Introduction

What is Farm to School?

Farm to school connects classrooms, cafeterias, and communities in pursuit of a healthier, more just food system. These programs and/or initiatives build relationships between schools and local farms and bring locally grown foods to cafeterias and classrooms. Through hands-on learning, students can connect the dots of where their food comes from and the impacts of their choices on their bodies, the environment, and the local food system and farming community.

The 3Cs Approach to Farm to School

Farm to school is most successful and enduring when it’s integrated into and connects classrooms, the cafeteria, and the community. Vermont FEED helped pioneer this “3Cs approach,” which promotes collaboration among school administrators, school nutrition professionals, educators, youth, families, and community partners to shift school culture toward wellness and strengthen school-community partnerships.

In the Classroom

Farm to school education provides a real-world context for learning across all disciplines. Engaging youth in hands-on opportunities such as planting school gardens, cooking food from scratch, and visiting local farms establishes meaningful connections to the curriculum and deepens understanding. Rather than an add-on to an already crowded curriculum, food, nutrition, and agriculture can be integrated within the existing curriculum, from literacy and history to math and science.

In the Cafeteria

The school cafeteria is a major hub of activity. It can be a powerful educational environment engaging youth in activities like taste tests and cooking lessons to introduce them to new foods and empower them to make healthy choices. Farm to school programs connect the expertise of school nutrition staff with education initiatives, resulting in increased participation in the meal program, reduced waste, and making nutritious food accessible to all students. When a cafeteria increases its local purchasing, it bolsters its local economy, resourcing it with funds that recirculate and build value long after the original sale.

In the Community

Making connections within the community builds partnerships outside the school for place-based learning and garners community support for school initiatives. Youth have opportunities to learn about how their food is produced and to develop their own agency for creating change. Farmers build relationships with schools, early childhood programs, and other local institutions that allow them to expand into other wholesale markets and boost the local economy. Community dinners, service learning projects, and harvest festivals involve parents, families, and the whole community in building a food culture committed to healthy and sustainable food choices.

What is the Farm to School Institute?

Robust, sustainable farm to school programs don’t happen by accident. They require schoolwide capacity and commitment to create a culture of farm to school that is deeply embedded in their values and priorities.

First launched by Vermont FEED in 2010, the Northeast Farm to School Institute is a whole-school professional learning experience that builds capacity in school communities to create a culture of wellness, improve food access, engage youth, and strengthen local food systems. The Institute model, which is structured around the 3Cs approach to farm to school, accelerates whole-school systems change to create farm to school programs that become deeply embedded in a school’s culture, making change that lasts. The Institute is grounded in evidence-based practices of effective adult education. While professional learning programming often involves less dynamic participation in isolated workshops, the Institute takes a more holistic approach that focuses on transformational outcomes. The Institute does this by creating an immersive learning environment centered on building relationships, agency, and passion for the work.


Core components of the Institute include:

  • Whole-School Teams: Strong teams bring together people representing diverse identities and roles from across the school community to create lasting change. Typically four to seven members.

  • Farm to School Action Planning: During the Institute, each team develops a values-based, schoolwide farm to school action plan that integrates curriculum, local procurement, youth voice, and family and community connections.

  • Coaching: Teams are paired with an experienced coach from their state's farm to school or early childhood network who supports them in developing and implementing their action plans.

  • Skill Building: Teams engage in hands-on learning designed around school specific roles to build capacity and confidence to implement their action plans.

  • Peer Networking: Participants share innovations and challenges, join in dialogue, and share with others throughout the Institute experience.