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90 CHAPTER 05: CONCLUSION AND NEXT STEPSpractitioners in evaluation.In practice, there are many challenges to establishingbaseline program evaluation efforts, attainingconsistency across these efforts, and connectingprogram evaluation with research. Several nationalorganizations engaged in farm to school activities, aswell as states with farm to school grant programs aretackling these challenges. Consistent and commonlanguage and methodology used across all theseefforts will build and support each other, and thefarm to school field. Program practitioners wouldadditionally benefit from, and overall data collectionwill consistently improve, with a generic logic modelor theory of change for farm to school core andsupporting elements.ConclusionFarm to school is rapidly evolving andinstitutionalizing at local, county, state and federallevels. It is likely that the outcomes and indicatorsidentified in this framework will not remain static,but rather evolve, as our shared understanding offarm to school activities and policies advances.This evaluation framework should be viewed as aliving document, which charts the course for thefuture of farm to school implementation, evaluationand research. To remain relevant to the variousstakeholders it seeks to benefit, the content of theevaluation framework will need to be periodicallyfield-tested and amended to reflect new knowledgein farm to school theory, practice and policy.Until the development of these models, program sitesare encouraged to use the provided templates andtools in this framework to consistently articulate andevaluate farm to school activities across the country.Additional resources for evaluating farm to schoolactivities are listed in Appendix 1, as well as availableonline through the National Farm to School Networkrepository of evaluation tools and resources.Capacity building for farm to school research andevaluationBecause farm to school outcomes span across thesectors of public health, community economicdevelopment, education and environmental quality,there are few academic programs or agencies thatfocus their efforts exclusively on this topic. Strategicactivities that would build national capacity toconduct research and evaluation in this field include:regular national meetings bringing together keyresearchers that are engaged in farm to school;focused webinars to share recommended tools,findings and emerging research topics; matchmakingbetween program sites that seek evaluation andresearchers looking for study sites; mentoring ofearly career entrants in farm to school research;and fellowships and monetary awards to stimulatedoctoral-level studies in the field of farm to school.EVALUATION FOR TRANSFORMATION