There is a movement in the United States to bring fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms back to the local school cafeterias. Everyone can appreciate a win-win situation, and a farm to school program is just that. Farm to school is simply getting locally grown food into local school cafeterias--the children win by eating and learning about fresh fruits and vegetables that are grown in their region and farmers win by expanding their market opportunities by selling directly to the schools. Our communities also win by keeping money in the local economy.

As children learn by doing, providing healthy options in school cafeterias is key to instilling lifelong healthy eating habits. By participating in farm to school programs, students are also developing a commitment to the environment in which they live and to the farming community that feeds them.

In western North Carolina, a program called Growing Minds is forging the link between fresh foods from local farms and our local schools. Growing Minds, an initiative of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP), is a school garden program that helps teachers use the garden as an instructional tool to teach the curriculum. It provides the hands-on experience with growing food that builds the desire and enthusiasm for fresh vegetables and fruit. Teachers are provided with resources that help them integrate the garden into all subject matters. This approach helps children to re-connect with their agricultural heritage (most rural children in western North Carolina are only one generation removed from farming). School garden learning can also build appreciation and understanding of the environment.

Connecting this learning to farm to school initiatives is crucial as it builds the appreciation and knowledge in the students so that the fresh locally grown produce will be accepted and celebrated. “My children were clamoring to eat raw beets that they had grown themselves,” attests Lisa Corley, second grade teacher in Haywood County. And with alarming rates of childhood obesity (more than twenty-five percent of people under age nineteen in the U.S. are overweight or obese--a number that has doubled in the last thirty years), we can’t afford to waste any time. According to a recent report from the Surgeon General, “Today, there are nearly twice as many overweight adolescents as there were in 1980. We already are seeing the tragic results of these trends. Approximately 300,000 deaths a year in this country are currently associated with overweight and obesity. Left unabated, overweight and obesity may soon cause as much preventable disease and death as cigarette smoking.”

Not only are we dealing with an obesity epidemic, but our farmers are also facing dire circumstances. Of all occupations in the U.S., farming is facing the greatest decline. It is no longer listed as an occupation in the U.S. Census, as farmers compose less than two percent of our population. The farmer’s share of the food dollar has dropped drastically from 41 cents (in 1950) to 20 cents of every dollar in 1999.This year, Congress will reauthorize the Child Nutrition Act, providing a valuable opportunity to get school food service staff the tools they need to be more proactive in developing innovative strategies. If enacted, the new program, Assistance to Farm to Cafeteria Projects, would provide a one-time infusion of resources of up to $100,000 per school district or non-profit organization to upgrade cold storage, food preparation, and serving facilities (such as salad bars for fresh produce). Funds could also be used for initial labor costs for setting up systems to purchase from local farms, for planning seasonal menus based on regional products, or for training staff.

At the same time, the viability of regional farms--key to local food security--will be assisted as community dollars flow into community owned businesses. By investing in the capacity of school districts all over the country to buy from farms in their own regions, the Assistance to Farm to Cafeteria Projects will help spread taxpayer supported federal farm and food program funds to local communities across the country.

In Yancey County, farm to school is beginning. Harold Davis, a life-long farmer, grows lettuce, cucumbers and tomatoes for the Yancey County school system. Every week, the school system sends a truck to the Davis farm to pick up the fresh produce. Now, with the help of his wife Sandra and their two children Laura and David, the Davises are experimenting with baby carrots and spinach as well. So far, this has been a profitable endeavor for the Davis family and the biggest obstacle is the growing season. “Children are getting fresher food and I’m glad to be involved with this,” states Harold. Harold says that he has always worked with the Extension service and that they have been helpful to him with this initiative.

Harold also applied for and received a grant from the ASAP’s Transition Program, a grant made available to tobacco farmers that want to try different approaches to farming. Harold has used the money to expand his greenhouses so that he can produce food during the time of year that schools are in session. Other farms in western North Carolina are considering local schools as a potential market and are joining the ranks of farmers selling local produce to more than 325 school districts across the country, serving over half a million children (according to the National Farm to School Program).

In February of 2004, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) will host a direct marketing conference for farmers. At this workshop there will also be a farm to school track where farmers can meet local school food service personnel to talk about the challenges of providing locally grown produce to our children. Details on the ASAP Marketing Conference are on their website at www.asapconnections.org.

Once upon a time, local food being served in our schools was our reality. We can rebuild our local food system but it will take time. What can you do? Go to school board meetings and county commission meetings and ask that your county’s children have access to fresh locally grown foods in their cafeterias. Write your elected representatives--from local to national--and tell them that you support fresh foods for kids and support for local family farms through farm to school programs. You can also support the work of ASAP and their farm to school programs: find details on the website at www.BuyAppalachian.org and support local farms by purchasing local products whenever you can. Find local farms and places that sell local farm products in the Local Food Guide at www.BuyAppalachian.org.

Emily Jackson is the Growing Minds Project Director for the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. She has grown gardens with children as a classroom teacher and as a domestic violence shelter director. She can be reached at emily@growing-minds.org or 828-293-3262

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