Farm-to-School Programs: Linkages between state laws , district policies, and school practices

Background: Farm-to-School programs (FTSP) connect schools with locally-sourced food.

Purpose: To study the prevalence of FTSP and links with state legislation and school district policies.

Significance: FTSP have the potential to improve student health by increasing access to fresh produce and by improving the nutritional quality of school meals.

Methodology: We gathered information on FTS laws for all 50 states plus DC, district policies in a nationally-representative sample of 529 school districts (LEAs), and school information via a mail-back survey of 578 public elementary schools within those LEAs.

Findings: As of 2007, 13 states had legislation supporting FTSP. In 5.6% of LEAs, policies were in place to require or recommend FTSP. At the school level, 5.1% of schools reported having a FTSP. Schools with FTSP were more prevalent in states with FTS laws than without (9.6% vs. 2.7%), and in LEAs with policies than without (14.6% vs. 4.2%). FTSP were more common in the Northeast (11.4% of schools) as compared to the West (5.3%), Midwest (1.5%) and South (4.5%). Among schools with FTSP, most offered fruits (80.6 %), vegetables (74.2%), or dairy (9.7%).

Conclusion: Although few schools have established FTSP, these programs are more common where there is state and/or district support.

Recommendations: FTSP present a unique opportunity for farmers and schools by creating new marketing outlets for farmers, while improving the school nutrition environment. Enacting more FTS state legislation may facilitate increased FTS participation by schools.