National Farm to School Network is proud to announce that we have been selected as one of the recipients of this year’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program. We are incredibly excited to launch our Farm to School Coordinators Project with this support from the USDA and the Life Time Foundation.

Our goal with this project is to scale up farm to school implementation nationwide by establishing more dedicated farm to school coordinator positions at school districts. We will be providing unique professional development opportunities, supporting school communities, and developing research-driven resources to help make the case for the farm to school coordinator position. As a result, we envision increased ownership and capacity for farm to school programs at the community level. 

Why Farm to School Coordinators? 

Farm to school requires coordination and relationship-building across many people, including farmers, food service staff, educators, families and students. Implementing farm to school also often comes with certain challenges, including navigating regulations, finding funding sources, and connecting with decision makers at the school district. A dedicated farm to school coordinator role at a school district can address many of these challenges, ultimately forging a stronger connection between the school district and local farms. In addition to increasing the amount of local foods available on school menus, farm to school coordinators may also help increase hands-on nutrition and food education in the classroom or school garden. This can create a ripple effect that not only benefits students but also the entire school and broader community. 

Our Strategy

To accomplish our goal of scaling up farm to school implementation nationwide, our work will include the following components: 

• A Community of Practice for current Farm to School Coordinators 
• A Working Group for school districts that don’t currently have a Farm to School Coordinator but desire to implement the position 
• Develop research-driven resources that can be used to advocate for Farm to School Coordinator positions and set best practices for these positions nationwide. 

We look forward to collaborating with Colorado State University for this project, who will be conducting research and developing material that will be shared with our network partners and the general public. We hope that these resources will help all communities advocate for the creation of Farm to School Coordinator positions.

How to Get Involved 

National Farm to School Network has begun recruitment for our Community of Practice and Working Group! If you are interested in either opportunity, we encourage you to learn more and apply by October 13, 2023. Preference for both opportunities will be given to applicants/school districts that work with/represent a higher percentage of students participating in free or reduced-price lunches from traditionally underserved communities. Visit this page to learn more about each opportunity and apply! 

Looking Forward: 

National Farm to School Network has done previous work to institutionalize farm to school at the federal and state agency levels. We’re excited to now embark on this new journey to expand farm to school at the community level within schools. By convening a national community of practice and working group, we hope to nurture innovation, connection, and knowledge to bring us closer to our vision where farm to school programs are an essential part of resilient and just food systems. 

By Trisha Bautista Larson, NFSN Program Manager

On June 14, 2023, the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) publicly launched the Racial Equity Learning Lab (‘the Lab’), a pioneering initiative developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture through a Cooperative Agreement. The Lab is a collaborative space, thoughtfully designed for small groups of farm to school practitioners and advocates to engage in an intensive co-learning and cross-race dialogue. The goals of the Lab aligns with NFSN’s Call to Action and our commitment to advancing racial equity and addressing disparities in access to the benefits of farm to school. 

Prior to its public launch, NFSN convened an Advisory Council to prepare and develop Lab resources, curriculum outline, and equity-centric participatory framework. For nearly seven months, NFSN and the Advisory Council balanced the art of virtual collaboration by strategically blending relational and operational goals and successfully met the deliverables of the Lab. 

Advisory Council members have expressed how much they have enjoyed getting to know one another and seeing the fluidity in the way the collaborative work was designed. This remarkable journey serves as a testament to the Lab’s theoretical foundations—emergence, co-creation, and non-linear processes—all of which came to fruition through our collective work, laying the groundwork for the eagerly awaited Fall 2023 Lab Cohort. 

Reflecting on her experience as part of the Lab Advisory Council, Tina Wong said, “Interpersonal aspects of the meetings made it fun but organized – [I enjoyed] the spirit in which we did the work…” 

NFSN is excited to announce that the first official cohort of the Lab has been formed and will begin engaging in the learning experience starting September 8, 2023. The Lab sessions will be facilitated by two NFSN staff, Trisha Bautista and Tomas Delgado along with Equity Consultant, Alena Paisano. September sessions will serve as foundational for the rest of the learning journey. To jumpstart the dialogue and reflection, NFSN and Lab cohort members will explore Advancing Equity in Farm to School Education, listen to the first chapter of Braiding Sweetgrass, watch Soul Fire Farm’s Uprooting Racism and Seeding Sovereignty, and read through Dismantling Racism’s Workbook. 

The Fall 2023 Racial Equity Learning Lab Cohort: 

It’s our goal to capture and share this year’s Racial Equity Learning Lab journey and highlight learnings for ways to center racial equity in farm to school efforts. Stay tuned for our next blog for this series, scheduled in October 2023 in conjunction with the upcoming farm to school month celebration.

In recent years, there has been significant growth in support for local food purchasing incentives (LFPIs). More than a dozen states have established programs that provide direct reimbursement to child nutrition programs in schools and early care and education (ECE) settings to offset the costs of buying local foods. Additional states are in the process of introducing LFPI bills and advocating for broader adoption of these programs.

To explore the current landscape of local food purchasing incentives across states, National Farm to School Network will be hosting a two-part webinar series in August. We will be exploring ten different LFPIs across the nation: 

‍

Session 1: August 9, 2023, 12-1 pm ET

Registration link HERE.

Featured States and Speakers:

• California: Amy Garfinkel, California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork
• Connecticut: Cyrena Thibodeau, Connecticut Department of Agriculture and Monica Pacheco, Connecticut Department of Education
• Maine: Robin Kerber, Full Plates Full Potential
• New Hampshire: Stacey Purslow, University of New Hampshire Sustainability Institute / New Hampshire Farm to School
• New York: Mikaela Perry, American Farmland Trust / Farm to Institution New York State

Session 2: August 14, 2023, 2:30-3:30 pm ET

Registration link HERE.

‍Featured States and Speakers:

• Colorado: Justin Carter, Colorado Department of Education
• Utah: Kate Wheeler, Utah State Board of Education
• Michigan: Wendy Crowley, Michigan Department of Education
• Vermont: Conor Floyd, Vermont Agency of Education
• Pennsylvania: Samantha Gibb, The Food Trust

Speakers will share their experiences with their respective established programs, pilot initiatives, or introduced LFPI bills. These webinars aim to provide insights into each program's history, design, impact, and more.

This webinar series is part of a collaborative project between the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems and the National Farm to School Network. Participants can expect more LFPI resources and additional webinar opportunities in 2023. Stay tuned for updates!

Please contact Policy@farmtoschool.org with any questions.

National Farm to School Network (NFSN) is proud to announce its policy priorities for the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill. The House Committee on Agriculture is taking public input on the Farm Bill through June 9, 2023.

Karen Spangler, Director of Policy at NFSN said: “Rather than annual budget uncertainty, the Farm Bill offers an opportunity to solidify funding for the kind of long-term food system that America needs. The Farm Bill, a package of federal legislation renewed by Congress every five years, sets agriculture and food assistance policies that touch every aspect of farm to school and early care activity. But we know that this is just one piece of change needed for a truly just food system. We need to shift the economic, cultural, and decision-making power governing our food system.”

Representing organizations across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Territories, and Native nations, NFSN is dedicated to creating a strong and just food system for all through farm to school activities in schools and early care and education (ECE) settings.

In the Fall of 2020, NFSN released a Call to Action for a racially just food system, guiding all aspects of our work, from policy advocacy to resource design and partnership cultivation. The 2023 Farm Bill offers an opportunity to put these values into action through coordinated advocacy efforts.

NFSN's 2023 Farm Bill Priorities are based on six shared community values: economic and environmental justice, health, racial equity, workers’ rights, and animal welfare. These priorities include:

1.  Build on Ten Years of Success in Farm to School: Expand and improve the successful Farm to School Grant Program to ensure more communities have access to support for farm to school activities. Incorporate measures from the Farm to School Act, such as ensuring a mandatory budget of $15 million per year, raising the grant cap to $500,000 for projects that need it, and reducing barriers to Farm to School Grants.

2. Support Farm to School and Farm to ECE in Agriculture and Nutrition Programs: Maintain or expand the budget of SNAP-Ed to support farm to school and farm to ECE work. Encourage culturally responsive and racially equitable approaches to nutrition education. Maintain or expand support for Specialty Crop Block Grants to increase farm to school market access for specialty crop producers.

3. Support Opportunity in Local Food Systems: Increase investment in local food infrastructure and ensure market opportunities are available to all producers. Focus on refining successful programs based on producer and stakeholder feedback and expanding investments. Direct USDA to center small- and mid-sized producers, particularly producers of color, in their own purchasing programs.

4. Ensure Equity and Resilience in Agriculture and Nutrition as a Whole: Address historic and ongoing barriers to racial equity in agricultural production. Invest in opportunities for land access, land ownership, and tenure for communities of color, and support technical assistance, research, and outreach through funding to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal colleges and universities.

NFSN seeks to ensure that the 2023 Farm Bill brings us closer to wins for all communities. We are committed to working with our partners and members to advocate for these policy changes, which will move us toward a just, equitable food system that promotes the health of all school children and benefits producers, workers, educators, and their communities.

Read more about our full Farm Bill platform at https://www.farmtoschool.org/resources-main/national-farm-to-school-networks-2023-farm-bill-policy-priorities. 

About the National Farm to School Network

The National Farm to School Network (NFSN) is a hub for networking, information, and advocacy to grow the farm to school movement, which connects students in schools and early care and education settings to healthy, local food and hands-on learning through gardening, food education, and support for local food procurement.

‍

By Nicole Melia and Melissa Froelich

Advocates for free breakfast for Pennsylvania school children went to the state capitol earlier this month to ask the legislature to consider a new bill for universal school meals including lunch.

What we feed our children makes a huge difference. It’s why there’s a diversity of voices speaking up. From food service directors to farmers and manufacturers. From parents to representatives of school districts. We all want to engage with legislators over the future of the way our young people eat in school.

...

Research shows that school meals provide the best diet quality of all major food sources in the United States, without disparities for those of lower household income.

It’s about more than breakfast. According to the National Farm to School Network, nine states have now enacted universal meals policies, which provide free meals to all students regardless of household income. Additionally, 16 states have enacted policies that support local food purchasing in schools, such as local food incentive programs or grants for local food procurement.

Here in Pennsylvania, we have the chance to be at the forefront of this new movement. Despite the success of the free breakfast program, there is still hunger in Pennsylvania that needs to be addressed.

Read the full article at PennLive.

National Farm to School Network is excited to announce that we have joined the National Healthy School Meals for All Coalition to call on Congress to make nationwide free school meals for all students a reality.

We know that school meals play an important role in reducing childhood hunger, supporting good nutrition, and ensuring that  students are well nourished and ready to get the most out of their school day.  

Research links participation in school meals to positive educational and health outcomes for our nation’s children. School meals are just as important to academic success as textbooks, computers, and transportation, and all children should have access to  them every school day. 

As vital as the school nutrition programs are to ensuring children’s access to healthy, nutritious meals, too many children in need  miss out on school meals because of the programs’ current structure. Many struggling families do not meet the eligibility threshold  for free meals, which requires a family of four to earn less than $37,000 annually. The current structure with some children being  offered free meals or meals at a reduced price, and others paying for their meals, also leads many children who are eligible for free  or reduced-price school meals, particularly those in middle and high school, to choose not to participate because of stigma.  

Providing free meals to all students, regardless of household income, would reduce stigma and ensure that all students have the  nutrition they need during the school day. It would ease the pressure on families’ household food budgets, allowing them to count on a nutritious school breakfast and lunch each school day to help make ends meet. It would reduce administrative work for school staff, allowing them to focus on preparing nutritious and appealing meals instead of processing paperwork. And it would eliminate  unpaid school meal fees, helping to ensure that the cafeteria is a positive place for all students and ending the financial burden that  school meal debt creates for school districts.  

Providing school meals to all students is also critical for advancing racial equity and justice, helping to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and Latinx students can access the key nutrition they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond.  

“National Farm to School Network represents organizations, professionals, and community members committed to a future where all communities hold power in a racially just food system. We support Healthy School Meals for All to ensure that no child misses the nutrition they need to learn and thrive, or experiences stigma. Our partners in the cafeterias, classrooms, gardens, and farms know that how children eat, grow, and learn about food sets them up for future health and success.”
— Miguel Villarreal, Interim Co-Executive Director

Read our full statement of support here.

[Harrisburg, PA] - On May 1, a group of school meals advocates will gather at the Pennsylvania State Capitol to call for the continuation of free breakfast for Pennsylvania school children and to urge the state to consider a new bill for universal school meals including lunch.

Pennsylvania’s farm to school grants provide funds to buy locally and build connections between children and the people who get food to the school meal table. Integrating policies that expand healthy school meals can do even more to benefit kids, farmers, and communities. National Farm to School Network’s “Who’s At The Table” campaign aims to raise awareness on the importance of school meal policies that value kids and value each person who gets it to the cafeteria table, and broaden public engagement to ensure this issue is at the top of the policy agenda.

The advocates—from food service directors to farmers, and from parents to representatives of school districts—will be available for interviews and photo opportunities between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 pm. At the East Wing Rotunda, 500 Commonwealth Ave. Harrisburg, PA 17120.

The advocates will be citing the success of the current free breakfast program. They will also be highlighting the need for universal school meals, which would help to ensure that all students have access to healthy meals throughout the school day. Across the nation, 9 states have now enacted universal meals policies, which provide free meals to all students regardless of household income.

For more information, please contact Ryan Betz at the National Farm to School Network on 601 832 2785. Or Matt Davis Communications on 917 526 9530. 

What’s Inside? (Table of Contents)

• Summary
• What is the Community Eligibility Provision?
• Who Benefits From the Community Eligibility Provision?
• Why does this Rule Change Matter?
• How Can I Learn More and Take Action?

Summary

On March 23, 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA) proposed a rule change to dramatically expand child access to school meals. They propose to lower the threshold that schools have to meet to qualify for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a federal program that enables eligible schools to serve free meals to all students. Currently, schools can qualify for the program if they have an Identified Student Population (ISP, definition below) of 40%. USDA wants to lower the threshold to qualify for CEP from 40% to 25%. This change will greatly increase the number of schools that are eligible for the program and increase the number of students benefiting from healthy school meals. 

National Farm to School Network is a champion of this rule change. We urge our partners to submit comments to the USDA in support of expanding access to CEP.

Comments are due May 8, 2023. Continue reading for more information on the proposed change, why it is important, and how to take action. 

What is the Community Eligibility Provision?

When did CEP start?

• The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 introduced CEP as a new federal program to expand access to school meals. 

Who benefits from this program?

• One in three schools participated in CEP in the 2021-22 school year, according to a report by the Food Research and Action Center. This amounts to over 33,000 schools, which represent 16.2 million students, or nearly a quarter (22%) of all children under 18 in the US. Most eligible schools (74.3%) participate in CEP.

Who can qualify for CEP?

• To be eligible to operate CEP, a school within a district must have an Identified Student Percentage (ISP) of 40% or higher. Schools can also form groups to increase their ISP and maximize federal funding. 

What is an Identified Student Percentage?

• The “identified student percentage” (ISP) is calculated by dividing the total number of identified students by the total number of enrolled students. “Identified students” are students who are categorically eligible for free meals without the need for a household income application. For example, students are considered categorically eligible if they are enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), and other similar federal assistance programs, or are homeless, migrant, runaway, or are in foster care. Additionally, the USDA began a pilot program in 14 states to directly certify students if they are enrolled in Medicaid. 

How are schools funded through CEP?‍

• Schools are reimbursed using a formula that multiplies Identified Student Population by 1.6. This number will give schools the percentage of meals they serve that are fully reimbursed by the federal government. For example, a school with an ISP of 56% will be federally reimbursed for 93% of the meals they serve. The remainder of funding would have to come from non-federal sources. A school with an ISP of 63% will be reimbursed for all meals they serve by the federal government. So among schools that participate in CEP, those with higher ISPs will be reimbursed for a higher percentage of meals served. 

Who Benefits from the Community Eligibility Provision?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government made all school meals temporarily free to students. The nation was able to see first-hand the difference this support made in communities. Providing healthy school meals for all through CEP provides similar benefits throughout the school community, backed up by a robust and growing body of research evidence. NFSN has created a 3-page list of talking points that stem from this research in the context of this proposed rule change. 

It benefits students:

• It promotes equity. More students have access to healthy school meals, regardless of income.
• Without cash registers, there are shorter lunch lines and more time to eat lunch.
• There is no stigma associated with eating school lunch.
• We know hungry students can’t learn. School meals for all improve student outcomes by ensuring kids can stay focused in the classroom.

It benefits parents:

• Parents experience less stress when they don’t need to worry about preparing school lunches or paying for meals at school 

It benefits school nutrition professionals.

• There is less administrative burden for schools, which do not have to process school meal applications if they participate in CEP. 
• There are fewer reporting requirements for schools, which previously had to track each meal by payment category (such as free, reduced-price, or paid meals).
• Schools no longer have to act as debt collectors. They do not need to call parents to make up for unpaid meals. This has become a growing problem, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The lunch line is faster, without the need to collect payment from students.
• Reduced administrative burden means that more time can be spent on scratch cooking and purchasing local ingredients.

Why does this Rule Change Matter?

It will increase the number of students benefiting from healthy school meals.

More schools can participate: This rule change will lower the threshold to participate in CEP from 40% to 25%, meaning that many more schools (and more students) will be able to benefit from this program. According to Food Research and Action Center, this change will expand CEP to reach an additional 9 million students in 20,000 more schools that would now be eligible for the program. Some states even require schools to participate in all federal food assistance programs in which they qualify, which ensures more schools will benefit from CEP.

Student meal participation increases with universal access: Meal participation increases when students have access to healthy school meals. 

It will make statewide universal meal policies more appealing to state governments. 

National Farm to School Network has launched the Who’s At the Table? School Meals campaign to promote state-level universal meals policies that align with our community values. This proposed rule would support states that have implemented universal meals and make universal meals policies more appealing to state governments looking to establish universal meals. 

Most universal meals policies require their state governments to cover the difference between the regular price of the meal and any federal funding support for school meals. For example, if a meal costs $3, and the federal government already provides $1 in reimbursement for that meal, currently the state government would provide the remaining $2. This ultimately makes school meals free to all public school students.

Even in states with universal free meals policies, schools are experiencing challenges with collecting income eligibility forms needed to obtain the maximum amount of funding available from federal sources. Lowering the CEP eligibility threshold would allow more schools to participate in CEP, allowing for a more streamlined paperwork process for schools in these states, and reducing the overall cost of a program. This proposed rule change may be the catalyst for more states to adopt healthy school meals for all.

How Can I Learn More and Take Action?

To Learn More:

• Comment Request: Proposed Rule by USDA
• Summary of Proposed Rule by USDA
• Webinar on Proposed Rule by USDA
• Community Eligibility Provision Resource Center
• CEP Benefits Students and Schools web page, by No Kid Hungry
• Community Eligibility: The Key to Hunger-Free Schools School Year 2021–2022 report by Food Research and Action Center

To Get Involved:

• Read NFSN’s comment on the CEP change
• Check out NFSN’s CEP Talking Points for ideas on how you can frame your support
• Review NFSN's CEP Advocacy Toolkit

Are you ready to make a comment of your own?

• Use NFSN’s model comment document and customize it with your own experiences and values
• Submit your comment through NFSN’s Voter Voice platform.