There are many procurement avenues available when sourcing local food; one that’s on the rise is purchasing from food hubs. What is a food hub? The USDA defines it as “a centrally located facility with a business management structure facilitating the aggregation, storage, processing, distribution, and/or marketing of locally/regionally produced food products.” A food hub can help SFAs with local purchasing through aggregation, which is working with multiple producers to combine and sell their harvests of one type of product. This can help SFAs make large purchases that individual local producers might not be able to fulfill on their own. With food hubs, producers benefit, too. By partnering with food hubs, producers have increased access to new market opportunities, such as schools or hospitals, and increased revenue potential by providing outlets for crops that farmers may not sell on their own. Food hubs provide the connections between producers and SFAs, providing a mutually beneficial relationship across the local food system.  

Waukee Community School District (WCSD), a Fiscal Year 2018 and 2021 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grantee, in Iowa has shown great success partnering with regional food hubs to provide local foods to their 13,500 students, from grades K-12. Kaitlyn Scheuermann, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for WCSD, and a fierce champion of the WCSD Farm to School Program, recognizes the importance and impacts of local purchasing, “Local purchasing is important to us because we have an opportunity to leverage our buying power to create real impact and economic growth in our State. Serving local foods allows us to connect our suburban students to their food source and better understand the many steps it takes to for our food to reach our plates. Even if it costs a little more to source through a food hub, you’re supporting the infrastructure that helps develop local farms and local economies.” WCSD has increased their annual local purchasing from just over $15,000 in 2019 to now over $100,000. Through their Harvest of the Month and Local Food Day celebrations, they have been able to showcase many local foods in their lunchrooms, including apples, sweet potatoes, yogurt cups, hummus, and cheese curds! 

Most of the local foods seen in WCSD’s schools are being purchased through food hubs. Iowa has a robust food hub network which allows WCSD to source local foods from a handful of food hubs, including FarmTable Delivery. Food hubs have been assisting schools and organizations with procurement for many years, but for some SFAs or Child Nutrition Program Operators, it may be a new channel to explore. Kaitlyn describes a food hub as a Child Nutrition Director’s best local purchasing asset, “A food hub takes some of the guesswork out of local purchasing by sourcing, aggregating, and distributing local foods to customers. Our food hub has helped us to get the quantity of food we need as a large and growing district.”  

It is not only important to purchase local foods, but WCSD likes to share with the students the story behind where the food on their plate comes from. WCDS uses posters and creates signage throughout the cafeteria featuring local farms and farmers, sharing food production methods, and making cultural connections with the food served.  Additionally, teachers are provided “Harvest of the Month Classroom Connections” resources that shares additional information about the local food items that are being offered on specific days.  

USDA Farm to School Census  

The clock is ticking down on 2024, but there’s still time to help us reach our goal of 80 percent of school food authorities (SFAs) completing the 2023 Census. This is your chance to share the farm to school activities your SFA conducted over the 2022-2023 school year. This information is vital to help schools, partners, advocates, and producers understand the role of farm to school in supporting resilient local food systems and contributing to p nutritious school meals and agricultural education for children at school. If you’ve already completed the Census, thank you! If not, please complete yours by December 31. Need help? Visit our 2023 Farm to School Census Resources page for easy-to-use resources like a checklist for success, sample survey, and FAQ document.  SFAs can also directly reach out to the Farm to School Census inbox at “Farm2SchoolCensus@dir-online.com”. 

USDA Launches New Regional Food Business Centers  

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service’s Regional Food Business Centers are beginning to operate and several have new websites up and running. The 12 centers are in the early stages of planning their programming, technical assistance, and capacity building activities. Their websites offer an overview of their planned work and current partners. The USDA Regional Food Business Centers will support a more resilient, diverse, and competitive food system and will support producers by providing localized assistance to access local and regional supply chains, including linking producers to wholesalers and distributors.  

Urban School Food Alliance and USDA Begin New Procurement Focused Partnership  

USDA is partnering with the Urban School Food Alliance (USFA) to develop and implement trainings, tools, and resources to help school districts purchase high quality foods, while keeping costs low. USFA will organize an advisory group of school nutrition stakeholders to create an action plan that will address school food procurement challenges through targeted trainings and resources. For example, USFA will develop an interactive bid template that will help standardize procurement processes. USFA will begin sharing trainings and resources with school districts immediately, and the advisory group’s work will begin in 2024. 

2024 Growing School Gardens Summit 

Registration is now open for the 2024 Growing School Gardens Summit, to be held in San Diego, California. From March 14-18, join other school garden professionals to connect, learn, and celebrate the power of school gardens. View the agenda here, and look forward to cooking demonstrations, workshop sessions, field trips, and amazing speakers!  

Making MyPlate a Household Name 

USDA’s MyPlate, a federal symbol for healthy eating, is now on Instagram! USDA invites you to showcase how they are integrating MyPlate into their programming.  See below for suggested messages for promoting the new MyPlate Instagram account among your social networks: 

New NIFA Site Showcases Local and Regional Food Systems  

The USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) works to ensure a safe, nutritious, and secure food supply while also developing, delivering, and distributing evidence-based nutrition education and promotion of local and regional food systems. Through its many investments in research, extension, and educational programs, grants, and initiatives, NIFA plays an important role in supporting local and regional agricultural and food systems. NIFA's new website groups together its programs and investments that support local and regional food systems. 

Root Words Localizing the Regional Food System Podcast 

Vermont Farmers Food Center's Root Words returns with a special five-part series to take a closer look at the growing effort to localize our food system. Localized food systems are gaining regional and national attention for the benefits that go beyond food production and consumption. Rural and urban communities across the United States and the world are building local food networks for greater resilience, stronger local economies, better health, and social wellbeing. 

Farmer’s Markets Stay Bright and Fresh in Cold Weather 

The temperature may be cooling down, but many farmers markets are ramping up with fresh supplies of greens, root vegetables, and squashes. Winter is the time to shine for these seasonal delicacies. Winter greens like arugula, Bok choy, and collard greens offer delicious sources of Vitamins A and C and can be enjoyed with a variety of seasonings and pairings. Root vegetables such as sweet potatoes or beets hold vast stores of complex carbohydrates and fiber. Acorn, butternut, and winter squash all provide a delicious way to get your daily dose of potassium and magnesium.  

When you shop at farmers markets, you support local businesses, and because this food is produced locally, you can consume it closer to when it was harvested, getting the food’s maximum flavor and nutrients. This remains true even when the sunny summer market days have ended!  

Serve Your Community, Grow Your Career with FoodCorps 

High school graduates, what will you be doing during the 2024-2025 school year? If you’re passionate about making a difference in your community through teaching, gardening, and food justice, joining FoodCorps as an AmeriCorps member might be for you! The 2024-2025 application is now open. Check your eligibility and start your application today. The final deadline to apply is March 29, 2024.  

Sorghum at School Educational Resources 

The United Sorghum Checkoff Program offers a comprehensive farm to school curriculum that provides educators with an array of engaging resources that introduce students to the importance of sorghum as a sustainable, versatile, and flavorful grain that students can enjoy in a variety of ways. The curriculum engages students of all grade levels with tailored modules for elementary, middle, and high school students. Learning experiences cover a broad spectrum of subjects and include an interactive video, multisensory, hands-on activities, and more. 

Applications Open for Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools Grant Program 

Through USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative, The Chef Ann Foundation will be accepting proposals for the Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS)  grant program. PLANTS will fund eight collaborative projects led by groups of local partners advancing systemic and equity-driven approaches to transforming school food supply chains. Projects should seek to build and strengthen relationships among community-based food system stakeholders and school districts more nourishing school meal programs. Applications will close on January 22, 2024.   

Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program e-Solution Grant 

The American Rescue Plan Act provided the USDA with $390 million, available through Fiscal Year (FY) 2024, to carry out outreach, innovation, and program modernization efforts to increase participation and redemption of benefits for both the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) and the WIC Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (FMNP). The FY2023-24 FMNP e-Solution Grant is open for interested State agencies, Indian Tribal Organizations and territories, or multi-state agency collaborations. The primary goals of these funded projects must be to: (1) modernize benefit delivery for FMNP state agencies, participants, farmers, and farmers’ markets; and (2) increase benefit utilization at farmers and farmers’ markets. Modernizing benefit delivery in FMNP will help WIC families keep using benefits to purchase fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables and will help farmers participate in WIC using similar payment technology with other customers. Applications are due by January 23, 2024. 

Fiscal Year 2024 School Foodservice Workforce Research Project Cooperative Agreement  

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has recently released the Request for Applications (RFA) for the Fiscal Year 2024 School Foodservice Workforce Cooperative Agreement. This funding opportunity will support research projects that increase understanding of the school foodservice workforce, including dimensions like worker satisfaction, workforce experience, and training and development. Applications will close on February 9, 2024.