Below are many recommended resources and Web sites to help you start or expand a farm-to-college project. Please contact us if you have additional resources or Web sites to suggest.
Publications
General Resource Guides for Starting a Program
- Bringing Local Food to Local People: A Resource Guide for Farm-to-School and Farm-to-Institution Programs
- An introduction to farm-to-cafeteria programs, with an extensive list of resources and contacts for those interested in starting programs.
- Building Local Food Programs On College Campus: Tips for Dining Administrators, Family Farmers & Student Advocates
- This guide provides tangible guidance on how to conceptualize, structure, and implement food programs that support local family farmers.
- Farm-to-Cafeteria Connections Handbook
- An extensive resource guide for those interested in starting farm-to-cafeteria programs at all levels, with information for food services, farmers and others. Includes case studies of programs and a list of resources.
- Humane Purchasing Guide
- Strategies for planning and implementing more humane food purchasing.
- Linking Farms with Colleges: A Guide to Understanding Farm-to-College Programs for Farmers, Food Service, and Organizers
- Details the benefits, challenges and strategies for success for building successful farm-to-college projects and includes case studies of innovative projects and an extensive resource list.
- Linking Farms with Schools: A Guide to Understanding Farm-to-School Programs for Schools, Farmers and Organizers
- Details the benefits, challenges and strategies for success for building successful farm-to-school projects and includes case studies of innovative projects and an extensive resource list.
- Local Food Event Tool Kit
- Resources for putting on a special local foods event, such as a lunch or dinner in campus cafeterias.
- National Farm-to-College Research Report
- Report from earlier research conducted by the Community Food Security Coalition on farm-to-college programs, including an introduction to the programs, information on how they are started and operated, and recommendations for those interested in beginning their own programs.
- Supplying Local Food to Educational Institutions: A How-To Manual for Use by Educational Institutions, Farmers, and Advocacy Groups
- Examines the barriers to institutional sales and outlines seven strategies to overcome the barriers. Based on actual experience with a private college, Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, and the Deerfield Elementary School, South Deerfield, MA. References included along with an outline for a local food event (including a budget).
For Students
- Buy Local Food and Farm Toolkit: A Guide for Student Organizers
- A resource aimed primarily at students interested in starting farm-to-college programs, including an outline of a step-by-step process for getting a program off the ground.
- Real Food Challenge
- A network of student farm-to-college movements across the U.S. and a student-led nationwide campaign.
- Article: Self-Op vs. Contract: What’s Right for your Campus?
- This article is geared towards food services system change, but it provides a good overview of the pros and cons of self-operated and contracted dining services for campuses in general. Most importantly, it frames this important farm to college distinction of self-operated or contracted in the eyes of food services staff and administration.
For Foodservice
- Farm to Hospital: Supporting Local Agriculture and Improving Health Care
- This brochure introduces interested farmers and hospital food service departments to the ins and outs of developing partnerships between hospitals and local farms. Included are examples of ways hospitals can improve the food they offer, issues for farmers to consider if they are interested in selling products to area hospitals, and specific case studies of successful programs.
- A Guide to Serving Local Food on Your Menu
- The Guide is a primer to help foodservice managers and directors, caterers, chefs, restaurateurs and others consider creative ways to incorporate local food products into almost any foodservice setting. Chefs, institutional purchasing agents and others share their experience in short case studies within the 32-page Guide. Topics include where to begin, identifying sources of supply, developing relationships with farmers, working through existing distributors, and things to consider about the regional food system.
- Implementing Local and Sustainable Food Programs in California Hospitals: Tips for health care industries on how to conceptualize, structure, and implement food programs that support local family farmers
- This guide provides health care facilities with practical suggestions to utilize sustainable food programs that support local family farmers, ranchers, and associated businesses. It is targeted towards hospital administrators, food service directors, dieticians, and others involved with food purchasing decisions, in the hope that they will implement some of the suggestions presented. This publication integrates the experience of San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility (SFPSR) and Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) with cutting-edge research conducted at UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz concerning the Farm to Institution market that focuses on hospitals and educational systems. Insights into the broader array of sustainable food criteria (such as organic and humanely raised) are referenced in this guide; however, the content concentrates mostly on local sourcing.
- Local Food Connections: Food Service Considerations
- A short publication from Iowa State University Extension aimed specifically at food services professionals, with information on how they can start purchasing local products and a list of available resources.
For Farmers
- Farmer Resource Guide: Managing Risk Through Sales to Educational Institutions
- An extensive compilation of resources that address the many different issues within farm-to-institutional purchasing projects, including how to approach food service directors, how to organize supply and distribution of the products, characteristics of different institutions, pricing issues, and several case studies of different types of farm-to-institution projects.
- Local Food Connections: From Farms to Schools
- A short publication from Iowa State University Extension aimed primarily at farmers. Provides an overview of some of the challenges in marketing directly to schools, recommends marketing strategies and provides a resource list for further information.
- Nuevos Mercados Para Su Cosecha / New Markets for Your Crops
- This publication is available in Spanish or English, and details strategies for farmers interested in marketing their products to local institutions such as schools, colleges, hospitals, retirement homes and day care centers. Included is a resource list of organizations around the country that work with Latino farmers looking for ways to market their products.
Description of this publication and other resources in Spanish | Descripción de esta publicación y otros recursos en Español - What Producers Should Know About Selling to Local Foodservice Markets
- This brochure provides a brief outline for producers on GAPs (Good Agricultural Production Practices) and other safety and sanitation practices. It also provides a brief outline of recommended questions to ask food service operators, regarding product specifications, ordering procedures, delivery options, and the payment process.
Curricular Resources
- Agriculture in the Classroom
- Links to state-specific programs and resources.
- Feeding Young Minds: Hands-on Farm-to-School Education Programs
- Focusing on educational activities that complement local purchasing for school meals, this booklet highlights farm-to-school experiential education programs from around the country. These range from cooking classes in New Mexico, to school fundraisers in Ohio, to kindergartners tasting watermelon radishes in Pennsylvania. A resource section is also included.
- Teaching Organic Farming & Gardening: Resources for Instructors
- This 600-page manual covers practical aspects of organic farming and gardening, applied soil science, and social and environmental issues in agriculture. It is available for $45 from the Center, or can be downloaded.
Case Studies
- Behavioral Economic Concepts To Encourage Healthy Eating in School Cafeterias: Experiments and Lessons From College Students
- Changing small factors that influence consumer choice may lead to healthier eating within controlled settings, such as school cafeterias. This report describes a behavioral experiment in a college cafeteria to assess the effects of various payment options and menu selection methods on food choices.
- Going Local: Paths to Success for Farm to School Programs
- With case studies from eight states - California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hamphire, North Carolina, and Oregon, the publication provides a snapshot of the diverse ways in which farm to school is making a difference nationwide.
- Sustainable Food Policy Research
- Research conducted on institutional food purchasing policies that address a range of social and environmental concerns.
- Healthy Farms, Healthy Kids: Evaluating the Barriers and Opportunities for Farm-to-School Programs
- Provides case studies of programs at the K-12 level and includes policy recommendations.
- CIAS Research Brief #55 on Dishing up local food on Wisconsin campuses
- A report on farm-to-college programs at several Wisconsin college campuses, including some of the early lessons learned from programs such as the University of Wisconsin-Madison's.
- CIAS Research Brief #39 on New Markets for Producers: Selling to Colleges
- Summary of research that identified opportunities and barriers faced by producers that sell products to six different U.S. colleges with significant local, sustainable food buying components
- Something to Cheer About: National Trends and Prospects for Sustainable Agriculture Products in Food Service Operations of Colleges and Universities
- A survey of farm-to-college programs operating in 1998 and comparison of their characteristics.
Other Publications
- College Farm Guide from The New Farm
- The New Farm has a resource listing student organic farms, along with contact information.
- Multimedia Presentation--The Benefits of Local Food
- A video presentation geared toward college students, presenting economic analyses, and a visul portrayal of the benefits of local foods.
- Selling to Institutions: An Iowa Farmer's Guide
- Issues to consider when selling to institutions, including products, equipment, insurance and other requirements, and government assistance.
- USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's information on "Good Agricultural Practices" and/or "Good Handling Practices"
- On this page there is an audit checklist, a program brochure and an audit score sheet.
Research Conducted by Students
- Bringing Sustainable Food into Youth Outdoor Education
- Master's thesis evaluating the potential barriers, opportunities, and benefits for developing a farm-to-school program at the UI McCall Field Campus. In addition, analyses of both the UI McCall Field Campus and McCall area food systems (specifically production and distribution) were conducted to provide the context for implementing local food initiatives and research in the McCall area and UI McCall Field Campus.
- The Feasibility of Implementing a Farm-to-College Program at the University of Cincinnati
- The intent of this Master's thesis was to determine the feasibility of implementing a farm-to-college program at the University of Cincinnati's main campus dining facilities. The results of the study showed that the current food service operation and logistical structure could support a farm-to-college program as long as the contracted food service company could find a local food distributor that offers competitive prices, meets food safety regulations, supply the high quantity of product demand, and provide reliable delivery of goods.
- Local Food and Grinnell College Dining Services: A Report from the Group Independent Study, Spring 2006
- A small group of Grinnell College students, working with the College's Dining Services, led a study examining the school's food system, including procurement and distribution of locally grown foods. The report produced by 10 students conducting collaborative service-learning research examined the College's current food system. It evaluates the importance and possibility of refocusing the system toward more locally produced food. Under the guidance of Jon Andelson '70, professor of anthropology and director of the Center for Prairie Studies, the students focus on the issues of environmental impact, nutrition, dining service logistics, producer availability, economic viability, student interest, and a potential partnership with the local K-12 school district.
- Selling Local: The Application of Social Marketing Theory to Institutional Buying Programs
- Senior thesis researching how to increase college student demand for local foods. Includes comprehensive case studies of six of the nine New England farm to college programs included in the study.
- A Strategy for Community Economic Development: Increasing Purchasing of Washington Agricultural Products by Washington Institutions
- Master's thesis examining strategies for increasing purchasing of Washington agricultural products by Washington institutions as a way of improving regional markets for the products.
- A Survey of Farm-to-College Programs: History, Characteristics and Student Involvement
- Master’s thesis examining farm-to-college programs, with an emphasis on those at large public universities and on student involvement with programs, along with a discussion of how programs could become institutionalized. Includes case studies for five large public universities with farm-to-college programs, references, and survey and interview questions.
- The Taste of Green: Corporate Integration of Bioregional Foodstuffs in College and University Foodservices
- Over the last five years a trend of integrating bioregional food has arisen on college and university campuses in the United States. These 'Farm to College' programs originate in the doctrines of the alternative food movements of the sixties and seventies. This trend parallels the growing public interest in alternative foods that has grown since the USDA began labeling organic items in 2002. Large foodservice companies (including Compass, Bon Appetit, Chartwells, Sodexho, Aramark, and Parkhurst Dining) operate over 65% of these farm to college programs. As these corporations currently operate within the larger industrial food complex, their abrupt enthusiasm for these programs prompts a question of their motives. This paper is an in-depth analysis of the integrity of corporate run Farm to College programs through a historical look at the evolution of the industrial food system, alternative food movements, and corporate green wash.
Resources for Locating or Organizing Local Farm Product Supply
Information on farmer-owned/managed cooperatives
- Keystone Development Center
- Kate Smith, Executive Director
1238 South Garner St, State College, PA 16801
Phone: 215.292.1461
Fax: 814.238.5059
Email: - Mid-Atlantic Guide to Cooperative Development Resources
- A comprehensive guide to setting up a cooperative and finding help with various aspects of the process.
- USDA Rural Development: Business and Cooperative Programs
- Information on publications and grants for rural businesses and cooperatives.
- Innovative Marketing Opportunities for Small Farmers: Local Schools as Customers
- A series of bulletins using the example of a farmer-managed cooperative in northern Florida to detail the development of a cooperative structure, includes more resources on cooperatives.
- Federation of Southern Cooperatives
- An organization in the Southeast United States that has as its primary objectives the retention of black owned land and the use of cooperatives for land-based economic development
- New North Florida Cooperative
- The goal of the cooperative is to provide marketing services to the participating farmers, collectively sell produce to markets such as local school districts, and ultimately to increase the amount of product being sold,thereby increasing the farmers' income.
- How to locate farmers or farmer organizations
-
Contact your local county cooperative extension office; find a list at http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/index.html.
Go to your state department of agriculture and search for vegetable, fruit, dairy, or beef cattlemen associations to find medium scale family farmers in your state that may be more likely to have the volume needed to sell to institutions than a small family farmer Or search for specific trade associations: for example, Directory of Fresh Produce Trade Associations: http://www.bluebookprco.com/common/links_trade.asp Produce Industry Website Directory of Associations & Organizations http://www.blueskysearch.com/Assoc.htm Directory of State Cattlemen's Associations: http://www.mycattle.com/people/associations/stateassoc.cfm#anchorM
ATTRA (the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) has assembled an online database of local food directories, useful for producers and consumers alike. The database includes national, regional, state and community directory resources for all 50 states, searchable by state.
Eat Wild is a source for safe, healthy, natural and nutritious grass-fed beef, lamb, goats, bison, poultry and dairy products.
FoodRoutes provides resources for finding local food sources and the Eat Well Guide is another directory for finding farmers in your region.
Local Harvest provides lists of farmers markets, CSAs, farms and other local food sources.
- Networks or Distributors that Work with Local Farm Products
-
In order for a farm to institution project to work, there generally needs to be a distribution infrastructure that brings together farmers and institutions. Institutional food service operations typically purchase large volumes of product at one time and usually purchase from only a handful of distributors. Because of the magnitude of these food service operations, they generally need product to be reliable and consistent in terms of volume, quality, frequency of deliveries, and packing specifications. Working with an existing distribution infrastructure or creating a new one can help to provide an organized channel for getting products from multiple farms into a large-scale institutional food service operation.
This distribution infrastructure can take many forms including a farmer-managed cooperative, a non-profit organization that manages a farmer network, or a distributor. A farmer managed cooperative or network will have a fair amount of control in guaranteeing that farmers using sustainable agriculture practices are being supported in a fair and equitable manner.
In the case of a private distributor, it is important to consider institutionalizing methods for supporting the farms that the project wants to support and supporting these farms in a fair and equitable manner. When developing your local food program keep in mind that terms like local, small, or sustainable can have different meanings to different people. Discuss and agree upon the types of farms the project intends to support.
To assure that the distribution firm you work with or the program you develop supports local, sustainable farms in a fair and equitable manner, consider adopting one or more of these practices:
- Include specific details on what products from which farms are allowed and request a system for how this will be tracked in the contract with the distributor. Request that a minimum percentage of the food provided by the distribution firm will be sourced locally. Write this into the contract.
- Create a sticker with the distributor for farmers to use on their boxes so that when their product arrives at the institution there is evidence of where the product came from and when it was picked.
- Include in the food purchasing policy of the institution (see Food Alliance's work on this) and the contract with the distributor a requirement to only purchase products with certain labels. Examples of existing label programs include: USDA Organic Certified; American Humane Free Farmed Certified; Food Alliance Certified to verify that products are organic, humane, or sustainable; a label such as 'grass fed' or 'rBST free' or similar labels that don't require a specific certification to validate; or Marine Stewardship Council certification for sustainable seafood. Keep in mind that there must be enough of these products available locally for the institution and distributor to be able to follow through with the commitment, so research ahead of time will be critical. Look for the Real Food Calculator coming soon on the Real Food Challenge website. Work with Buy Fresh, Buy Local chapters in your region to develop standards for local and sustainable and ways to monitor these standards. See Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project's program on this. For items that you cannot procure locally consider using Food Alliance certified products, Protected Harvest certified products and fair traded products.
- Develop an evaluation system for measuring the success of the farm to institution project from the viewpoint of the farmers involved (i.e. price, satisfaction with relationships, etc). Go to the Community Food Security Coalition's Evaluation Program page for ideas related to this.
- Communicate with farmers on a regular basis to assess their experience. Maintain a close relationship with farmers even if you are working through a distributor; this may be your best assurance in knowing whether your institution is supporting the farms you want them to support and in a fair and profitable manner.
- Communicate with your distributor on a regular basis: raise their awareness of this issue. See the List of Potential Questions to Ask Distributors (Word doc), developed by Roberta Anderson of Food Alliance. If institutions can ask distributors more sophisticated questions they can help increase distributors' understanding of these issues and possibly influence purchasing decisions based on these issues.
The following list of networks, organizations, and distributors have been identified as helping to build connections between farms and local institutions or other markets:
Service Area: National
Association of Family Farms
3880 Rodman Street, NW
Suite C213
Washington, DC 20016-2824
Phone: 202.997.1112
Email:
The Food Alliance
Northwest office and national headquarters
1829 NE Alberta #5
Portland, OR 97211
Phone: 503.493.1066
Fax: 503.493.1069
E-mail:
Organic Valley/Organic Prairie
One Organic Way
LaFarge, WI 54639
Phone: 888.444.6455
Ext. #3444-Consumer Relations Dept.
Protected Harvest
1211 Brunswick Court
Arnold, MD 21012
Phone: 410.757.4234
Fax: 410.626.7732
E-mail:
Service Area: Northeast, OH, WV, and MD
Black River Produce
PO Box 489
North Springfield, VT 05150
Phone: 800.228.5481
Email:
Service area: VT, NH, MA, NY
Dole and Bailey
16 Conn Street
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone: 888.777.2648
Fax: 781.935.9085
E-mail:
Service area: New England
Maine Foods Network
Service area: Maine
Northern Tier Sustainable Meats
Grantville Summit, PA 16926
Phone: 570-364-5212
E-mail:
Paragon-Monteverde
Joel Ankney
55–36th Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Phone: 412.621.2626
1.800.934.6495
Fax: 412.621.2829
E-mail:
Service area: western PA and neighboring areas in Ohio, WV, and MD
Southeastern Massachusetts Agricultural Partnership (SEMAP)
One State Bog Road, P.O. Box 569
East Wareham, MA 02538
Phone: 508.295.2212x50
Email:
Service Area: Southeastern Massachusetts
Service Area: Midwest
Home Grown Wisconsin
Suzanne Rubinstein
General Manager
P.O. Box 6171
Madison, WI 53716
Phone: 608.341.8939
E-mail:
Service Area: West
California Certified Organic Farmers
1115 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Phone: 831.423.2263
Email:
Service area: California
Growers Collaborative
1141 Cummings Road
Santa Paula, CA 93060
Phone: 805.933.1024
Service area: California
Ripple Riley Thomas
2559 Grosse Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
Phone: 707.569.7377
Service area: California
Veritable Vegetable
1100 Cesar Chavez Street
Santa Francisco, CA 94124
Phone: 415.641.3500
Fax: 415.641.3505
Service area: California
Service Area: South
Grayson Natural Foods, LLC
Gary Mitchell, Managing Partner
Phone: 276.773.3712 or 276.768.8768
Service area: SW Virginia & NW North Carolina and would consider other distribution areas
Sustainable Food Center
1106 Clayton Lane, Suite 480W
Austin, TX 78723
Phone: 512.236.0074
Fax: 512.236.0098
Email:
Service area: Austin, Central Texas
Service Area: Canada
Local Flavour Plus
1965 Queen Street East, Suite 2
Toronto, Ontario M4L 1H9
Phone: 416.699.6070
Email:
Service area: Canada
Websites
Organizations/Businesses/Projects
- The Campus Kitchens Project
- Food Security Learning Center: Farm to Cafeteria
- National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture
- Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)
- Sustainable Foodservice Consulting
- Offers free information and tools to help businesses implement sustainable practices.
- Sustainable Table
- Food Service Management Companies that work with colleges & universities
- Aramark
AVI
Bon Appetit
Chartwells
Compass Group
Parkhurst Dining Services
Sodexho
Networks
- Community Food Security Coalition
- FoodRoutes farm-to-college page
- National Association of College and University Food Services
- National Farm to School Network
- Real Food Challenge
General Sustainability
- Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
- The College Sustainability Report Card
- Provides in-depth sustainability profiles for hundreds of colleges in all 50 U.S. States and Canada
- Sustainable Agriculture Education Association
Discussion Lists
- CFSC Farm-to-Cafeteria Listserve
- This listserv was started to help further discussion and action of the Center for Food & Justice and the Community Food Security Coalition’s National Farm to School and Farm to College programs. These programs connect schools with local farms with the objectives of serving healthy meals in school cafeterias, improving student nutrition, providing health and nutrition education opportunities that will last a lifetime, and supporting local small farmers.
To subscribe: send a blank e-mail to nationalfarmtocafeteria-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
- Education For Sustainability West’s Food & Dining Services Working Group Listserve
-
A discussion list to help food service providers, clients and customers based in the western U.S. and Canada share:
- Strategies for bringing local and sustainable products into the dining hall
- Current events and examples of successful programs.
- Institutional purchasing guidelines and policy statements.
- Opportunities for financial and technical assistance.Announcements of relevant workshops, trainings and conferences.
To subscribe: send a blank e-mail to efs-food-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Send questions about the Food & Dining Services Working Group to Matthew Buck, Working Group Chair ()
Address questions about EFS West (Education for Sustainability Western Network) to Judy Walton, EFS West Executive Director ()
Also see: Resources for Locating or Organizing Local Farm Product Supply