NATIONAL FARM TO SCHOOL NETWORK

An initiative of the National Farm to School Advisory Committee (coordinated by the Center for Food & Justice, Occidental College and the Community Food Security Coalition)

Background:

With a planning grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (2005-06), the Center for Food & Justice (CFJ) and the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) engaged over 30 farm to school organizations from 35 states in a planning process to explore opportunities for establishing a national farm to school network.

 

Planning Phase (2005-06):

The outcome of year-long discussions overwhelmingly supported the need for greater collaboration among farm to school practitioners, with the establishment of a national network as the primary vehicle for coordinating and catalyzing the growing farm to school movement. The planning process led by CFJ and CFSC explored the opportunities for a collaborative structure to support farm to school programs across the country. The following are some highlights of the planning phase:

• Establishment of a National Farm to School Advisory Committee comprised of about 30 persons from organizations engaged in farm to school activities. The Advisory Committee contributed to the development of a full proposal, and is committed to supporting the future activities listed therein. The Committee met in person twice through the year – in Atlanta, GA in October 2005 and in Grayslake, IL in May 2006.

• Selection of Farm to School Regional Lead Agencies (RLA) in five regions. RLAs were selected through a competitive process to lead the planning efforts around the country. The regional leads communicated with each other and with staff from CFJ and CFSC over the phone regularly through the year.

• RLAs were successful in seeking input from a varied group of stakeholders in their region about the need for potential support from a national network. This was achieved through dialogue and interactions with over 200 persons from 35 states through five regional and other farm to school meetings.

• A national survey was sent out to 349 contacts for existing farm to school programs to seek detailed data on the coverage and extent of programs operational in the country. Preliminary data reveals that there are 1000+ farm to school programs currently operational in 35 states.

• A list of priorities was identified by all stakeholders for the emerging national network. The areas of focus include, in order of priority:

o Policy

o Marketing/Media

o Information Services

o Networking

o Training and Technical Assistance

• Agreement and recommendations on a proposed collaborative structure for a National Farm to School Network, which includes:

o A National Farm to School Advisory Committee comprised of regional lead agencies. There may also be expert resource people, from other national organizations.

o Coordination of the national network will be led by CFSC and CFJ. The Advisory Committee may decide to pursue additional or different partners depending on the needs and goals of the group.

o Regional Lead Agencies selected in eight regions (addition of three regions from planning phase to improve geographic coverage).

o A Regional Steering Committee will be formed to advise each Regional Lead Agency. The composition of this group is to be determined by the regional lead, and may include a farmer, child nutrition director, or representatives from each state.

 

Future Plans (2007 onwards):

A three-year plan to launch the National Farm to School Network has been drafted, for which we anticipate funding support to kick in by May-June 2006.

 

Target Geographic Area:

The national network activities will be national in scope, with targeted interventions at the regional and state level. Potential participants in the national network are existing farm to school programs and organizations interested in starting a program; non-profit and community based agencies with a focus on food and nutrition, community-based food systems, sustainable agriculture, youth, ecology, education, urban gardening, or farming; farmers or their organizations; food processors and agricultural industries; school food service directors or their organizations; parents, parent teacher associations, schools or districts, principals, or other school administrators; students or student organizations; teachers or teacher organizations; health professionals; businesses connected with school food and sustainable agriculture, State departments of Agriculture, related University education programs, and Cooperative Extension programs.

 

Goals of the National Farm to School Network:

The purpose of the Network is to work towards institutionalizing and catalyzing farm to school programs as viable models for improving the economic viability of family-scale farmers and supporting child nutrition efforts. The Network will engage practitioners in the farm to school arena, as well as other public health, farming, and educational leaders at the national and regional level. Specific goals include:

1. To support state and national policy efforts for developing regulations and legislation that addresses policy barriers and develops new opportunities for farm to school programs. While federal farm to school policy issues have been addressed to some degree by CFSC, dedicated staff time would result in a more targeted, thorough approach, which will be enhanced with the participation from members of a National Farm to School Network.

2. To increase visibility and momentum about farm to school programs as a strategy to strengthen family farms and local economies, and reduce childhood obesity through a coordinated marketing and media campaign at the state, regional and national levels. This effort will focus on creating clear, consistent and inspiring language that reflects the shared vision of farm to school programs in the U.S, as well as take into account the regional differences that impact programs.

3. To update and revise existing informational resources on farm to school to reflect the growth and complexity of programs, regional differences and develop new resources to meet any gaps. To develop improved systems to collect and compile information from existing farm to school programs, including evaluation data. While some of this work has been started by CFJ by the development of the farm to school website, more concerted efforts are needed to make it a thriving, user-friendly informational resource.

4. To develop networking systems among existing farm to school programs to share information and lessons learned to avoid “reinventing the wheel.” Through the five regional meetings conducted last year, it is clear that farm to school organizers find networking essential for the survival and sustainability of their programs.

5. To provide training and technical assistance to school administrators, food service, parents, farmers and community members, and others interested at the state, regional and national level. T&TA will be provided directly by CFJ and CFSC staff, in collaboration with regions for presentations and planning workshops, as well as through the development of a Train the Trainers Program.

 

Sustainability Plan:

The three–year funding support requested will be utilized to establish and maintain the national farm to school network, and stimulate interest in farm to school programs in participating states, surrounding regions, and nationally. It is expected that regional leads will be able to leverage additional resources to continue and support their work in some format, and CFJ and CFSC will continue to collaboratively seek additional funds to expand network activities. After three years, the ultimate goal is to have a self-sustaining network.

For more information about the national network, please contact:

Anupama Joshi Director, National Farm to School Program Center for Food & Justice Urban & Environmental Policy Institute Occidental College 1600 Campus Road | Mail Stop M1 Los Angeles, CA 90041 Tel: 323-341-5095; Fax: 323-258-2917 ajoshi@oxy.edu

Marion Kalb Director, National Farm to School Program Community Food Security Coalition 3900 Paseo del Sol Santa Fe, New Mexico 87507 Tel: 505-474-5782 Fax: 505-474-5782 marion@foodsecurity.org