By: Ananya Kumar, Communications Intern

Hispanic Heritage Month is a special time to celebrate the rich culture of the community, and this year, several National Farm to School Network (NFSN) Partners are celebrating through food, agriculture, and education. Our Partners are not only feeding students, but also connecting them to their cultural roots through vibrant, nutritious meals and interactive learning. Here’s how three of our partners are making Hispanic Heritage Month a meaningful experience for their school communities.

‍Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District - Pharr, Texas

In the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District (PSJA ISD), located just 20 minutes from the U.S.-Mexico border, the Child Nutrition Department is combining farm to school initiatives with culturally relevant meals. With the leadership of Habraham Lopez, the district’s Agroecology & Sustainability Supervisor, the district has woven local foods into their school meals, with an emphasis on serving culturally relevant meals for the district’s large population of students with Hispanic and Latine heritages.

The school district kicked off their Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations on September 16, which marks Mexican Independence Day. In the cafeteria, PSJA ISD served popular favorites like chorizo & egg breakfast tacos, beef tamales, sopa de fideo, arroz casero, charro beans, and barbacoa tacos! These dishes, paired with decorations, music, and a spirit week including days like “Hispanic Inspiration Day” and “Go Tejano!” create an immersive celebration of culture for students and staff. “A little bit of home, especially at school, goes a long way,” Habraham reflects. Although their Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations featured special menu items, the school district incorporates culturally relevant meals year-round to serve their student demographic.

Habraham is also leading efforts to increase local procurement and coordinate school garden operations—currently at 28 school gardens across 42 campuses. Students participate in growing kale, collard greens and cauliflower, along with more familiar produce, such as varieties of chiles, tomates and cebollas. Students get to try the food they grow in fun taste tests like kale chips and smoothies, but most of the produce is given out for students to take home. This garden education not only teaches students to enjoy fresh, local foods, but also empowers them with seeing familiar culturally relevant foods both in the cafeteria and garden.

One important part of what has made PSJA ISD’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations and farm to school initiatives successful has been involving the cafeteria and kitchen staff in the process. “I’m always listening to our staff when they tell us what the kids like and what doesn’t work, because they understand the kids best and are interacting with them everyday,” Habraham told us. He’s thankful that staff have been excited and supportive of the changes of adding more local food, and his goal is always to make sure staff are supported in their work.  

“The food students get at school may be the only hot meal that some kids eat. With food, it’s important that they are introduced to new items, but equally important that they see foods they eat at home.” — Habraham Lopez

Habraham reflects that serving culturally relevant meals at school is meaningful because “the food students get at school may be the only hot meal that some kids eat. With food, it’s important that they are introduced to new items, but equally important that they see foods they eat at home.” As for celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, “this might be the first time students hear about it, and it’s our obligation to show that this month is for them.”

‍IDEA Public Schools: Harvesting Heritage from School Gardens - Texas

IDEA Public Schools is celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a focus on peppers—both in the classroom and on the menu. As part of their "Harvest of the Month," the IDEA Child Nutrition Program is featuring peppers in meals across over 100 campuses, showcasing this versatile crop with fun, educational resources and videos for students, staff, and families. Their Harvest of the Month recipe features Roasted Salsa Roja, which received glowing reviews from students in taste tests, and was on the school lunch menu in September!  

‍IDEA Public Schools has a robust farm to school program, with farms established on campuses to grow fresh produce for students. This model has allowed the school district to hire staff through the Child Nutrition Program, who are then able to manage the farm operation and provide quality agricultural education for their students. Students get to be a fundamental part of the planting, growing and harvesting process throughout the school day.

Rocio Hernandez, the Child Nutrition Program Farm Manager at the school district, highlights the pride this brings to the community. “The collaboration between our nutrition team and IDEA Farms ensures that the crops are grown to the highest standards and delivered to our district cafeterias for our students,” she shares.

In addition to "Harvest in the Halls" events that encourage student participation through taste tests and interactive Q&As, the hands-on connection that students have with food through their campus farms to food reinforces the cultural significance of meals like those featured during Hispanic Heritage Month, while promoting healthy eating habits and local agriculture.

Edible Schoolyard Project: Teaching Heritage Through Food - Berkeley, California

At the Edible Schoolyard Project in Berkeley, California, Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated with a unique culinary experience for their 8th-grade students. In their classrooms, students are learning how to make pupusas—a traditional dish from El Salvador—stuffed with black beans and served with curtido, a tangy cabbage slaw. The produce for the dish comes directly from the school garden, grown by the students themselves. This lesson is the first in a series designed for the 8th graders in collaboration with the school cafeteria, fostering both cultural appreciation and practical culinary skills in students.

Taís Reis, kitchen educator, Edible Schoolyard Project, is excited to connect students with their heritage through this hands-on lesson. The celebration extended to the cafeteria on September 25, where the pupusas were served for lunch, allowing all students to partake in the cultural experience!

‍_‍Final Insights

These inspiring efforts by our NFSN Partners demonstrate the power of food in celebrating and honoring culture. From diverse meals in the school cafeteria to taste tests, agricultural education, and cooking lessons, the connection between local agriculture and culturally relevant meals is creating meaningful experiences for students, staff, and communities during Hispanic Heritage Month.

As these Partners continue to build bridges between food, culture, and education, they help students feel seen, valued, and connected to their families, identity and heritage—one meal at a time.

For Immediate Release

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Press Contact: Jiyoon Chon

National Farm to School Network

Communications@farmtoschool.org

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National Farm to School Network Celebrates USDA’s Investment in Local Food Systems

CHICAGO, IL – The National Farm to School Network (NFSN) applauds the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October 1 announcement to invest $1.7 billion from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to support the purchase of locally and regionally produced foods. This funding builds on the success of the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, which initially received $200 million, by adding $500 million for schools and $200 million for child care facilities participating in the national Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Notably, this is the first time CCC funds have been specifically allocated to support CACFP facilities, according to the National CACFP Sponsors Association.

NFSN has been a strong advocate for expanding this program since its inception, contributing research on program design and early implementation, while highlighting innovative incentive models from state-level partners that directly support food hubs, distributors, and individual farmers. 

“We're thrilled that programs across the country feeding our kids every day will get more fresh, local food in their communities—and that the hardworking producers in their states and Tribal nations will have this market opportunity. It's a crucial moment for USDA to address urgent needs and build the long-term resilience of our food supply with this investment,” said Karen Spangler, NFSN policy director.

“We’ve seen firsthand that these programs are effective. More than a dozen states have already adopted similar local food purchasing incentives, demonstrating multifaceted positive benefits for economic development, equity, public health, and education. Establishing the Local Food for Schools program at the federal level ensures that these benefits reach communities across all regions of the US, extending the positive impact to even more farmers, families, and children,” said Cassandra Bull, NFSN policy specialist.

This new funding will help prevent local farmers, ranchers, and producers—who have expanded their operations to meet increased institutional demand—from being negatively impacted by the end of the temporary Local Food for Schools program. However, Congress must act quickly to make this program permanent for schools, child care settings, and emergency food providers. As the next round of funding is distributed, NFSN remains committed to supporting state and local partners with implementation, researching effective program models, and building the movement’s capacity to advocate for a long-term federal solution.

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About National Farm to School Network

National Farm to School Network is the leading voice for the U.S. farm to school and farm to early care and education movement, working as an information, advocacy and networking hub for communities to bring local food sourcing, gardens, and food and agriculture education into schools and early care and education settings. Learn more at: http://farmtoschool.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS CONTACT:

Jiyoon Chon

National Farm to School Network

jiyoon@farmtoschool.org

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October 1, 2024 – This October, schools and early care and education sites across the country are celebrating National Farm to School Month, a 31-day campaign to recognize the benefits that farm to school and farm to early care and education bring to youth, families, farmers and communities. National Farm to School Network advocated for the creation of National Farm to School Month in 2010, and it was officially recognized by Congress shortly after.

Farm to school is a movement that builds just and equitable food systems through the ways kids eat, grow and learn about food in school and early care and education settings. Farm to school is a win for kids when they eat nourishing food in meals and snacks, participate in hands-on activities and learn about the importance of where our food comes from; a win for farmers when school market opportunities provide reliable and consistent sales and fair pay; and a win for communities when food is grown, distributed, prepared and consumed for the benefit of every community member. To ensure all communities see the benefit of these wins, farm to school activities must be firmly centered in equity.

This year’s National Farm to School Month theme is “From Soil to Sea: Nourishing People and Planet.” This embodies our commitment to honoring the vital role of producers in our food system. From dedicated farmers and ranchers to fishers, their work and expertise lay the foundation for a thriving farm to school movement. We also celebrate the invaluable traditional knowledge of Indigenous and BIPOC communities in stewarding the land and seas—honed over generations, their wisdom is crucial to building a resilient, equitable, and sustainable food system that will continue to nourish both people and planet. 

Throughout October, National Farm to School Network’s activities will be focused on celebrating achievements, sharing stories of farm to school programs and highlighting progress toward racial equity in farm to school, so that we can continue to grow stronger, together. 

National Farm to School Network’s October celebrations also include the annual Movement Meeting on October 17 from 3 - 4:30 pm ET. The Movement Meeting is a gathering point for advocates in the farm to school and farm to early care and education realms, providing an invaluable opportunity to come together, rejoice in our shared achievements, foster meaningful connections, ignite inspiration and collectively nurture our growth. This event is free to register and open to the public—we invite anyone interested in farm to school and ECE to join us. 

National Farm to School Network offers dozens of free resources for celebrating National Farm to School Month on our website, http://www.farmtoschoolmonth.org. People can find resources such as a celebration toolkit, posters, bookmarks, suggested activities and more. Participants are encouraged to share their excitement through social media with the hashtags #F2SMonth and #farmtoschool. 

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About National Farm to School Network

National Farm to School Network is the leading voice for the U.S. farm to school and farm to early care and education movement, working as an information, advocacy and networking hub for communities to bring local food sourcing, gardens, and food and agriculture education into schools and early care and education settings. Learn more at: http://farmtoschool.org.

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By: Ananya Kumar, Communications Intern

Farm to School Coordinators play a crucial role in bridging the gap between local agriculture and schools. They are the driving force behind programs that bring fresh, locally sourced food into school cafeterias, integrate agricultural education into the curriculum, and foster a deeper connection between students and their food.

Earlier this year, the National Farm to School Network launched the Farm to School Coordinators Project, with support from USDA and Life Time Foundation. As part of this project, we are hosting a Community of Practice for eight current farm to school coordinators to engage in peer-learning and co-develop strategies to enhance farm to school implementation. This initiative aims to scale up farm to school efforts nationwide by establishing dedicated coordinator positions in school districts. The 2024 cohort of farm to school coordinators is set to bring fresh insights and strategies to their respective districts, ultimately enriching the educational and nutritional experiences of students.

Over the next few months, NFSN will be sharing highlights and insights from the Farm to School Coordinators Project. To kick us off, we are excited to introduce current Farm to School Coordinator and current Farm to School Community of Practice member, Maryssa Wilson from Sidney Central School District in New York.

Role & Background

Maryssa’s journey into the Farm to School movement began in Wisconsin, where she worked with inner-city community gardens - Victory Garden Initiative, focusing on engaging youth with the process of growing food. This early experience led her to join the AmeriCorps program in Colorado. For two years, she was part of the Montezuma School to Farm Project, coordinating school gardens for three different schools. This role was pivotal, as it provided Maryssa with hands-on experience in teaching children about agriculture and sustainability. In August 2020, Maryssa took on the role of Farm to School Coordinator at Sidney Central School District (SCSD).

Farm to School Program

Since joining SCSD, Maryssa has implemented several key initiatives as part of the district’s Farm to School efforts. One of the most notable projects is the local beef initiative. For the past two years, the district has sourced ground beef from a farm just 15 miles south of the school. This locally-sourced beef is used in various dishes like meatballs, pasta with meat sauce, tacos, and nachos.

With the help of Rural Health Network of South Central New York (RHN), a non-profit in Binghamton, NY, SCSD is further integrating local food into the school’s meals, with the New York Thursday program.  The coordinated efforts of RHN and SCSD benefit 15 other school districts by planning menus to highlight New York State farms’ food products twice a month. A popular dish, according to Maryssa, is buffalo chicken dip with tortilla chips, highlighting chicken and cheese from a local farm.

Maryssa has also expanded the monthly taste tests to include all K-12 students, previously only offered to K-6. These taste tests feature different themes, where students can try new recipes and learn how to create snacks by themselves. Some delicious examples include Green Monster Pops from the Vermont Farm to School Cookbook, Sweet & Spicy Chex Mix (for Elementary and High School students, respectively), and Protein Power Bites.

Another Farm to School incentive that SCSD opts into is the 30% New York State Initiative, which states that if at least 30% of school lunches are made up of New York produced and processed products, then the school receives a reimbursement of 25 cents per meal. SCSD has successfully participated in this initiative for the last two years and is pursuing it again this year.

SCSD has two lush school gardens, a hoop house, and a heated greenhouse, which are used primarily for educational purposes rather than for producing food for the cafeteria. Agriculture is a subject offered greatly, with younger students learning about aquaponics and goldfish, while older students have the option to choose agriculture classes.

Community and Future Plans

Growing the Farm to School program role has come with its challenges! One of the main hurdles, as described by Maryssa, was the time that it took to build trust with both the teachers and the students. Even though each school community is unique, the Coordinator’s Project has been a valuable resource, offering collaboration and support from other coordinators facing similar challenges.

“I faced challenges securing funding for local ground beef, but a contact from the Coordinator's Project suggested reaching out to a Louisiana funder who offers beef grants. I'm incredibly grateful for the valuable connections I'm building through this group,” said Maryssa.  

Engaging the wider community is an aspect of Maryssa’s role as well, and she has created systems and projects tailored to different classes. For example, third graders learn about different world cultures in their class, and Maryssa creates recipes for the students to follow for them to experience the different cultures through cooking lessons! Maryssa and the students compiled a cookbook full of these recipes! Additionally, teachers are able to sign students up for garden activities, using them as rewards or incentives for students. The community is also involved through back-to-school days, where the program is promoted.

Collaborating with local farmers and suppliers is essential, and SCSD uses a geographic preference bid, specific to local farms and minimally processed products. SCSD promotes education about farm to school among their students by promoting their local farm partners on flyers, banners, and social media.

Looking forward, Maryssa’s goals are ambitious for the garden. She wants to landscape and gather more perennial fruit-bearing shrubs and bushes, creating a more organized space for the students. One of the most rewarding aspects of her work has been seeing the confidence and comfort students have gained in the garden, from first graders up to high school students.

Final Insights

For other school districts looking to expand their Farm to School programs, Maryssa advises knowing the goals of the program and being patient with its growth. “Focus on the teachers or grade level who want to be involved in the garden or other farm to school projects. Others will be inspired to reach out to either supplement their curriculum or participate in the garden. Be flexible with where you focus your energy and growth, because farm to school can look so different for each school community.”

Stay tuned for updates and more stories from our Farm to School Coordinators as we continue to explore and expand this impactful program. Meet the full cohort and learn more about the project here!

By Jiyoon Chon, NFSN Communications Manager

National Farm to School Network is excited to highlight new updates to the nationwide school meal standards that go into effect today, July 1, 2024. In April, the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) had announced a significant update to the nutrition standards and meal patterns for school programs, many of which are now going into effect. These changes are a win for farm to school and all of us advocating for culturally relevant and inclusive meals in schools, early care, and out-of-school programs.

You might have seen headlines about sodium and added sugar reductions in school meals, but we want to spotlight something equally impactful: new measures that support culturally relevant meals and accommodate diverse dietary needs. 

Here’s a look at what these changes mean:

Key changes in the final rule

• Recognition of Traditional Indigenous Foods: Starting July 1, 2024, schools can include traditional Indigenous foods as part of reimbursable meals. These foods are defined as those traditionally prepared and consumed by American Indian tribes, such as wild game meat, fish, seafood, marine mammals, plants, and berries. This explicit definition of traditional Indigenous foods is an important step toward ensuring these foods are officially recognized in meal programs. Learn more about the regulation in the final rule here. 
• Flexibility in Serving Vegetables to Meet Grains Requirement: Schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education or those serving primarily American Indian or Alaska Native children can now serve vegetables to meet the grains requirement. This flexibility extends to schools in Guam and Hawai’i, allowing them to offer culturally relevant vegetables like yams, plantains, or sweet potatoes in place of grains. This is an important milestone in recognizing and celebrating the foods that align with students’ cultures in school meals. Learn more about the regulation in the final rule here. 
• Expanded Use of Plant-based Proteins: Starting July 1, 2024, beans, peas, and lentils can count towards both the “meats/meat alternates” and the weekly vegetable subgroup requirements as long as they are being served alongside additional vegetables to meet meal component requirements. Nuts and seeds can also now fulfill the entire “meats/meat alternates” component, whereas before they could only fulfill half the component. These are positive changes that will better support students with various dietary preferences or needs, while encouraging a greater variety of protein sources in school meals. 
• Inclusive Modifications for Special Dietary Needs: The rule also expands who can write medical statements to request meal modifications to include any individual authorized to write medical prescriptions under State law, including registered dieticians (starting July 2025). The rule goes further to divide meal substitutions into either disability or non-disability requests, with lactose intolerance qualifying as a disability to make a required modification request. This is an inclusive step forward for racial equity in meal programs. For example, students of African American, Native American, and Asian American descent may more often have dietary needs like lactose intolerance that don’t fit Eurocentric assumptions on diet patterns.  

These updates are more than just regulatory tweaks—they're a step toward making school meals more inclusive and reflective of the diverse cultures in our communities. By clarifying that Child Nutrition Programs will reimburse certain products, schools now have clearer authority to source these items from local or Tribal producers. 

Examples of culturally relevant school meals from our Partners

Schools around the nation are making a greater effort to serve culturally relevant meals in the cafeteria. Here are a few of the many examples from our Partner organizations currently serving culturally relevant meals to students: 

Culturally Relevant Meals for Hmong Students in Stevens Point, Wisconsin 

In Wisconsin, Farmshed and CAP Services Hmong UPLIFT Program are partnering on the Sib Pab (Helping Hands) meal program, which provides culturally appropriate meals to Hmong elders and community members with disabilities. The Sib Pab program has expanded to also serve Hmong students in local schools! The program is currently being piloted with students in SPASH in Stevens Point, WI, offering menu items such as curry, sweet pork, and boiled pork. Read more about this program in this article here. 

Culturally Diverse Meals and Sustainably Caught Salmon in Seattle Public Schools

In the past few years, Seattle Public Schools has featured a variety of culturally diverse meals in their school menus, including: 

• Mushroom adobo lugaw (congee) with local mushrooms, chives, and green onions. 
• Tofu & bok choy stir fry with local mushrooms and locally grown bok choy, a regular rotating lunch menu item! 
• Local, sustainably caught salmon sourced from Muckleshoot Seafood Products, a tribal enterprise. The salmon was used in a salmon alfredo and salmon burger, and while these are not culturally specific dishes, the salmon itself is certainly a culturally relevant ingredient for the Pacific Northwest region. You can read more about this partnership here. 

’Ulu (breadfruit) in Hawai’i Schools:

Hawai’i is home to many unique foods that are culturally significant to the islands, one of them being ’ulu, also known as breadfruit. ’Ulu is a starchy fruit that has been a staple food in Hawai’i for centuries. As a versatile crop that can be baked, boiled, fried, mashed, turned into flour, or roasted, ’ulu is high in fiber, potassium, and vitamins, making it a nutritious food source. 

The presence of ’ulu in school meals has been increasing over the past few years. Since 2012, Kōkua Hawai’i Foundation and the Breadfruit Institute at the National Tropical Botanical Garden have been planting ’ulu trees, which begin bearing fruit in 2-3 years, in schools and teaching students about Indigenous agriculture. The local food hub Hawaiʻi ʻUlu Cooperative is a registered vendor with the Hawai’i public school system. In the past, their ’ulu was featured on school menus and they also support educational activities. Read more about the significance of ’ulu and other indigenous Hawaiian foods in our Culture and Values in Hawai’i Farm to School Policy spotlight. 

The new USDA regulation surrounding relaxed grain rules is particularly relevant for Hawai’i because ’ulu is often served as a starchy grain, and can now officially be served to meet the grain requirement in school meals! 

Share Your Story

Do you have a story or a question about these new meal patterns? Want to share how culturally relevant meals are making a difference in your community? Reach out to us! Your insights can help us spread the word and make these updates a success.

For any questions or to share your experiences, contact NFSN’s Policy Director at karen@farmtoschool.org or get in touch with our Policy Specialists, Ryan Betz (ryan@farmtoschool.org) and Cassandra Bull (cassandra@farmtoschool.org).

By Ananya Kumar, Communications Intern

As we celebrate World Environment Day, it's important to reflect on sustainable practices that not only nourish our bodies but also nurture the planet. In a world where taking care of our environment is more important than ever, National Farm to School Network is excited to share a little bit about one of our developing projects at the intersection of school-based agriculture and agroforestry: school food forests. 

Farm to school programs around the country are teaming up with agroforestry and permaculture practitioners to transform the foodways of schools through traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) practices that Native communities have utilized for generations. These initiatives are key to fostering a better future, holding power to revolutionize the way we approach food education and access.

What is a food forest? 

Food forests are highly diversified growing spaces that mimic the structure and composition of new forests that naturally form after a disturbance, like a wildfire or clear-cutting. While gardens typically focus on a single layer of space, food forests utilize multiple layers of vertical space. 

Through a method known as biomimicry, these designs mimic natural forest ecosystems, with large trees at the top, followed by smaller trees and shrubs, vines and herbs, and root vegetables below. This multilayered approach maximizes the use of space, allowing for the cultivation of a diverse array of plants, fruits, and vegetables, even on limited land. 

In school settings, food forests offer students an immersive outdoor learning experience. From observing the intricate ecosystems of forest floors to studying the towering canopies of trees, students can connect with nature in profound ways. Unlike traditional gardens, food forests require minimal maintenance once established, allowing students to witness the magic of nature as it unfolds before their eyes.

Food forests are natural solutions to many of our climate and environmental justice issues. Because food forests increase food production in concentrated landmasses and are more climate resilient, they can provide a stable food source. Food forests also act as carbon sinks, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and helping mitigate climate change. 

They also benefit the surrounding communities—by mimicking the features and socio-emotional benefits of a park or natural forest, food forests provide a serene and natural environment that can boost mental well-being. Food forests can contribute to climate justice by providing green spaces and fresh food in various communities.

‍Implementing school food forests

In school settings, food forests offer students an immersive outdoor learning experience, extending beyond science and biology. Students of all ages can engage with a wide range of subjects, from mathematics and language arts to ethnobotany and cultural studies. Many schools choose to incorporate the produce grown in food forests into their meal programs, providing students with nutritious, fresh ingredients. This not only teaches students about fresh produce but can also positively impact the wider community, particularly in areas where access to fresh produce is limited. 

Transforming a school's landscape into a food forest and outdoor classroom may seem daunting, but there are existing resources available to help guide the way. Efforts to implement school food forests have been championed in Florida through the Education Fund, a Florida-based nonprofit that has supported the design and implementation of 71 school food forests throughout Florida, reaching over 30,000 students. 

National Farm to School Network, along with our partners at the School Garden Support Organization Network, is also currently working on developing resources for schools from all ecoregions to adopt agroforestry practices at their school sites. To learn more, check out these webinar recordings on school food forests and their implementation: 

• School Food Forests – Part 1: Design – November 2023
• School Food Forests – Part 2: Implementation & Maintenance – January 2024

Food forests represent a tremendous shift in outdoor education, offering students a holistic learning experience that fosters a deeper connection with nature, the historical and current ecologies of their communities, and an appreciation for the land stewardship led by Native communities. All the while, they nourish both minds and bodies. By integrating food forests into school curricula and meal programs, educators can cultivate a generation of environmentally conscious individuals who understand the importance of sustainable food systems and environmental stewardship!

By Kelcie Creel, NFSN Policy Intern

In honor of School Lunch Hero Day, we want to highlight the perspectives of child nutrition professionals who are doing the on-the-ground work of farm to school. All signs point to the critical impact of the farm to school movement and values-aligned school meals throughout the country. As our movement continues to grow, thousands of school nutrition directors recently expressed their plans to buy locally sourced ingredients, incorporate scratch-cooking into their menus, and get students interested in nutrition through farm to school programming, taste tests, and other educational activities.

Farm to School and Scratch Cooking are Growing Trends

The School Nutrition Association (SNA), a nonprofit organization that represents 50,000 school nutrition professionals nationwide, recently released its 2024 School Nutrition Trends Report. The seventy-five-page document details the findings from a nationwide survey of 1,343 school nutrition directors, conducted in the Fall of 2023. SNA aimed to identify its members’ implementation challenges, reimbursement trends, programs’ financial sustainability, attitudes toward federal nutrition standards, and menu trends.

SNA asked nutrition directors about their planned menu changes and goals for the year ahead. The top three planned menu changes included expanding menu options (65%), increasing locally grown or raised food options (56%), and increasing the number of scratch-prepared meals (53%).

Additionally, nutrition directors also reported their strategies for increasing student acceptance of their planned menu changes. These strategies included having their students taste test the meals (66%), implementing farm to school or school gardening programs (40%), and conducting nutrition education initiatives (40%).

Challenges in School Food

Responses regarding challenges were not surprising; the top three administrative challenges for SY 2023-24 were cost increases (99.3%), staff shortages (90.5%), and menu item shortages (87.2%). 

These top-three reported challenges are the same as were reported in last year’s 2023 School Nutrition Trends Report. Breakfast items (74.8%), entrees (74.1%), and snacks (58.4%) were reported the most frequently as significantly or moderately difficult to procure whereas items such as vegetables (42.1%), condiments (43.0%) and fruits (44.3%) were reported the least frequently as items that are difficult to procure. Curiously, directors from the southeastern United States were more likely to report challenges in milk procurement than any other FNS region in the nation. 

This news comes at a time when school budgets are facing historic disinvestment. School nutrition directors are often faced with a myriad of challenges where they’re responsible for nourishing students while complying with stringent federal nutrition standards, all while operating under a tight budget. 

Supply Chain Assistance Funds Improving School Food

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the USDA announced four rounds of funding through the Supply Chain Assistance (SCA) program. This program provided more than $3.5 billion to child nutrition programs to navigate supply chain challenges spurred by the pandemic. These SCA funds were complemented by other COVID-19 relief era programs such as the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program and the Farm to School State Formula grants. 

In the survey, food service directors shared the direct impacts of the SCA funds since 2022. These include: 

• Menu improvements (62.4%, n = 1,109 directors)
• Purchasing new equipment (56.4%)
• Supporting staff through increased personnel, increased wages, and bonuses (40.1%), 
• Increased local sourcing (36.1%), 
• Delayed meal price increases (24.5%), 
• Increasing access to free school meals (13.7%), 
• And nutrition education initiatives (9.9%), among others. 

These results demonstrate the diverse and far-reaching benefits that come from policies that invest in school meals. Time is of the essence to continue to advocate for sustained funding for child nutrition programs.

Universal School Meals and School Meal Debt

The report also shares positive outcomes of School Meals for All (also known as universal free meals) and the growing school meal crisis. SNA found that roughly half of the respondents’ schools offer free school breakfast through the Community Eligibility Provision districtwide (51%), and nearly half offer free lunch districtwide (49%).  

The respondents whose districts offer universal meals reported on the benefits they’ve observed after implementing the program. 87% reported universal meals have increased participation in their school meal program. Additionally, 66% of the respondents reported observing a more positive social environment in the cafeteria.

However, among the respondents whose districts do offer universal school meals, 91% reported having unpaid school meal debt. The range of debt among the 808 school districts reporting ranged from $10.00 to $1,000,000. Within the current system, if school meal debt becomes large enough at the local level, it can contribute to a negative cycle that leaves families further indebted while not adequately addressing students’ nutrition, as illustrated below. 

When property taxes increase, families in economically diverse communities are left with an even bigger financial burden. As the cost of living continues to increase, many working-class families face the difficult situation of paying their bills or sending their children to school without lunch money or a nutritious meal from home. 

This inequitable system disproportionately affects families who are in the gap of not being able to qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. The best way to combat unplanned school meal debt is to create state-level School Meals for All policies, which can allow school nutrition directors to adequately plan their budgets and focus on serving nutritionally-dense, high-quality meals to students. 

Values-Aligned Universal Meals: The Future of School Nutrition Administration

The growing interest in scratch cooking and purchasing local food, in combination with benefits from universal access to school meals, points to the layer cake of benefits that values-aligned universal meals can have on students, directors, growers, and communities. 

This report solidifies how the systems change efforts of National Farm to School Network partners is taking hold across the nation in local communities. Now is the time to celebrate these wins, and continue to embrace policies that can further support our shared values of economic justice, environmental justice, health impact, racial equity, animal welfare, and respecting workers rights. The National Farm to School Network has many more resources about advocating for value-aligned universal meals on our website if you’d like to learn more. 

By Karen Spangler, NFSN Policy Director

On April 25, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the final rule for its updates to the Child Nutrition Program (CNP) standards. This rule will impact meals served in schools and early childhood settings by setting the requirements for important nutrients, meal patterns and types of foods, operations, and purchasing that programs must meet to be reimbursed by USDA. 

Specifically, this update covers the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, summer food programs, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program for early childhood, after-school, and adult care settings. 

National Farm to School Network (NFSN) is proud to see that a number of our longtime policy priorities were adopted in the rule, including buying local, strides in equity, and better career access. This major win is an outcome of many years of NFSN and our movement’s collective advocacy to advance farm to school and an equitable food system, and we are excited to share these updates.  

Below are some top takeaways from this comprehensive update. Over the next few months, NFSN will continue to promote awareness and support our Partners in these important changes.

• Timing: This rule will be in effect as of July 1, 2024. However, many requirements specifically phase in over time to give child nutrition program operators and vendors time to prepare. Programs will not be required to make new menu changes until School Year 2025-2026.
• Local Procurement: Starting in July, child nutrition programs will now be able to use “locally grown,” “locally raised,” or “locally caught” as a specification requirement for fresh and minimally processed food items. Under current rules, local food can be preferred in bid scoring criteria but bids cannot specify a food must be local. This change simplifies the geographic preference process for child nutrition programs, making it easier to purchase local foods.
• Native Foods: USDA strengthens its previous guidance that traditional Indigenous foods may be served in reimbursable school meals by including it in this rule. The regulation’s definition of “traditional” means any food that has traditionally been prepared and consumed by an American Indian Tribe, including wild game meat, fish, seafood, marine animals, plants, and berries. It also finalizes the proposal to allow vegetable substitution for grains in programs serving American Indian or Alaska Native students, and in Guam and Hawai’i.  
• Nutrient Targets: This rule lowers sodium limits in 2027 (15 percent for lunch and 10 percent for breakfast) and establishes limits on added sugars for the first time in yogurt, cereal, and flavored milk, as well as a weekly limit of no more than 10 percent of calories from added sugars in school lunch and school breakfast. This rule does not include their proposed limit on added sugars for grain-based desserts at breakfast in items like pastries or granola bars; USDA will continue to seek input on how to address these items. 
• School Nutrition Profession: The rule finalizes the proposed flexibility for hiring an individual without a bachelor’s or associate’s degree as a school nutrition program director, if they have at least 10 years of school nutrition program experience. 
• Buy American: The rule strengthens the requirement for school meals to buy domestic products by providing greater specificity on how product exceptions may be applied, sets documentation and contract requirements, and creates a phased-in limit on non-domestic food purchases.
• Plant Proteins: It supports flexibility to include plant proteins such as beans, peas, lentils, nuts and seeds, or prepared foods like hummus, in reimbursable meals and snacks. This change not only supports a healthy variety of protein options, but can also help programs better serve students with religious or dietary needs.

As with the proposed rule, the final regulation covers many detailed areas of Child Nutrition Program compliance. For more information on specific requirements, consult these USDA resources:

• USDA has provided a chart broken down by topic to compare the final rule to the provisions of last year’s proposed rule: Comparison Chart of the 2023 Proposed and 2024 Final Rule Requirements for School Meal Programs
• Their summary by topic area provides information to understand the current standards, what will change under the new rule, and how USDA took stakeholder feedback into account: Summary of Provisions in the Child Nutrition Programs: Meal Patterns Consistent With the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans Final Rule

This rule is the culmination of a decade-long process to bring the nutrition standards for meal programs in alignment with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ recommendations on components like salt, sugar and fat. This alignment has been required by law since 2010 but is only now being fully implemented through this final durable rule (“durable” is a term in regulation to differentiate from a transitional rule that is expected to be replaced). 

We applaud USDA for its careful consideration of the more than 100,000 comments it received in response to the proposed rule during the comment period last year, and appreciate the challenge of crafting an approach that supports children’s health and recognizes the constraints under which programs operate.   

We look forward to hearing from our Partners and other stakeholders in the farm to school movement about how this rule will impact you. If you have a story you would like to share with NFSN to help us communicate how these updates will affect local purchasing, the meal patterns you offer, or the success of Child Nutrition Programs, we would like to hear from you! Please reach out to Policy Director Karen Spangler (karen@farmtoschool.org) or Policy Specialist Ryan Betz (ryan@farmtoschool.org) to get in touch.