Seed Change

Growing farm to school in states and communities

We’re bringing a wave of Seed Change to states and communities poised for significant farm to school growth.

Working at the state and grassroots levels, Seed Change jumpstarts activities that bring local food and gardens into schools and early care and education settings and elevates food and agriculture education for children. With this initiative, the National Farm to School Network, in collaboration with state and community partners, is rapidly scaling up farm to school activities and strengthening partnership for long term sustainability.

Seed Change provides the direct funding, program strategies and proactive technical assistance needed to significantly increase the number of schools, children, farmers and communities benefitting from farm to school activities and the dollars spent on locally sourced food.

Learn about our Seed Change projects below.

Seed Change in Native Communities

Seed Change in Native Communities aims to expand farm to school activities in Native communities as a strategy to leverage community-wide initiatives towards building food security and food sovereignty and towards revitalizing use of traditional foods. Five Native schools have been awarded mini-grants to expand and promote farm to school in their communities in 2017 and 2018.

Seed Change in Native Communities with Farm to School is made possible with generous support from the Aetna Foundation, a national foundation based in Hartford, Conn. that supports projects to promote wellness, health and access to high-quality health care for everyone.

Learn more about this project

Seed Change in Mississippi

Seed Change in Mississippi aimed to build the social infrastructure and systems needed to support the growth of farm to school across Mississippi. This project launched the Mississippi Farm to School Network as a hub for resources, information and technical assistance within the state. Led by the National Farm to School Network’s Mississippi Core Partners, the Mississippi Farm to School Network promotes farm to school activities across the state while collecting and dispersing crucial information to and from a wide audience.

Seed Change in Mississippi was made possible by a generous grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which shares the National Farm to School Network’s belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive.

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Seed Change in Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania

The National Farm to School Network’s initial Seed Change project in Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania directly reached over 92,000 students and indirectly impacting thousands more. Through mini grants to 100 schools, trainings for grant recipients at model school districts, in-state networking opportunities and the development of technical assistance programs, Seed Change KY/LA/PA created accessible and sustainable farm to school programs with wide-reaching impact. This 18-month project was launched in March 2015 and completed in August 2016.

Seed Change in Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania was made possible by a generous grant from the Walmart Foundation, which shares the National Farm to School Network’s commitment to improving child and community health through innovative partnerships.

Learn more about this project

Keep Seed Change Growing

Building partnerships at the state and community level is essential to creating strong and sustainable farm to school programs. That’s why Seed Change works to provide support and resources that jump start grassroots farm to school programs, bringing local food into schools and elevating food and nutrition education for students. We’re excited to keep Seed Change growing, spreading a wave of farm to school growth across the country. Learn more here. If you or your organization would like to become a partner in expanding Seed Change, contact Sunny Baker, Interim Senior Director, Programs and Policy, at sunny@farmtoschool.org.