178586 Farm to school across the nation: What do we know about potential impacts?

Monday, October 27, 2008: 9:30 AM

Anupama Joshi, MS , Center for Food & Justice, UEPI, Occidental College, National Farm to School Program, Los Angeles, CA
Amy E. Paxton, PhD Candidate , School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Phyllis L. Fleming, PhD , Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Alice Ammerman, DrPH, RD , Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
     
Farm to school programs link local farmers with school cafeterias and classrooms to bring fresh, healthy foods to students and create market opportunities for farmers and processors. The farm to school movement is gaining ground, with as many as 38 states having at least one farm to school program operational. Given the rapid growth of this model, it is imperative to assess how farm to school has impacted school nutrition, student health, local agriculture, and communities at large.

Participants will hear about available data about impacts of the farm to school approach on students (knowledge, attitudes and behaviors regarding nutrition and health), teachers, food service, farmers, parents and communities. We will provide an overview of the types of farm to school evaluations that have been conducted so far, sample tools and resources used, as well as outline challenges and opportunities for evaluating farm to school programs. We will introduce the National Farm to School Network evaluation program, an effort to systematically document policy initiatives, rigorously evaluate four farm to school program sites, assess the functional capabilities of the network and understand farm to school as a social movement across the country.

Learning Objectives:
Participants will: 1) Understand the breadth and scope of farm to school evaluations conducted thus far. 2) List two specific impacts of the farm to school approach. 3) Appreciate the challenges and opportunities regarding evaluation of farm to school programs 4) Understand the objectives of the ongoing national farm to school network evaluation.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, School-Based Programs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a PhD candidate supervised by the faculty listed as coauthors of this investigation.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Local Food Movement in Schools: Making Farm to School Feasible (Jointly organized by the Food and Nutrition and the Environment Sections)
See more of: Food and Nutrition