The Farm to School Initiative: Increasing Use of Locally Grown Fruits and Vegetables by School Food

1
The Farm to School Initiative Increasing Use
of Locally Grown Fruits and Vegetables by School
Food Service

• Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Conference
  
• Buy Green and Save Green
• Friday, June 11, 2004
• Claire Homitzky, Farm to School Coordinator
• New Jersey Urban Ecology Program
• Department of Nutritional Sciences
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

2
What are the goals of the Farm to School
Initiative?

• To promote a sustainable local food system that
  minimizes the environmental costs associated with
  food distribution
• To provide the highest quality produce
  (freshness, taste, nutrition, and safety) to
  school children
• To sustain local agricultural landscapes and
  livelihoods
• To contribute to a healthy state economy by
  spending dollars locally

3
Who are the stakeholders in the Farm to School
Initiative?

• Students
• Parents (as individuals and as PTO/PTAs)
• Teachers
• Administrators
• Food Service Personnel
• Local farmers, food processors food vendors
• And others Ive failed to mention!

4
How can K-12 schools procure locally grown fresh
fruits and vegetables?

• Create a relationship with a farmer that can
  supply locally grown produce directly to the
  school
• Request that your produce vendors supply locally
  grown produce
• Use Fair Share Entitlement Dollars and Section
  4 11 funds to purchase locally grown produce
  from the Department of Defense

5
Similar efforts at Rutgers University

• The New Jersey Urban Ecology Program is currently
  
• partnering with
• Rutgers Dining Services
• the Universitys Office of Procurement and
  Contracting
• the Solid Waste Management Group
• the New Jersey Department of Agriculture
• the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New
  Jersey
• RU Sustainable
• to initiate a Farm to College project at Rutgers.

6
The Farm to College Initiative Past Achievements

• Organized two Jersey Fresh theme days in a
  dining hall to promote consumption of locally
  grown foods
• Coordinated students in the Nutrition Department
  to develop educational displays regarding the
  importance of eating local, seasonal foods
• Collaborated with the chef/manager of an
  on-campus cash operation to design menus that
  utilize local produce when seasonally available
• Emphasized purchase of locally grown/harvested
  products (25 of all foods served!) for King
  Neptune Night, a special event in every dining
  hall

7
The Farm to College Initiative Current Efforts

• Substantial data collection and analysis to
  determine the types, quantities, price and other
  specifications of fruit and vegetable products
  currently used by RU Dining Services
• Identification of several products that could be
  locally supplied (sufficient production capacity
  and quality)
• Recognition of and coordination with New Jerseys
  grower-shippers as potential suppliers

8
Contact Information

• Claire Homitzky
• Community Food Projects Director
• New Jersey Urban Ecology Program
• Department of Nutritional Sciences
• Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
• 96 Lipman Drive
• New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8525
• Phone [phone]
• Fax     [phone]
• Email  homitzky_at_aesop.rutgers.edu