F2S-Planning-ToolKit.pdf

The USDA Farm to School

Planning Toolkit

Questions and Resources for Designing a Robust Farm to School Program

United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service

Introduction

The Farm to School Planning Toolkit guides you though questions to consider and helpful resources to reference when starting or growing a farm to school program. It is designed for use by schools, school districts, and community partners. The toolkit is filled with tips and examples, insights from others, and lists of resources for further research. Each school district is unique, so browse the topics to find the resources most relevant to you and your implementation team!

The planning topics include:

Building Your Team…….………………….…3

Establishing a Vision & Goals…………..…6

Defining Local & Finding Local

Foods…………………………………………..….9

Buying Local Foods………………..………..13

Menu Planning ……………………..………..20

Food Safety……………………………………….27

Promoting Your Program.…………….…...38

School Gardening……………………………….38

Education & Curriculum Integration…..43

Evaluating Your Efforts……………………….46

Sustaining Your Program…………………….50

Happy farm to school planning!

“It is amazing to see what tremendous changes we have been able to make in such a short amount of time. The old way of doing things/serving food is changing and everyone is taking notice! The farm to school program is always the topic of conversation at our health and wellness meetings and I have had so many families tell me how they have tried the recipes we have provided for them and that they now have a garden at home because their child wanted to start growing their own food like they do at school.

Lemon Grove Academy, CA

“Once our program was in place, we were able to respond to other interested districts to encourage their exploration into adopting like practices in their schools. We have gladly shared our farm to school curriculum and implementation and communication plans with others.”

Cheney Public Schools, WA

Building Your Farm to School Team

Building a farm to school team is a critical first step in the planning process and essential to the long -term success of your program. It’s an opportunity to create allies, bring in knowledge and expertise beyond what exists within your core group, and recruit some boots on the ground for planning and implementing your farm to school program, and fundraising to sustain it. Thinking through the questions below, you will be encouraged to define the roles of, and learn more about, your committed team members and advisors; determine what other types of members will make your team stronger; establish a structure for your team and the meetings you hold; come up with a preliminary meeting schedule; and explore existing resources that will help you form an effective group.

Team-Building Questions to Consider Background

When was your farm to school team established and by whom? What activities has the group participated in to date?

Already Committed Members

What are the names, titles, and roles of people who have already committed to being part of your farm to school team?

TIP! You might also note other relevant roles that committee members play in the school, the community, or in their personal lives, as well as any helpful skills they might have. Does this member serve on any other committees? Is he or she the parent of a former student (in addition to being, say, the school nurse)? Does he or she love gardening or have fundraising experience?

“Our biggest contributors and best sounding boards were the students we had on our planning committee. I believe we need to be inclusive of the people who these programs are designed to affect.

West New York Schools, NJ

Advisers

Outside of the team, what people or groups will you look to for guidance and assistance? What are the names, titles, and roles of people who have agreed to advise your committee on specific matters on an as-needed basis?

TIP! Your advisory committee needn’t necessarily be formal, but formalizing advisory roles might make the people who you’re hoping to get some specific advice or help from more invested in your program.

Needed Members & Advisers

What specific people or categories of people would you like to have on your farm to school team or advisory committee but have not yet received a commitment from? Who will be responsible for recruiting these new members? What are your expectations for these members? What role(s) will they play?

TIP! Some possible recruits for your team include:

school food service representatives, teachers, students, school administrators (especially the school principal or vice principal), school board members, parents and grandparents, food producers (including farmers, ranchers, and fishermen) school nurses, guidance counselors, staff members of non-profit organizations, Master Gardeners, researchers, school maintenance staff members, local chefs, state agency farm to school coordinator, National Farm to School Network state lead, health care professionals, extension agents, PTA/PTO representatives, members of the local media, the school or district communications director, the school or district curriculum director, and other schools or districts that have farm to school programs

Details & Logistics

Structure

How is your team structured? Are you a subcommittee of a wellness committee or a food policy committee? Do you have sub-committees? Is there a team lead? Is there a cap on the number of members? Are members appointed, invited, elected, or nominated? Is there a leadership committee? Are all members of the team permanent, or do some serve for a specific period of time

(e.g. the school year)?

Name

What will you call your farm to school team?

For example: Some popular names include Farm to School Coordinating Committee, Farm to

School Organizing Committee, School Nutrition Action Committee (SNAC), and Farm to School

Steering Committee. Choose a name that reflects the team’s scope. If the team will address issues broader than the term “farm to school” encompasses, its name should reflect that.

Responsibilities & Power

What are the functions and responsibilities of the farm to school team? Does the team, or do members of the team, have decision-making power? If not, by what means can the team’s ideas and recommendations be realized?

For example: The types of activities a farm to school team might be responsible for include strategic planning, implementation, community outreach, regular reporting to specific people or entities, and fundraising.

Relationship building

Do the various team members, [especially foodservice staff, administrators, and teachers] work together often? If not, what activities will build relationships, understanding, and trust between members?

“Our coordinator spent a great deal of time during the planning year not only building but constantly maintaining and strengthening relationships with our collaborative partners, often on a one-to-one basis, through meetings, emails, marketing and media updates, and personal visits and conversations. These efforts paid off by making all stakeholders feel they had a personal interest in and commitment to the program.”

Chico Unified School District, CA

Meetings

Who is the team accountable to? How often does the team meet? Where are meetings held? Are meetings open to the public? Will meetings be facilitated by a member of the team, or an external partner?

Team Building Resources

Following is a list of resources you may find helpful for assembling and growing your farm to school team and leading farm to school planning meetings.

Farm to School: Assemble a Team

University of Minnesota Extension

Tips for foodservice directors on building a farm to school team, including a video and many examples.

Vermont Farm to School: A Guide for Farm to School Community Action Planning

Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED)

Detailed information on forming a farm to school team, facilitating farm to school meetings, and developing a community action plan.

Getting Started

National Farm to School Network

A list of simple steps and resources for getting a farm to school program started.

Food Hub’s Knowledge Base, “Getting Started”

Ecotrust

This library of farm to school guidance is updated regularly and includes user ratings.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/food/farm-to-school/procurement/foodservice/getting-started/assemble-team/ http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/nutrition/vermonts-guide-farm-school-community-action-plan.pdf http://www.farmtoschool.org/get-started https://food-hub.org/knowledgebase/browse/3

Establishing a Vision and Goals

The questions and resources below are meant to help you think about establishing a vision and goals for your farm to school program.. The prompts will encourage you to think about your long-term hopes for your farm to school program; establish goals and objectives for the near-term; survey the federal, state, and local program and policy environment; and explore existing resources that will help set you out along a thoughtful path towards reaching your goals and eventually realizing your long-term vision.

Visioning and Goal-Setting Questions to Consider

Background and Current Status

What led to your decision to establish a farm to school program? What activities have you participated in to date that have readied you to move into the implementation stage? What benefits do you think a farm to school program can bring to your students, school, district, or community?

Long-term Vision

What is your long-term vision for a thriving farm to school program?

TIP! Define “long-term” however you like! Your most ambitious farm to school goals might be achieved in 5 years or 25 years.

“Start small. Although having high expectations and ambitions is not a bad thing, it becomes frustrating at times to feel we were “failing” in some areas when we did not see progress come as quickly as we wanted. A recommendation for any entity starting farm-to-school efforts is to scale back your goals initially, attain some small successes and then build up from these smaller “wins”.

Ezra Baker Elementary School, MA

Near-term Goals & Objectives

What are your near-term (1- to 2-year) goals and objectives for your farm to school program?

School Environment & Student Population

How big is your school or district? What types of students do you serve? What cultures do your students come from, and how might this be relevant to your farm to school program? Are you in an urban or a rural setting? Do many of your students garden or farm outside of school? Is there a garden on your school grounds, or space for one? How and how well do your students eat outside of school? If a high school, is your campus open or closed?

Program Context

What existing programs and initiatives are relevant to your farm to school program?

Child nutrition programs

Which federal Child Nutrition Programs does your school operate? Are there any planned changes to these programs? What percent of your students are eligible for free and reduced price meals?

TIP! The federal Child Nutrition Programs include the National School Lunch Program, the

School Breakfast Program, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, the Afterschool Snack

Program, Seamless Summer, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Special Milk Program.

To find out if you might be eligible for a program you are not currently operating, click here.

State and Local Initiatives

What State, local, and district-wide programs and initiatives might be relevant to your farm to school program?

TIP! Initiatives might include everything from a state-level effort to reduce childhood obesity, to a county-wide “buy local” campaign, to a district-wide initiative to put a garden in every school.

Policy Context

What general policies and regulations at the federal, state-, local- and district levels are relevant to your farm to school goals?

“Establishing common core ideas of what we wanted to do was crucial for keeping the farm to school program moving forward in a uniform fashion.

Sparta Area School District, WI http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/

TIP! This list should include policies that bolster and guide your efforts, and those that create barriers.

How does your farm to school effort fit in with your school’s wellness plan?

TIP! Are farm to school principles and goals already written into the plan? Would you like for them to be? (If so, include that as a goal above.)

Visioning and Goal-Setting Resources

Farm to School Toolkit

Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition

Resources for starting a farm to school program for school food professionals, producers, and distributors. Don’t miss the Toolkit Resource Guide.

Vermont Farm to School: A Guide for Farm to School Community Action Planning

Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED)

Detailed information on forming a farm to school team, facilitating farm to school meetings, and developing a community action plan.

Farm to School Assessment Tool

Minnesota Department of Health

A checklist for schools to evaluate their current farm to school efforts.

State Farm to School Legislative Survey: 2002-2013

A state-by-state listing of farm to school-related state laws.

Local Wellness Policy Resources

USDA’s Team Nutrition

Information to help schools make and maintain a healthy nutrition environment.

Tips for Writing Goals and Objectives

Tulane University

Tips for how to write broad goals and specific, measurable objectives.

http://toolkit.centerfornutrition.org/ http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http://toolkit.centerfornutrition.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Toolkit-Resource-Guide.xlsx&ei=5oA_UMGNL-_M6QHrmIDYBw&usg=AFQjCNHMXQaR-aSNAfoosChcGhTE http://www.vtfeed.org/materials/guide-farm-school-community-action-planning http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/chp/cdrr/nutrition/docsandpdf/self_assessment.pdf http://www.farmtoschool.org/Resources/State_Farm_to_School_Legislative_Survey_4_2014.pdf http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/school-nutrition-environment-and-wellness-resources http://tulane.edu/publichealth/mchltp/upload/Tips-for-writing-goals-and-objectives.pdf

Defining Local and Finding Local Foods

Serving local foods through school meal programs is often a central component of farm to school initiatives. But before schools and districts start purchasing local foods or determine which local foods they are already purchasing, they must determine what foods are grown, harvested, raised, caught, and processed in the region and when those foods are available. Knowing these things about the surrounding agricultural landscape can help schools and districts take the critical step of defining

“local.” The questions below are meant to help you survey your local agriculture and help you develop a definition of local that works for you.

Local Sourcing Questions to Consider

Definition of “Local” or “Regional”

Has your school or district defined “local” or “regional”? If so, what is your definition and how was it established?

TIP! You can define “local” or “regional” however you like: within a certain number of miles from your school, within the state, or within the county. You might also choose to define the terms differently for different types of products. Involving food service staff, local growers, food distributors, and others in helping you define local will ensure that the definition suits your needs.

For example: A school could decide that because there are so many fruit and vegetable producers within their county, “local” fruits and vegetables must come from within county lines.

However, if the county has only one dairy, then “local” milk, cheese, and yogurt might come from anywhere in the state.

Local or regional agricultural products

What types of foods are produced within the area(s) you’ve defined as “local” or “regional”?

TIP! To find out what grows locally, try looking for seasonality charts online, talking to farmers at a farmers’ market, or calling your local agricultural extension office.

And don’t forget to include dairy, meat, poultry, fish, and grains in your survey.

Sources of local foods

Existing Suppliers, Contracts, and Procurement System

How do you currently procure foods, both local and non-local? What food-related contracts do you currently hold? What local food items are currently available through your contracted suppliers? Do you use any guidelines or templates to create invitations for bids, requests for proposals, and informal procurement solicitations?

TIP! Many schools experience success working with their existing suppliers and procurement framework to procure local foods. Before deciding to develop new relationships, contracts, and system, take stock of the opportunities available through your current procurement system.

Suppliers

From whom do you intend to source local foods? Will you buy through your produce distributor, a broad line supplier, the DoD Fresh Program, a farmers’ cooperative, a food hub, directly from individual farmers, or by some other means?

If you plan to source directly from producers or to identify producers with whom your produce distributor will establish contracts, how will you find (or have you found) these businesses and individuals?

TIP! In order to answer these questions, you’ll likely have to explore many options. Maybe your produce distributor would be happy to offer more local foods if they just knew who to buy them from, or perhaps there’s a farmers’ cooperative nearby that’s been interested in pooling their products for institutional purchasers. You won’t know until start looking. There may be local organizations including state and local governmental agencies that can help you!

Local Sourcing Resources

Resources for Determining what Grows Locally

The Farm to School Census

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

The Census surveyed over 13,000 school districts about their farm to school efforts.

Schools can use this data to find out what districts nearby are sourcing locally.

Cooperative Extension

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Cooperative Extension agents staff offices in each state and are experts in many agricultural topics, including local food systems. Most counties have an Extension office and these agents can help connect you with producers in your region.

https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov/ http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

Food Hubs: Building Stronger Infrastructure for Small and Mid-Size Producers

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

This page on the AMS website contains a host of great resources about food hubs— businesses or organizations that actively manage the aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) State Offices

This web page offers contact information for all of USDA’s state FSA offices, which hold contact information for local producers and often host outreach meetings for growers.

USDA National Farmers Market Directory

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service

A searchable database of all registered farmers’ markets in the country. Over 8,000 markets are included.

Resources for Assessing Production and Seasonality

Census of Agriculture

USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS)

NASS surveys all U.S. farmers every five years and produces county profiles that detail agricultural production in every county. Think about using this data to find out what is produced in your area.

The Farm to School Census

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service

The Census surveyed over 13,000 school districts about their farm to school efforts. Think about using the data to find out what districts nearby are sourcing locally.

Cooperative Extension

USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Cooperative Extension agents staff offices in each state and are experts in many agricultural topics, including local food systems. Most counties have an Extension office and these agents can help connect you with producers in your region.

Online Tools for Finding Local Foods

Market Maker

A national partnership of land grant institutions and State Departments of Agriculture dedicated to the development of a comprehensive interactive database of food industry marketing and business data. Schools can use state-based Market Maker sites to search for local producers and products.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/foodhubs http://fsa.usda.gov/FSA/stateOffices?area=stoffice&subject=landing&topic=landing http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/farmersmarkets http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/index.php http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/census#/ https://foodmarketmaker.com/main/stateSites

Food Hub

An online marketplace and directory that makes it easy and efficient for professional food buyers and sellers to research, connect, and do business. Food Hub currently serves growers and buyers in the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and

California.

Farm Logix

A one-stop-shop for multi-farm sourcing, connecting local farms with schools and other institutions. Many State Departments of Agriculture host searchable databases of farms within the state and the products they produce. For an example, visit the Go Texan website.

http://food-hub.org/home http://www.farmlogix.net/#!/page_splash http://www.gotexan.org/

Buying Local Foods

Once a school district has defined local and determined some sources of local foods, it’s time to start purchasing them! When local foods are being procured using federal meal program funds, those purchases must be done in accordance with regulations. The questions and resources below are meant to help you establish a plan for procuring, or procuring more, local foods in accordance with the rules. You will be encouraged to think through possible mechanisms for purchasing local foods;

address distribution and delivery challenges; and survey your capacity to store and process local products.

Local Procurement Questions to Consider

Background and Progress to Date

How much local food do you currently serve? What types of local food have you been purchasing, and from whom? Through which Child Nutrition Programs do you serve local foods?

Tip! Count your local foods purchases in terms of total dollars spent and percentage of dollars spent. If you don’t know where the food you’ve been purchasing comes from, you should think about how you’ll you start collecting that data since it’s important to have a baseline figure. If you want to explore farm to school data collection in more depth, see the evaluation questions and resources.

To date, what local procurement-related activities have you participated in?

Local Procurement Goals

What are your near-term (1 to 2-year) goals for local foods procurement? What types of local foods do you hope to serve and how often do you hope to serve them? Do you plan to serve local foods through all of the Child Nutrition Programs you operate, or just some of them?

TIP! To the extent possible, your goals should include specific target amounts and products.

For example: A school that operates the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) in an area with a long growing season might have a goal to source 40 percent of all FFVP foods locally. A farm in a cattle-ranching region might have a goal to start sourcing 25 percent of the beef served through the National School Lunch Program locally.

Procurement

Procurement Rules

What federal, state, and local procurement rules must you follow? What is the lowest small purchase

(AKA simplified acquisition) threshold that you are subject to?

Mechanisms for Local Sourcing

TIP! It’s unlikely you’ll use all of the below mechanisms to source local foods.

Incidentally/Accidentally

Are there any foods likely to come from within the area you’ve defined as “local” whether or not you make a conscious effort to procure them locally? If so, which items?

TIP! Because fluid milk is costly to ship, most dairy products in the United States are still sold relatively close to where they are produced; check to see where yours comes from! Connecting directly with existing local suppliers can open possibilities for farm field trips and classroom visits.

For example: For a school in Florida, citrus fruits are likely to come from a local source (or a least from within the state) during harvest season. Orange juice is likely to come from a local source anytime of the year.

By using related specifications

Are there any specifications you might be able to use in your IFBs or RFPs that would prefer local foods indirectly?

TIP! Including a specification that foods be fresh (harvested within a day or two of delivery) is one way to increase the likelihood that a local vendor will win the contract. Another way is to choose to purchase a type of seafood that’s only caught in waters off the coast of your state (or a freshwater fish that’s only available in local lakes and rivers), or a variety that’s only grown by farmers in your region. Offering unique varieties often makes for great learning opportunities as well!

By approaching only local vendors

Note: If you’re making a purchase that falls under your small purchase threshold, you can choose

3 (or more) local farms or vendors to get quotes from.

Do any of your current procurements fall beneath the small purchase threshold? Are there items that might make sense to procure under a separate solicitation? Are there enough local sources to bid on such products?

TIP! Just remember, you can’t intentionally split purchases in order to fall below the federal small purchase threshold. However, there are a lot of legitimate reasons to split bids. It's typical for an SFA to split purchases based on inherent differences in foods such as shelf life, delivery methods, seasonality, and other characteristics; if your farm to school program includes a

"Harvest of the Month" or "Seasonal Menu" that you want to use a separate bid for in order to get the best product at the best price, that’s fine too.

By including local sourcing in your solicitation for a distributor or food service management company

When you issue new solicitations to procure contracts with distributors or food service management companies, will you include your preference that the distributor source local products?

Through DoD Fresh

Do you currently use the DoD Fresh Program? Does the prime vendor for your region offer local products?

TIP! If your DoD Fresh prime vendor does not currently offer any local products, you can contact your DoD Fresh representative and make your desire for local products known. If you know of any local farmers or producer groups that would like to sell to DoD Fresh, offer to make an introduction!

By applying a geographic preference

TIP! If you’re not familiar with the term “geographic preference,” be sure to read the related resources listed in the resources section for this topic.

Will you need to apply a geographic preference to bids in order to procure local foods from the sources you’ve identified? If you plan to use the geographic preference option, how much preference are you comfortable awarding to local producers? Will the amount of preference you award differ depending upon the type of product you are purchasing? Will you apply the preference as a dollar amount, a percentage, or in another way?

TIP! Remember that the stronger the preference you give to local products, the more those products might cost you. Think carefully about how much preference you can afford to award.

We are able to purchase a lot of local produce from our neighboring growers through our current produce distributors as well as through the DOD Fresh Program. This ensures food safety and traceability for us as well as consistency in product.

Weld County School District Re8, CO

If you use standard solicitation templates, will they need to be changed to incorporate geographic preference?

Through food donations

Will you receive any donations of local food? If so, how and from whom?

For example: Some schools operate “gleaning” programs wherein they harvest produce from farmers’ fields that wouldn’t otherwise be harvested and sold.

Delivery, Processing & Storage

How will the local foods you purchase be delivered to your kitchen(s)?

Will you send the local foods you purchase to a processor, or will you process them yourself? Will your existing infrastructure and staffing capacity accommodate your processing needs?

Will your storage needs change when you increase your local purchases? If so, how do you plan to accommodate these storage needs?

Key Players & Training needs

Who will be involved in implementing your near-term local procurement goals? What training will be needed in order for staff to confidently and successfully carry out your local foods procurement plan?

For example: Staff might need training in receiving foods, cleaning and preparing foods that might not look like what they are used to, and scratch cooking (including knife skills).

Local Procurement Resources

Guidance and Regulations

Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs Guide USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

This guide showcases the many ways schools can purchase locally in accordance with regulations. The document also provides information on what local means and where to find local foods.

Finding, Buying, and Serving Local Foods Webinar Series

FNS

This series of twelve archived webinar recordings (each about an hour long) showcases the variety of ways school districts can purchase local foods. Each webinar focuses on a specific topic, and most highlight districts across the country that are buying local foods in accordance with regulations.

https://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/procuring-local-foods https://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/procuring-local-foods http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/webinars

Program-specific procurement regulations

Links to regulations governing each major Child Nutrition Program from Title 7 of the

Code of Federal Regulations.

Final Rule: Geographic Preference Option

The final rule, published in the Federal Register, includes a summary, background, and final regulatory language, by program, for the geographic preference option. Check out the fact sheet on Geographic Preference.

Procurement Geographic Preference Q&As Part I

FNS’s Child Nutrition Division

A memo published in February 2011 addressing questions regarding application of the geographic preference option.

Procurement Geographic Preference Q&As Part II

FNS’s Child Nutrition Division

A memo published in October 2012 addressing additional questions regarding application of the geographic preference option and other mechanisms for local procurement.

State Agency Guidance on Procurement

FNS, in partnership with the National Food Service Management Institute

An online procurement training geared towards state agencies that focuses on federal procurement requirements.

Procurement in the 21st Century

National Food Service Management Institute

This comprehensive guide presents general concepts about procuring goods, products, and services for school nutrition programs.

Geographic Preference: What it is and how to use it

USDA Farm to School Program

This fact sheet shows three examples of how a school food authority might incorporate geographic preference into a solicitation.

Geographic Preference Primer

School Food FOCUS

This primer summarizes state and federal law and provides guidance on implementing a geographic preference policy.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/f2s/USDA_procurement_reg.htm https://www.fns.usda.gov/fr-042211 https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/F2S_geo_pref.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Policy-Memos/2011/SP18-2011_os.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Governance/Policy-Memos/2013/SP03-2013os.pdf http://www.nfsmi.org/Templates/TemplateDefault.aspx?qs=cElEPTEzNQ http://www.nfsmi.org/documentlibraryfiles/PDF/20130820034348.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/F2S_geo_pref.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/FOCUS_GP_Primer.pdf

Using DoD Fresh to Purchase Local Produce

USDA Farm to School Program

This fact sheet addresses the advantages, and mechanics, of using USDA Foods entitlement dollars to order local foods through the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program.

A School's Guide to Purchasing Washington-Grown Food, from the Washington State

Department of Agriculture

This straightforward, clearly worded, resource-filled guide provides information on using the geographic preference option to source local foods in Washington State; however, much of the content is broadly applicable.

Procurement Change Tools Getting Started Toolkit: Making the Case for Procurement

School Food Focus

Provides a detailed account of how one Minnesota school district developed and pursued their goals for procurement change, including increasing their local foods purchases.

Frozen Local: Strategies for Freezing Locally Grown Produce for the K-12 Marketplace

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy

Presents research and insights on avenues for freezing local foods on a small to medium scale.

For and About Producers

Getting Started – Farmer Self-Assessment

Michigan State University

A self-assessment worksheet for farmers to determine their interest in and readiness for selling their products to schools. Selling to Schools & Institutions

Food Hub’s Knowledge Base

Resources for farmers on how to get started selling foods to schools.

How to Start the Conversation: A Food Service Director & Farmer Conversation Guide

California Farm to School Taskforce

A detailed list of questions for food service staff to ask farmers as they begin the conversation about procuring the farmer’s products.

Toolkit for Institutional Purchasers Sourcing Local Food From Distributors

Farm to Institution New England (FINE)

This guide assists dining services managers in communicating with current or potential distributors about meeting demands for local products and tracking local and sustainable http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/F2S_using_dod.pdf http://www.wafarmtoschool.org/Page/74/procurement-guide http://www.schoolfoodfocus.org/wp-content/uploads/dlm_uploads/2016/05/Making-the-Case-for-Procurement.pdf http://www.iatp.org/files/2012_12_11_FreezingReport_JB_web.pdf http://foodsystems.msu.edu/uploads/files/marketing-mi-products.pdf https://food-hub.org/knowledgebase/browse/15 https://food-hub.org/files/resources/FSD%20Farmer%20Conversation%20Guide.pdf http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/FINE_Toolkit.pdf purchases. While geared towards institutions in New England, the toolkit has something for everyone interested in buying local.

Menu Planning

The questions and resources below are meant to help you move towards developing menus that feature more locally produced foods. As you work through the prompts, you will be encouraged to think through the stages of the menu planning process, from taste testing to budgeting and forecasting to serving local foods and assessing the results.

Menu Planning Questions to Consider

Background and Progress to Date

To date, what steps have you taken to assess your budget to determine how much you might be able to spend on local items, begin incorporating local foods into existing menus, and even develop or use new recipes that feature local foods? Have you taste-tested any local foods or new recipes?

Budgeting & Forecasting

“We analyzed a typical month’s breakfast and lunch menu to find all the products used. We then rated the produce items by frequency of use and separated the produce by season and ability to produce locally.

Fond Du Lac Ojibwe School, MN

How will the procurement of local items affect your budget? Are the local foods you intend to purchase more or less expensive than what you currently buy? Will they take more or less staff time or training to prepare? What is your budget for holding taste tests? Will you build taste-tests in as a regular part of your budget?

Once you have a sense of what students will eat, what your budget will allow, and what menu items you’ll serve, how will you determine exactly what quantities of which products to procure? What is your current food forecasting process and how will you incorporate local foods into that process?

TIP! The budgeting and forecasting processes will play an important role in determining what type of procurement you conduct. For example, your budget for a local item or several local items will help you determine whether it falls above, or below, your small procurement threshold.

Menu and Recipe Development

What type of menus do you currently use? Does your menu change throughout the year or repeat on a cycle? How will your menus change now that you’ll be incorporating more local foods into school meals?

Are there items already served through your meal programs that you can simply substitute with local items? Which items are they, and at what time of the year are they available? Do local farmers grow enough of the product to provide all that you need, or just a portion?

Will you develop or use recipes that you’ve never used before in order to incorporate more local ingredients into the meals and snacks you serve?

Service & Promotion

How will you promote taste tests and local menu items to students, teachers, and others? How will you promote local items and menus to students, teachers, and parents? Will you change the look of your menu? Will you change anything about how foods are served, or how the cafeteria is organized and decorated?

TIP! Many aspects of the service (such as the time and length of the lunch period or the size and arrangement of the cafeteria) are likely outside of your immediate influence. Here, you might want to focus on things that are within your control, such as the presentation of the food, “Introduce the cafeteria staff to the students. Students see these people every day, but it is vital to recognize and celebrate them as important leaders in our community.

Fayette County Schools, KY signage, posters and art on the cafeteria walls, and the practices of the service staff. But don’t forget to include some of your big-picture, long-term wishes for meal service.

Assessment & Adjustment

Will you analyze student receptivity, either before or after incorporating local foods into your menu?

If so, how? Will you look at what foods students put on their trays and/or what foods they actually consumed? Will you ask students what foods they like most?

TIP! Plate waste studies are a great way to determine which foods students are (and are not) eating, but they require time a lot of time and labor. Try partnering with a local university or organizing volunteers to record and analyze plate waste data in your district.

Will you offer taste tests of products or recipes before you even menu the foods? If so, will you use taste testing to introduce kids to the smell, taste, look, and texture of foods they may never have tried, or to determine which foods children like most?

Will food service staff prepare foods for taste testing? If so, how will they fit the food preparation into their busy daily schedules? Will you involve students or volunteers in food preparation?

TIP! Remember the mantra, “If they make it, they will eat it.” Children are more likely to try foods they had a hand in growing and preparing, and both activities are great learning opportunities.

Where and when will you conduct taste tests? Who will conduct them? Will you record students’ reactions to new foods? If so, how will you collect that information and how will you use it?

For example: Taste tests can be conducted in the cafeteria, classroom, hallways, afterschool programs, gardens, and elsewhere. You might try conducting taste tests in several locations and at several different times of the day to determine when and where students are most receptive.

Menu Planning Resources

Menu Planning Help

The Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS)

A guide (updated to reflect the new meal patterns) meant to help SFAs determine how much food to purchase and how to prepare it.

First Choice: A Purchasing Systems Manual for School Food Service

Includes a section on menu systems and planning.

Menu Planning Resources

FNS’s Healthy Meals Resource System

A compilation of menu planning tools, fact sheets, guides, and more.

Fish to Schools Resource Guide

Sitka Conservation Society

The Sitka Conservation Society developed a “how-to” guide to serving fish in schools.

Using Sitka as a case study, it outlines procurement and processing strategies, legalities, tips, and recipes.

Pecks to Pounds

Maryland Department of Agriculture

Translates the typical farm measurements (pecks, bushels, crates, etc.) to pounds. This chart is useful for both farmers and school food service staff to communicate effectively with each other and enables school food service staff to convert farm measurements into serving sizes.

Recommended Kitchen Equipment for From-Scratch Cooking

Wisconsin Farm to School Program

A list of equipment you might need to start incorporating scratch recipes until menus.

Inspiring Menus

Current Menus

Minneapolis Public Schools

These beautiful menus and information-rich promotional pages show that local foods can be incorporated into delicious menus throughout the year, even as far north as

Minneapolis.

http://teamnutrition.usda.gov/Resources/foodbuyingguide.html http://www.nfsmi.org/documentlibraryfiles/PDF/20111129111739.pdf http://healthymeals.nal.usda.gov/menu-planning/menu-planning-tools http://sitkawild.org/2014/03/a-guide-to-serving-local-fish-in-school-cafeterias/ http://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Pecks_for_Pounds.pdf http://cias.wisc.edu/foodservtools/4-Incorporate-local-foods/recommended-kitchen-equipment-for-from-scratch-cooking.pdf http://nutritionservices.mpls.k12.mn.us/current_menus https://bellinghamschools.org/families/school-day-information/school-menus/

Lunch Menus

Bellingham School District

These informational menus prominently feature Harvest of the Month items, highlight dishes that are made from scratch, and highlight which menu items are produced within the state of Washington.

Sample Cycle Menus

Great Trays™ partnership in Minnesota – Part of the Great Trays™ Toolkit

These sample cycle menus adhere to the new meal guidelines and show which foods can be procured locally in Minnesota.

Recipes

Chef: Designed School Lunch

Idaho Child Nutrition Programs

Toolkit with sample menus, kid-friendly recipes, and marketing materials using USDA

Meal Pattern guidelines.

What’s Cooking? USDA Mixing Bowl

Wonderful recipes, resources, and fact sheets for household and large-quantity cooking.

Kidchen Expedition

Oklahoma Farm to School Program

Full of time and cost efficient, healthful, and local recipes that use Oklahoma-grown produce; recipes are relevant wherever similar foods are grown!

Menus that Move

Ohio Department of Education

Seasonal menus that meet USDA’s new meal requirements.

The Lunchbox

Food Family Farming Foundation

Recipes, tips, and tools, and tutorials on incorporation healthful foods into school meals.

Great Trays™ Toolkit for School Foodservice

Great Trays™ partnership in Minnesota

A host of menu planning resources including worksheets, sample menus, and recipes.

Fresh from the Farm: The Massachusetts Farm to School Cookbook

Massachusetts Farm to School Project https://bellinghamschools.org/families/school-day-information/school-menus/ http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/chp/cdrr/nutrition/greattrays/pdfs/SampleCycleMenu.pdf http://www.sde.idaho.gov/cnp/shared/Chef-Designed-School-Lunch.pdf http://www.whatscooking.fns.usda.gov/ http://www.kidchenexpedition.com/ http://education.ohio.gov/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEDetail.aspx?page=3&TopicRelationID=828&ContentID=131143&Content=135303 http://www.thelunchbox.org/ http://www1.extension.umn.edu/family/health-and-nutrition/school-foodservice-training-and-resources/great-trays/menu-planning/ http://www.massfarmtoschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/farm_to_school_cookbook.pdf

Countless recipes that use fruits and vegetables that grow locally in New England, complete with nutritional analyses.

Taste Testing Resources

A Guide to Taste Testing Local Food in Schools

Vermont Food Education Every Day (VT FEED)

A comprehensive guide to implementing a taste testing program in your school, including a sample timeline, case studies from taste tests in the cafeteria, classroom, and through afterschool programs.

Farm to School Taste Tests in School Cafeterias

Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

A quick-start taste-testing guide for chefs, parents, and cafeteria and school staff.

Tasting Lesson – Fruits and Vegetables

University of Minnesota Extension Program

A sample lesson to that can be offered along with a taste test.

Free Tasting Lessons

Cooking with Kids, Inc.

Free and fun bilingual produce tasting lessons.

Bright Ideas for Taste Test Success

Georgia Organics

This fantastic video walks viewers through several tips for making taste tests fun and successful!

https://food-hub.org/files/resources/FEED_TasteTestGuideFINAL_lores.pdf http://growing-minds.org/documents/farm-to-school-taste-tests.pdf/?9d7bd4 http://www.extension.umn.edu/food/farm-to-school/education/cafeteria/taste-testing/docs/tasting-lesson.pdf http://cookingwithkids.org/free-tasting-lessons/ http://vimeo.com/71532219

Food Safety

Maintaining food safety is essential to every school meal program. Food coming from local farms and school gardens can be as safe, or even safer, than foods coming through conventional channels.

Nevertheless, school gardening and local purchasing may present some new food safety questions and require new protocols. The questions below are meant to help you establish a plan to maintain the safety of all foods served in your school or district as your farm to school program expands. As you think through the prompts, you will be encouraged to explore health policies at the state and local levels that might affect your operations; think about how to ensure food safety in your school garden and kitchen; and determine how you can be certain that food coming from local producers of all kinds is raised and handled in a way that gives you confidence that it’s safe to serve.

Food Safety Questions to Consider

Background and Progress to Date

What steps have you already taken to ensure that, as your farm to school program grows, you are managing food safety risks for all of the foods you serve to students? What sorts of food safety materials and trainings have you offered to food service staff, teachers, maintenance staff, or others? Have your students received any training or instruction regarding food safety?

State and Local Health Requirements

What food safety laws exist at the state and local levels that might affect your farm to school program?

TIP! Local health and state food regulatory agencies should be able to inform you of what requirements apply for school districts purchasing directly from farms, operating school gardens, and cooking from scratch.

Food Safety In the Kitchen

Do you anticipate any changes in food preparation and service resulting from your farm to school program that will require you to develop new policies or standard operating procedures?

For example: When operating farm to school programs, schools and districts often cook more meals from scratch or begin serving raw fruits and vegetables on a salad bar when they didn’t before. Other programs freeze or dry local foods or later use.

Do you anticipate any changes in food preparation and service resulting from your farm to school program that will require you to purchase small or large equipment? Do you have enough refrigerated storage to accommodate an increased volume of fresh produce? Do you have the capacity to transport fresh produce?

For example: Some schools do not have some of the basic equipment needed to prepare fresh produce such as good knives, cutting boards, designated produce brushes, colanders, and salad spinners.

Training

Do food service staff members feel comfortable with their current level of knowledge regarding food safety? If not, what types of training or experience will increase their confidence in this area? Do you anticipate a need for training others regarding food safety?

For example: Many farm to school programs involve stakeholders outside of the school foodservice program who may need food safety training, including teachers, volunteers, other staff, or students, who might prepare or serve food in school gardens, classrooms, or other settings.

Food Safety In the School Garden

What food safety measures will you take into account when designing and maintaining your garden?

Will you be following Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Handling Practices (GHP)?

TIP! USDA does not require that school gardens be GAP-certified. However, following the science-based principles outlined in GAPs can help you manage food safety in your school garden.

Are you locating your garden away from potential sources of contamination? What building materials will you use to construct the garden? Do you need to have the soil or water source tested? Are there existing rules about the use of chemicals on the school grounds? If not, will you create rules to ensure that students are not exposed to chemicals, including pesticides?

TIP! USDA highly recommends conducting a soil test before a garden is planted. If your soil is contaminated, there are alternatives to planting straight into the ground, such as installing raised beds and filling them with uncontaminated soil. To test soils, you can either send samples for analysis, or buy a soil testing kit. To learn more, contact your local Cooperative Extension office.

Will students be involved in harvesting produce in your school garden? Where will harvested foods be washed and/or prepared? Where will students eat the foods that are produced in your school garden(s) (e.g. on-site at the garden, in a classroom, or in the cafeteria)? What types of containers will be used for harvest? Will a potable water source be available for washing and preparing the garden produce?

TIP! Local and state agencies may have policies related to allowing produce from school gardens to be used in Child Nutrition Programs.

Do you have any other concerns about food safety related to your school garden? If so, how do you plan to address them?

Training

Do…