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Guidelines for Implementing Farm to School Programs

Page history last edited by Beth Feehan 14 years, 2 months ago

FARM TO SCHOOL initiatives require planning, collaboration, trust, funding, education and sweat equity. Changing the culture of food and how it is currently viewed as separate from the school day requires a paradigm shift that can sometimes take years to evolve. Our advice to those who are new to this concept is to learn as much as you can before taking first steps. Bring solutions and model program examples to local school district administrators and school boards so that they have something to envision. Just asking to improve the school lunch program is not enough. Schools and those who administer them work in a system that has been around a long time and everyone needs to be given an opportunity to learn and improve that system.

HOW IS YOUR SCHOOL'S FOOD SERVICE MANAGED?
- Find out how your school system's food service functions:
  - Is it run by a Food Service Management Company or is it self-operating where the staff are actually employees of the school?

FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY: If it is run by a Food Service Management Company (FSMC), find out what company the district contracts with and who the food service director is. This company and the contract they have signed with the School District determines who provides the food served in the schools, how it is purchased, who is employed and insured through the contract and what the fee will be that is returned to the school. This fee is a standard process in school lunch contracting. Some schools are starting to look at this fee as a way to put more money into the school lunch program rather than to put it back into the district's general operating budget.

Also important to know is when the food service contract is up for bid. Usually these contracts are put out to bid through a Request for Proposal (RFP) every five years, with one year renewals that allow the schools to end the contract if they see fit. At the five-year juncture is the time when changes can be made. Enhancing the boiler-plate type of language often written into these contracts is KEY to improving the quality of food sold. Language that supports local purchasing and quality of product is important. (The NJ Farm to School Network will be hosting a forum on "Improving Food Service Contract Language" in the 2010-2011 school year. At this event, model language will be discussed for schools to use to improve what food service management companies serve in schools. Stay tuned for more information in the new year). Check out our list of farms and distributors here.

SELF-OPERATING FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM: If the food service program is self-operating, forming a relationship with the food service director is a must. This person, along with the school board and administration will determine how the food service functions. Learn who is in charge of the food service and begin to form a dialogue. For some information regarding school lunch programs, click here. For information about school breakfast programs, click here.

SCHOOL GARDENS: Consider starting a school garden program. It has been proven that school gardens are the "back door" into the school lunch program through nutrition education and experiential curriculum learning. Often, some of the produce grown in a garden can be utilized for nutrition education in things like "Veggie of the Week Days". Getting children to try vegetables they are not otherwise inclined to eat or even see is crucial. People always say that school gardens are the way to get into children's stomachs. Click here for school garden resources and information.