How can I encourage my school district, college or university to purchase more locally-grown foods?

New farm-to-school and farm-to-college programs are sprouting up all over the country to encourage and facilitate the use of local produce in school cafeterias. Farmers, educators, and community members have carried out successful programs in California, Kentucky, Florida, Iowa, New Mexico, New York and Vermont among other places. Consequently, there are currently many good resources out there for students, parents, and community members who are concerned with school lunch and college cafeteria programs.

Some good initial references for those interested in farm-to-school and farm-to-college programs include:

• FoodRoutes' pages on Farm to College and Farm to School, which list many tips and resources for people interested in starting their own programs.
• Foodroutes research and toolkits concerning school and college programs are now all available in our Tools for Action area. Click here to see our Farm to College factsheets and more.
• Oxfam America's Buy Local Food and Farm Toolkit: A Guide for Student Organizers, which includes background information and specific action students can take to support local food systems.
• The Community Food Security Coalition's (CFSC) page on farm-to-school prorams and their page on farm-to-college programs
• CFSC's evaluation of existing farm-to school programs, Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids, which they sell on their site
• How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers Are Building Alliances from the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the USDA.