food distributers, and the farmers themselves should be sponsored by state and local organizations and conducted on a routine basis. Future research should be conducted at the state level (in South Carolina as well as in other states) to better understand farm to school participation benefits and barriers from the perspective of both the farmer and the school foodservice director.