Florida Farm to School Partnership – Statewide Program Planning Workshop

Abstract

Objective: To assess current practices, define measures of success, and describe the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders throughout the state of Florida involved with the Florida Farm to School (FFTS) Partnership, a partnership between the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the University of Florida-IFAS Extension. Target audience: State and county Extension faculty and community representatives, such as farmers and school food authorities. Theory, Prior Research, Rationale: Participatory research employing pre-experimental qualitative methodologies to identify and coordinate current and future approaches for the FFTS Partnership. Description: The workshop was a 1 day event held simultaneously at 10 different locations across the state of Florida connected via videoconferencing. It began with a brief introduction of the FFTS Partnership, followed by an analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of FFTS by local break out groups at each location and concluded with a strategy session in which topics identified by the SWOT analysis were analyzed and possible approaches were discussed. Evaluation: Thematic analysis was employed to identify main themes discussed by participants during the course of the workshop. Components of SWOT analysis for local FFTS were identified and compiled. Conclusions and Implications: Results from the Statewide Program Planning Workshop indicate that participants lack knowledge about the various elements of FFTS overall and are unaware of how to identify and utilize available resources. The roles and responsibilities of the land-grant institution in FFTS were further defined through this process. Enhancing communication, collaboration, and organization at the county, region, and state levels are critical to addressing barriers to FFTS implementation. Funding: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.