Too cool for farm to school? Analyzing the determinants of farm to school programming continuation

Abstract

Among the various food school programs adopted in the U.S., the Farm to School Program (FTSP) is unique in its aims to improve school children’s dietary outcomes and to support farm income. As repeated food school interventions/programs are more likely to affect students’ dietary outcomes than one-time efforts, school districts’ continued participation in FTSP activities is paramount for the program’s effectiveness. We use data from the Farm to School Census to evaluate differences across school districts participating in the FTSP which decided to continue or not the program, and to assess the determinants of their continuation decision, using a sample-selection probit estimator. Mean comparisons show that, compared to school districs staying in the program, school districts ceasing FTSP are smaller, more reliant on federal assistance programs, with a higher share of students on federal benefits programs, lower overall per-student expenditures, higher per-student food services expenditure and lower awareness of the USDA geographic preference option. However, these factors do not appear to be direct determinants of the probability of continuation, except the awareness of the USDA geographic preference option, which is strongly associated with continuation. Also, we find that the types and number of FTS activities (particularly promotional activities, and activities taking place in the cafeteria) contribute to explaining the decision to continue FTSP more than the challenges experienced when procuring local foods. We find mixed results regarding the association between state-level policies and a school district's probability of participating and continuing in FTSP. In summary, while policy efforts to ensure continued FTSP participation by smaller and more disadvantaged school districts are needed, efforts to increase awareness of the federal geographic procurement preference option, and policies focusing on promotional and cafetia based activites, may sustain continued FTSP participation in the long-run.