ABOUT OUR FARM TO SCHOOL PROGRAM

Farm to School is a nationwide movement that is interested in supporting child nutrition and local farming. In joining with the national effort, our Farm to School Central Coast program is likewise committed to connecting the best food to our kids, while also striving to best support small to mid size local farms.

With support from San Luis Coastal Unified School District and additional regional school districts, Farm to School has grown steadily since 2016, helping schools incorporate more local food into school menus. This experience has drawn attention to the challenges that schools and local farmers face when buying and selling high quality, small farmed foods. 

Schools face USDA nutrition requirements/restrictions, approved vendor constraints, and budget challenges. Farmers face marketing difficulties, competition with bigger growers, crop scheduling and projections challenges, and getting a fair price for their products and labor. These, and many others, are unique and system wide challenges that require unique solutions. Thus, Farm to School Central Coast is working to understand how to address these in ways that will facilitate change that benefits schools, kids, farmers, producers, and, ultimately, our Central Coast food system. This is no small task, but we are excited to dig in and uncover solutions!

Learn more about the program and its progress at www.slowmoneyslo.org/farmtoschool