Farm to school works!
We asked and you answered! The results of the 2015 USDA Farm
to School Census have been tallied, and we’re happy to share good news.
An investment in the health of
America’s students through farm to school programming is also an investment in
the health of local economies. In
school year 2013-2014, school districts purchased nearly $800 MILLION in local
food from farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and food processors and manufacturers. That’s a 105 percent increase over the $386 million of local food
purchased in the 2011-2012 school year when the first Census was conducted. Forty-six
percent of school districts report that they will buy even more local foods in future school years.
Through farm to school, healthy habits
are taking root all across the country. At the national level, 42 percent of school
districts that responded to the Census are operating farm to school programs as
of the 2014-2015 school year and another 16 percent have plans to start in the
future. Farm to school programs exist in every state in the country in large and small, rural and urban schools alike.
Farm to school works to make school gardens grow. In
school year 2013-2014, school districts cultivated more than 7,100 edible
school gardens giving children daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables and
helping them learn where their food comes from. This is a 196 percent
increase over the 2,401 edible school gardens reported in the 2011-2012 school
year when the first census was conducted. 44 percent of districts with farm to
school programs reported having at least one edible school garden.
Salad bars work to help kids make good food choices.
62 percent of Census respondents with farm to school programs reported
maintaining salad bars where children access fresh local fruits and vegetables.
During the 2013-2014 school year districts participating in farm to school
reported having more than 17,000 salad bars.
 Check out these Census highlights!
- National
overview statistics
-
State
by state summaries including the dollars invested locally in each state and
shout outs to select high performing school districts.
- Full details on every school district that
responded to the Census.
- Interactive social media links so you can share
results with your networks; look for and click on the white circle in the lower
right hand corner of select pages.
- Grab and go graphs and charts; just right click
on any graph or chart to save to your own desktop.
- A photo gallery
showcasing the great work of USDA Farm to School grantees.
Is your school district "One in a Melon?"
Now through April 15,
USDA is running a contest for school districts to win a “One in a Melon” award.
Parents, teachers, community stakeholders and even students can visit the
website and nominate their favorite farm to school program to receive this
award. One school district from each state with the most nominations will win.
“One in a Melon” award winners will be announced before school lets out this
year.
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