Farm to school: Perspectives of school food service professionals

Farm to school programs are at the cutting edge of efforts to improve the quality of school meals. Advocates hope that such programs will improve children's health through increased access to fresh fruits and vegetables while simultaneously boosting farmers' incomes. This study was designed to assess why school food service professionals (SFSPs), farmers, and food distributors participate in farm to school programs and how they characterize the program's potential to meet its goals. Using a case study method, seven SFSPs, seven farmers, and four food distributors participating in one of seven farm to school programs located in the Upper Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States were each interviewed twice and relevant documents were collected to cross-check findings and enhance validity of the results. Data were analyzed using thematic codes and displays. This presentation focuses on the perspectives of SFSPs. Our analysis suggests that SFSPs are primarily motivated to buy locally grown food because doing so helps them to achieve their dual goals of providing children with nutritious foods that they will eat and staying financially solvent. Relationships with farmers and vendor flexibility emerged as important variables that mediated this outcome. The results of this research suggest that some of the benefits attributed to farm to school may be lost if small-scale distributors and farmers are replaced by large-scale distributors that rely on generic standards of food quality. Understanding SFSPs' motivations for buying locally grown food is critical to the sustainability of this program.