It takes a village for a farm to school program to be a success, and many people outside the school community want to help. Parents, food producers, culinary professionals, local business owners, and others also want students to learn the value of good food and of supporting local economies. Some folks may want to help with a taste test. Some might be able to help build a garden. Others might be willing to speak on behalf of the program at a school board meeting. Here are some tips on bringing the community together and involving them in a farm to school program.
- Benefits of Farm to School: Do you need some evidence-based support for launching your farm to school initiatives? Check out this fact sheet from the National Farm to School Institute.
- Organize a Farm to School Meeting: This template provides a list of key stakeholders, helpful tips, and a sample agenda. If you’ve ever wanted to rally the troops around farm to school, this will help guide your meeting to make it effective and efficient, and to ensure that you have all the relevant stakeholders present.
- A Guide for Farm to School Community Action Plan: This how-to guide allows parents, teachers, and community members to jump into the school garden world no matter what stage their garden is in. This is a valuable resource providing steps for planning meetings and spreading the word about your program. This guide can be tailored to fit your school garden needs. Developed by Vermont FEED.
- How to Integrate Farm to School into Wellness Policy: Farm to school activities dovetail perfectly into the federally mandated wellness policies that each district needs to write and implement. This sample policy provides helpful suggestions and wording.
- USDA Farm to School Planning Webinars: This series of 11 webinars details how to plan for farm to school success covering how to initially build a team to sustaining your program for the long run.