Increasing Local Procurement in Farm to School Programs: An Exploratory Investigation

Erin Roche,David Conner,Jane Kolodinsky

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2015.052.019

Erin Roche, David Conner + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2015.052.019

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Abstract

Farm-to-school (FTS) programs have become more widely adopted in recent years because of their potential to mitigate childhood obesity, as well as their economic development and educational benefits. As a result of FTS programs' diverse purposes and grassroots nature, the types of activities they encompass vary considerably from program to program and no systematic measures of impact have emerged. Furthermore, FTS programs launched in colder climate regions may be particularly challenging due to a shorter growing season and narrower range and volume of available products. In this exploratory study, we set out to learn more about the factors that lead to increased procurement of local food in FTS programs. To do this we analyze the results of three recent studies of the impact of FTS programming on school purchases of locally produced foods in Vermont, conducted in 2012 and 2013. The results of a census of FTS programs in Vermont and an evaluation of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Snacks program indicate that price subsidies do not necessarily increase local food procurement in Vermont, while a study of FTS programs working with food hubs in Vermont suggests that social capital in the form of viable partnerships and relationship-building holds promise for increasing the procurement of local food. Implications for FTS programming and future research are discussed.

Highlights

Introduction and BackgroundFarm-to-school (FTS) programs gained attention during the 1990s and have flourished since with FTS programming in place at nearly half the schools in the U.S, or over 40,000 schools (National Farm to School Network [NFSN], 2015)
This remarkable growth is due in part to the belief that FTS programs may help stem the increase in childhood obesity (Green, Sim & Breiner, Committee on Evaluating Progress of Obesity Prevention Efforts, Food and Nutrition Board, & Institute of Medicine, 2013; Keener, Goodman, Lowry, Zaro, & Kettel Khan, 2009; Powers, Berlin, Buckwalter, Kolodinsky, & Roche, 2011; Roche, Conner, Kolodinsky, Buckwalter, Berlin, & Powers, 2012; Turner & Chaloupka, 2010; U.S Department of Agriculture [USDA], n.d.a; White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, 2010)
The overall goal of the Vermont Statewide Census (VSC) was to determine the prevalence of FTS programming and related activities in Vermont schools, so the brief telephone survey was conducted with the school representatives who could answer the questions

Summary

Introduction

Farm-to-school (FTS) programs gained attention during the 1990s and have flourished since with FTS programming in place at nearly half the schools in the U.S, or over 40,000 schools (National Farm to School Network [NFSN], 2015) This remarkable growth is due in part to the belief that FTS programs may help stem the increase in childhood obesity (Green, Sim & Breiner, Committee on Evaluating Progress of Obesity Prevention Efforts, Food and Nutrition Board, & Institute of Medicine, 2013; Keener, Goodman, Lowry, Zaro, & Kettel Khan, 2009; Powers, Berlin, Buckwalter, Kolodinsky, & Roche, 2011; Roche, Conner, Kolodinsky, Buckwalter, Berlin, & Powers, 2012; Turner & Chaloupka, 2010; U.S Department of Agriculture [USDA], n.d.a; White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, 2010). Programming aimed directly at children can have many impacts, from “close in” impacts such as enhancing knowledge and skills of participants, to “far out” impacts such as improving public health (Powers et al, 2011; Roche et al, 2012)

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