Posted November 25, 2013
USDA announced grants for 71 projects over 42 states and the District of Columbia to connect school cafeterias with local farmers and ranchers through is Farm to School program, according to the USDA news release available here. Farm Futures reported on the story here.
The selected projects will serve over 13,000 schools and 2.8 million students, almost 45 percent of which live in rural communities.
Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, said, “In rural and urban communities across the country, Farm to School programs teach students where food comes from, while providing healthy foods that are grown locally on farms and ranches across the nation… These programs also create new market opportunities for local farmers and ranchers interested in partnering with nearby school districts – and by helping to create an even more diverse and thriving agriculture sector, Farm to School efforts hold potential to create new jobs in rural areas.”
A complete list of FY14 Farm to School grant recipients is available here.
The results of the Farm to School Census for the 2011-2012 school year show that, during that time period, school districts purchased and served over $350 million in local food, with most of the participating schools planning to purchase more local foods in the future.
For more information on local food systems, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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