The Farm to School Program is all about connecting kids with where their food comes from and developing a market for Oregon farmers and producers. With this broad mission, the program encompasses a number of activities including farmers and fishermen selling their products to local schools and institutions, farmers hosting student field trips, and students growing food in school gardens that is then served in their local cafeterias.
Through the Farm to School program, schools and other qualifying institutions receive funding to purchase local food. In addition to being paid for their products, farmers involved in Farm to School are also eligible for funding opportunities through the biannual Oregon Farm to School Equipment and Infrastructure Grant Program, which can be used to fund infrastructure and equipment that farmers need to ready their operations for Farm to School.
The Farm to School program is a remarkably flexible program, so sales through the program can be managed in several different ways. Most often, farmers and school nutrition directors build direct relationships to broker Farm to School deals (though sales are sometimes also managed through food hubs and other distributors). Usually, farmers and schools will come to an agreement – either written or verbal – about what and how much the farmer will sell to the school. Farmers are then responsible for delivering the products they have promised, and schools are responsible for paying the farmers.
There are a number of ways that farms of many sizes and with many products can sell into the Farm to School program. However, this flexibility can also make the program confusing to navigate. Below are responses to a few frequently asked questions that we often hear from coastal farmers.
Do I need to produce a consistent, large volume of my crops to sell through the Farm to School program?
If you haven’t been in school in a while, you may not know that schools provide a number of different meal programs for their students, including the National School Lunch Program and the Summer Food Service Program.
Some schools have additional snack programs focused on introducing kids to novel fruits and vegetables. While a school may require a large, consistent volume of, for instance, lettuce, for their lunch program, they may be more flexible about volume and products that they source for their snack programs. Other institutions like Early Childhood Education centers often have varying food quantity needs as well. Ask your school or institution contact what kind of products they’re willing to purchase, and in what volumes.
How do I make sure I’m meeting the regulations required to sell through the farm to school program?
ODA’s bulletin on Food Safety Requirements for Producers Operating under the Oregon Farm to School Program provides a clear guide to the regulations required by the Farm to School Program. Individual schools may require participating farms to follow additional requirements, so have a conversation with potential school customers early on about their requirements. ODA’s On-Farm Food Safety Plan and Checklist for Child Nutrition Programs can help guide those conversations.
How can I sell through Farm to School if most of my harvest happens when school is out?
You’ve got a few options!
- Summer Food Service Program: Many school districts provide free meals in the summer. Check with your school contact to see if they have this program.
- Child and Adult Care Food Program: You can sell to institutions other than schools through the Farm to School Program. These include some Head Start programs, YMCAs, and others.
- To see a list of institutions that have purchased through the Farm to School Program in the past, go to ODA's grant website, and download the ‘Farm to School Combined Claims files’ from the ‘resources for claims’ section. Remember, though, that just because a school or institution hasn’t purchased through Farm to School in the past doesn’t mean they can’t in the future!
- Focus on storage crops: If you’re working with a school who is interested in purchasing food from your farm, ask them if they’re interested in purchasing crops that have a longer storage life like potatoes and winter squash.
- Make value-added products: These can be things like preserves and jams. Usually these products have a longer shelf life. Just make sure you’re following the appropriate food safety practices and regulations.
How do I get started?
The farm to school program has a number of great resources available to help you get started! You can learn more about how the program works on the:
- OSU Extension Farm to School Program webpage
- Oregon Farm to School Network website
- Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Oregon Harvest for Schools page.
A great place to start is to assess whether your farm is ready to start selling to schools. This School Market Readiness Assessment can help you think through whether you’re able to participate in the program now, or if there are steps you may need to take to get ready. Remember that a ‘no’ to any of the questions on the readiness assessment doesn’t necessarily mean that Farm to School isn’t a good fit for you now or in the future. An assessment will simply allow you to gather information about your operation that you can use as a starting point in conversations with resource providers and potential school customers.
Building relationships with school food buyers takes time. Check out ODA’s Tips sheet for communicating with school districts when you’re ready to start.
Remember that you’re not alone in your Farm to School journey. There are a number of resource providers who can help you navigate the Farm to School program. Those folks include:
- Amy Gilroy, Farm to School Program Manager, Oregon Department of Agriculture, (503) 709-5360.
- Melina Barker, Director, Oregon Farm to School Network, (541) 890-7004.
- Oregon Farm to School and School Garden Network: The network provides resources regularly with folks involved in the Farm to School program! Get connected with us.
- Your Farm to School program county extension contact or your your local OSU Small Farms extension agent: We're happy to help you think through how to adapt your farm management plan to the farm to school program!
- Farm to School Regional Hubs: These hubs help facilitate connections between Farm to School vendors and consumers. You can check the Oregon Farm to School Network to see if there is a hub in your region.
