We've Got The County Covered
We've Got The County Covered
Registration is now open for producers interested in learning about the Montana Farm to School Program. The program is designed to instruct farmers, ranchers, processors, along with other types of local food businesses in an effort to train them on various methods of distributing their products to school as well as child nutrition programs. Producers can receive this training at the Montana Farm to School Producer Trainings. There will be two trainings offered using Bringing the Farm to School curriculum.
Farmers, ranchers and producers that attend training will “Learn about accessing school markets and growing products for schools. Hear from producers that have successfully navigated school markets. Gain new knowledge and resources for integrating school markets into a business plan. Meet local peers and experts. Experience school markets and farms.
Registration is currently open for the second training and will be divided into four sessions: Session 1 + 2 (virtual): Prerecorded virtual to be watched prior to the first live session. Session 3 (virtual): Wednesday, March 1 at 3:00-5:00pm. Session 4 (in-person, Hardin or as prerecorded virtual): Tuesday, March 14 at 8:30am - 2:00pm. Optional: School + Producer Meetup to follow training.
According to the Montana Farm To School website, “The first three sessions will be held virtually and will provide foundations for working with child nutrition programs. The fourth session will be held in-person in Hardin and include more in-depth business analysis and planning as well as a tour of the Hardin School Nutrition Program and virtual tour of Living Root Farm. The curriculum content in the fourth session will be recorded and will be available to registered participants virtually. An optional School and Producer Meetup will follow the fourth session in Hardin to allow producers to connect with schools who are interested in purchasing local foods.”
The Farm to School program first began in 2019 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) established a three-year cooperative agreement with the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) and the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) to develop a farm to school training program for agricultural producers. The stated goal of what the program was to accomplish was, “The goal of the program is to build the capacity of agricultural producers to launch or expand efforts to market to schools. There is significant untapped market potential for producers to sell their products to K-12 schools and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The program supports a wide variety of agricultural producers, including farmers, fishers, ranchers, food processors, and other local food businesses.”
The program is broken down into four sections; needs assessment, curriculum development, regional facilitator workshops, and local producer trainings. The concept of Farm to School is simple, “Farm to school is a strategy for building strong and just food systems. One of the central tenets of farm to school is connecting schools with locally and regionally produced foods to be served in school meals and child nutrition programs, including in K-12 and CACFP settings. According to the USDA Farm to School Census, schools across the country purchased more than $789 million of locally produced foods during the 2013-2014 school year – a 105% increase over 2011- 2012 – demonstrating schools’ increasing demand for local foods and a promising new market opportunity for agricultural producers. With more than $23 billion spent annually on child nutrition programs, there is significant opportunity for these farms to school activities to continue growing. As schools’ demand for locally produced foods has accelerated, a clear need to equip producers with the support they need to reach this unique market has emerged. This project seeks to meet that need and, in turn, increase producers’ interest and participation in farm to school activities. Farm to school is a proven multi-sectoral strategy that benefits agricultural producers’ businesses, children’s’ health, and communities’ engagement in and support of local food systems.
The program will help bridge the gap between the school and the farm allowing students, staff and the community to better connect with those producers right outside of town. When needs were assessed on what training could best serve local producers, they focused on training that included, “School food procurement rules and regulations, supply and demand, including price points, volume requirements, and seasonal availability. Logistics such as delivery requirements and determining what local foods schools buy. Food safety and Relationship building with School Food Authorities.
