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8CHAPTER 02: BACKGROUNDThe Evolution of Farm to School 1Efforts to connect products grown on local andregional farms with school lunches have existedfor decades, albeit happening informally andindependently through the early 1970s. Schoolfoodservice directors would purchase a crate ortwo of oranges or apples, peaches or plums fromnearby farms when in season. However, as laborcosts escalated and processed produce and entreesbecame more available, many of these practicesbegan to disappear 1 . By the 1980s and 1990s,especially among larger school districts, theseconnections with farmers were almost nonexistent.The farm crisis of the 1980s, which crippled sales formany small- and mid-scale growers, coupled witha growing recognition of obesity among youngerand younger children, created a set of conditionsthat were ripe for reinvigorating the farm to schoolconnection 1 . In the late 1990s, school foodservicedirectors across the country began to buy, tentativelyat first, produce directly from local growers.Motivations were twofold: to introduce healthy, fresh,seasonal produce to children in school lunches andto support struggling regional farmers. In many ofthese schools, children were also exposed to thesoil-to-table cycle through working in their schoolgardens, and cooking and nutrition education in theirclassrooms 1 .These pioneering programs immediatelybecame popular and began to spread fromcommunity to community. Almost 20 years later,farm to school programs have flourished and evolvedinto programs as diverse and vibrant as the schooldistricts and communities that support them.Today, farm to school is being implementednationally, operational in 44 percent of schoolsacross the country; that’s a total of 40,328 schoolsand more than 21 million children in all 50 states 2 .Local, state and national policies have been passed tosupport farm to school, creating basic infrastructure,and establishing publicly funded grant programs.More recently, organizations involved in farm toschool have been exploring the expansion of similarconcepts to the preschool or early care arena, servingthe 0-5 years age group. Farm to preschool is arapidly growing area of interest, and a 2012 snapshotsurvey of farm to preschool activities reports 500sites across the country 3 . In 2014, farm to schoolis part of the broader farm to table movementwhere organizations such as hospitals, colleges andrestaurants work more closely with local producersto bring “local food” to consumers. Producers,processors and distributors who sell products thatmeet school foodservice requirements can moreeasily tap into other institutional markets such ashospitals, restaurants, colleges, juvenile detentioncenters and correctional facilities, thereby increasingtheir income potential.Although the concepts behind farm to schoolprograms are sound and the idea has grown inpopularity from coast to coast, the implementationhas not always been easy or consistent. Local, stateand national food and farm policies, as well as theeconomics of school food, driven in part by the foodindustry, has made local procurement difficult formany school districts. One of the key lessons thathas emerged from the evolution of farm to schoolprograms is that to make these programs successful,support is needed from multiple sectors within theschool community (parents, teachers, administrators)and outside it, including distributors, economicdevelopers, health advocates and practitioners,policymakers, farmers and farm agencies, banks,media, community arts and others. Partnershipsare the cornerstone of successful farm to schoolimplementation.Another key lesson is the important connection thatschool food needs to forge with community foodsystems, particularly those systems that are strivingto build regional food system infrastructures anddistribution systems that will not only help schooldistricts procure more local, healthy food, butcontribute to building sustainable food procurementfor the entire community as well.Finally, as the benefits of farm to school becomemore visible, the more advocates can focus on someof the more difficult social justice issues that farm toschool programs allow communities to address 1 . Forexample, farm to school programs lift up foodserviceEVALUATION FOR TRANSFORMATION