This toolkit contains tips and free resources to help you celebrate and spread the word about Farm to School Month. Download this free toolkit to get started!

Make a copy of this Google Slides template and customize it for any upcoming Farm to School Month presentations! 

October is National Farm to School Month! This fact sheet offers an overview of National Farm to School Month and ideas for celebrating in your community.

Resolutions and proclamations recognizing Farm to School Month are a great way to build awareness and support amongst state and local policymakers, particularly in areas where passing more comprehensive financial support for farm to school/ECE programs is challenging.

One way that many states and regions come together each year is by hosting “crunch” events. This infographic outlines a step-by-step guide to hosting a crunch event. By encouraging schools throughout a state and region to crunch into a local food on a specific day, at a specified time, or even simply anytime during the month of October, crunch events create a unifying experience and a sense of camaraderie amongst National Farm to School Month celebrators.

Downloadable and customizable bookmarks to celebrate National Farm to School Month. Three download options are available. Use a PDF editor (several free versions are available online) to open the files and add information about local Farm to School Month events to the backside of the bookmarks.

Farm to school month posters, newly redesigned in collaboration with artist Rachel Yumi Chung! Get inspired with our downloadable poster, available in two sizes below. Perfect for printing out for classrooms, cafeterias, and even as an eye-catching poster for your presentations.

"Save the Date" postcard to share information about National Farm to School Month. This postcard is formatted for a 5x7 print.

Encourage creativity and artistic expression during National Farm to School Month with these coloring page templates.

Celebrate Farm to School Month with the National Farm to School Network! Find below downloadable sticker templates for use during National Farm to School Month. These designs fit a 2.5 inch circular sticker.

As part of National Farm to School Network’s Who’s At the Table? School Meals Campaign, we are releasing four spotlights of states that have successfully implemented universal meals. This fourth case study presents a deep dive into California's Assembly Bill 130 and how the state made history by becoming the first in the nation to permanently provide free school meals to all K–12 public school students. View the full report below to find a detailed bill overview, top tips that helped the coalition succeed, as well as the practical wins and challenges that advocates experienced during implementation.‍‍

As part of National Farm to School Network’s Who’s At the Table? School Meals Campaign, we are releasing four spotlights of states that have successfully implemented universal meals. This third case study presents a deep dive into Colorado's Proposition FF and how the campaign effectively built community power through an explicit intention to bring together a diverse, equitable coalition.

This policy brief provides detailed information about the projects supported by USDA's LFS and LFPA programs and the involvement of NFSN partners at the state level. Our objectives are to identify the main project models across the country, understand the challenges associated with these programs, and determine actions to support implementation and advocacy efforts.

Showcasing your farm to school program in person is one of the most impactful ways to advocate for farm to school. Some officials may have never heard of farm to school before, and site visits are a great opportunity for them to learn more. Giving decision makers at any level or branch of government the opportunity to experience your farm to school program firsthand will not only make them familiar with farm to school, but also allow them to interact with those who benefit the most.

This report surveys state-wide Farm to Early Childhood Education (ECE) positions and the nature and scope of their work, outlining partnerships, funding sources, and their impact on the Farm to ECE movement. This report was offered in partnership between National Farm to School Network and the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN) with the goal of presenting potential state position models for the field.

This report provides an overview of Hawai'i's farm to school policy and shares how the legislation and advocacy strategies have been guided by traditional Hawaiian culture and values. Learn about culturally relevant and Indigenous foodways as well as concepts such as aloha, ʻāina, and kuleana in the context of policymaking. 

Having an in-person meeting or hosting legislators at site visits can be a crucial tool for advocating for the Farm Bill or other policy priorities. It provides a tangible and firsthand experience for lawmakers to witness the positive impact of farm-to-school programs and builds relationships that can drive meaningful policy change. This resource contains a message template to reach out to your legislator and best practices for preparing for your in-person visit.

The Farm Bill, a package of federal legislation renewed by Congress every five years, sets agriculture and food assistance policies that touch every aspect of farm to school and farm to early care and education (ECE) activity. This platform reflects NFSN’s support for policy changes within our core sphere of expertise, and wider spheres where we can stand in solidarity with calls to shift the economic, cultural, and decision-making power governing our food system.

As part of National Farm to School Network’s Who’s At the Table? School Meals Campaign, we are releasing four spotlights of states that have successfully implemented universal meals. This second case study presents a deep dive into Maine’s LD 1679, and how the state’s small, nimble coalition has leveraged their state’s deep commitment to farm to school to pass universal school meals.

This illustrated and interactive overview of the farm to early childhood space across the six New England states was designed to help regional interest holders better understand the early childhood sector and to identify the key opportunities for expanding farm to early childhood activity across the six New England states.

As part of National Farm to School Network’s Who’s At the Table? School Meals Campaign, we are releasing four spotlights of states that have successfully implemented universal meals. This first case study presents a deep dive into Vermont’s Act 151, and how the state’s coalition has created a “virtuous cycle” by connecting farm to school and universal meals in their advocacy.

Advocacy Toolkit for the Community Eligibility Provision Rule Change Proposals 2023. Submit a comment by May 8, 2023 to help expand access to school meals for up to 9 million more kids across the country!

Advocacy Toolkit for the Child Nutrition Program Rule Change Proposals 2023. Submit a comment by May 10, 2023 for a chance to shape the future of school meals.

At the National Farm to School Network, we believe that we need a system of school meals that serves all kids and values the people who get it to the table. But what are the best ways to communicate how our shared values can create healthy school meals for all kids and advocate for the policies to do that? We answered these questions by conducting a series of message and narrative testing with various audiences—download and read the brief below for a summary and key takeaways from the results.

This webinar reviews the findings and recommendations from the 2021 National Farm to ECE Survey.

Are you an advocate of universal school meals for all children? The National Farm to School Network has released a new resource as part of our “Who’s At the Table?” campaign, created to support the work of NFSN Partners, food system researchers, advocates, and policymakers.

This comprehensive directory lists state level farm to ECE resources developed by partners across the country. Find resources categorized by coalition development, curricula, incentive programs, local procurement, success stories, and more.

This year's Movement Meeting focused on how communities have built power in their farm to school and ECE food systems work, and how we can build power together. We discussed what it means to hold power and the mechanisms at our disposal to shift power, heard from farm to school and ECE partners who have built power within their own communities, and took time to reflect on what it means to build power within our own communities.

Check out this webinar for a review of different designs of statewide incentive programs explored in a recent report released on the subject, and learn about support available for policy advocacy and education. Results from a national survey were also shared, highlighting the educational needs and values of stakeholders interested in learning more about procurement incentives.

This handy toolkit will provide you with step-by-step instructions, talking points, and further resources for you to reach out to your local candidates. Take 5 minutes TODAY to reach out to your local candidates and let them know that you care about school meals. 

In 2021, the National Farm to School Network and Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems surveyed early care and education (ECE) providers across the country to better understand current initiatives, motivations and challenges in applying farm to ECE activities in early care and education settings.

This fact sheet explores strategies states can take to integrate farm to early care and education (ECE) into their Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) standards, including case studies and sample language. 

The Farm to Early Care and Education Shared Metrics resource is intended for farm to ECE practitioners and evaluators to guide planning, implementation, research, evaluation, and reporting efforts. The resource consists of a resource guide, a library of metrics specific to farm to ECE, and an orientation video.

This guide provides descriptions of actionable and timely funding streams, including an overview of the funding eligibility requirements, allowed uses, timeline, flow of funds, and strategies for action.

This curriculum provides activities and resources with which to build rich lessons and experiences that will push students into a further understanding of hydroponics, growing food, caring for the land, and more.

National Farm to School Network's 2021 virtual Movement Meeting featured conversation and action-oriented reflection on how the next generation is working to intersect the food movement with racial justice, environmental justice, economic justice, and other key justice-centered movements.

A list of all the farm to early care and education curricula available through the National Farm to School Network. This list was initially created and most recently updated October 2021.

This Farm to ECE Self-Assessment from the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) and the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN) is designed to help ECE providers and those who work with ECE providers assess their current farm to ECE practices and develop goals and action plans to grow farm to ECE at their site.

Healthier Generation and Kaiser Permanente's evidence-based tool to help schools and districts build learning environments that promote student achievement and support the well-being of kids, staff, and teachers.

‍Discovering Through Hydroponics includes basic how-to information for growing plants hydroponically in your classroom; lesson plans to help students learn the basics of plant needs, plant parts and their functions, and plant life cycles from seed to seed through hands-on investigations; construction plans for simple hydroponic setups; and additional reference materials to support your endeavors.

In this panel discussion, hear from three leaders who share their perspectives, experience, and expertise in shifting power to communities through racial equity-centered evaluation.

This infographic highlights emerging funding streams and immediate opportunities created through the American Rescue Plan (ARP).

This training discusses best practices to ensure that farm to school language is included in Local School Wellness Policies and that the language ensures the engagement of the school community in implementing farm to school efforts.

This report and fact sheet examine how the Washington, D.C. Healthy Tots Act (HTA) and the Local5 component influence ECE site local food purchasing practices and impact local food intermediaries and local producers, with a focus on HTA impacts on low-income children and children of color as well as BIPOC producers.

The State Farm to School Policy Handbook: 2002-2020 summarizes and analyzes farm to school bills and resolutions introduced between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2020, from the 50 states, DC, and the U.S. territories. It also includes analysis of state legislative trends, summaries of proposed bills, case studies, and additional resources for advocates.

The Policy Equity Group and the National Farm to School Network, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, are pleased to jointly release this brief that captures how farm to early care and education (ECE) efforts at the state and community levels were initially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Infographic report on local food sourcing best practices, challenges, and successes from a 2019-2021 research project tracking the activities of four Georgia ECE purchasers.

On this webinar recording, learn about the Farm to School Institute model, the evidence base behind its design, the key components of farm to school sustainability, and how the Institute is being adapted across the country.