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2CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTIONIntroductionWhat is Farm to School?Farm to school enriches the connection communitieshave with local, healthy food and food producers bychanging food purchasing and educational activitiesat schools and preschools. Farm to school activitiesand policies are unique to location, and can bedefined in a multitude of ways. For the purposes ofthis evaluation framework, the core elements of farmto school activities are:1. Procurement of local and regional food products;2. Gardening, based at schools and preschools; and3. Education, food and farm related.What Does an Evaluation Framework Do?First and foremost, an evaluation framework aimsto move our collective work forward by identifyingpractices and policies that have demonstratedbenefits and by recommending areas for additionalexploration. Secondly, an evaluation frameworkgrounded in a strong theoretical basis guides howsites consistently articulate and implement programelements, evaluate efforts and report on outcomes.An evaluation framework is useful not only topractitioners, but also external evaluators, researchers,policymakers and funders, who can make betterdecisions in response to an improved understandingof how and why program activities are operationalizedon the ground.An Evaluation Framework for Farm to SchoolContextIn nearly a decade, farm to school has expandedfrom a handful of programs to a full-fledged, thriving,grassroots-led movement in all 50 states, oftensupported and institutionalized by local, state andfederal agencies and policies. The farm to schoolmovement is at a critical turning point, with thepotential for enabling significant transformations inhow students eat and learn about food in the future.As interest in farm to school has grown, a frameworkto continue guiding this practice is needed. Farm toschool has been recognized as a potential strategyto significantly improve or enhance public health andeconomic development outcomes 1–4 . Researchersalso hypothesize and are beginning to documentassociations with positive outcomes in the educationand environmental quality sectors 2,5–7. Farm to schoolactivities have been identified as chronic diseaseprevention strategies 8–12 because of their potentialpositive influences on encouraging healthy eatingbehaviors in children. Farm to school activities andpolicies also have been embedded in efforts toincrease community food security, reduce hungerand develop robust local or regional food systemsthat result in economic benefits for local and regionalfood producers and processors 13–17 . As farm to schoolsites have proliferated from just a handful in the 1990sto more than 40,000 in 2014, there is also a betterunderstanding of how farm to school is adaptedin different community conditions and in differentagricultural growing regions 18–23 . Finally, fundersare showing increasing interest in farm to schoolactivities. Farm to school activities are increasinglybeing supported by existing community resources;funding by federal, state and local governments; or bylocal, regional or national private foundations.Why Do We Need an Evaluation Framework?To date, however, no evaluation framework exists toguide practice, research and policy development forthe growing field of farm to school. Farm to school isa relatively new approach and hence literature on thetopic is limited, as compared to some other childhoodobesity prevention or food system developmentEVALUATION FOR TRANSFORMATION