Minnesota Hosts Regional Farm to School Summit

Teams from a dozen states will gather in St. Paul to strengthen local food purchasing for K-12 schools and early care programs

St. Paul, Minn: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Education, and Nebraska Department of Education and with support from the Life Time Foundation will host the 2026 Midwest and Mountain Plains Farm to School Summit Sept. 22–23 in St. Paul.

The summit will bring together teams from state agencies, universities, school districts, health systems, and nonprofit organizations across the region. Participants will share innovative approaches and develop strategies to expand farm to school efforts.

Under the theme “We Support Us: Sustaining and Scaling Local Procurement,” sessions will showcase Minnesota’s leadership in farm to school and highlight successful local procurement models from across the state. Attendees also will explore ways to streamline procurement, develop sustainable funding models, and strengthen connections between schools and local farmers, ranchers, and other food producers.

WHO: Media are invited to cover select portions of the summit and interview farm to school leaders, participating state teams, and Minnesota farmers.

WHEN Sept. 22-23. Media opportunities include:

• Tuesday, Sept. 22, noon – 1 p.m.: Interviews following the Minnesota Local Procurement panel
• Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2 and 3:30 p.m.: Farm tours at Seeds Farm and Ferndale Market, Northfield area
• Wednesday, Sept. 23, 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.: Interviews during state team planning time

WHERE: The Ivory, 125 Ninth St. E., St. Paul. Farm tour locations will be provided upon RSVP.

RSVP: Media should contact Nikki Warner at nikki.warner@state.mn.us to coordinate attendance, interviews, or tour access.

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