Santa Cruz County Farm To School
Last December, CAFF received a one-year grant from the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County to test the feasibility of conducting a Farm to School program in one of the local school districts.SThe feasibility study has three parts:
1) developing a survey and stakeholder list to assess which school district in the County is the most ready to implement a farm to school project,
2) using the survey to conduct interviews with stakeholders from the principal school districts in the county,
3) establishing a memorandum of understanding with the district that is most ready to participate, and writing a draft farm to school plan tailored to the district that includes a fundraising component.
The feasibility study is being conducted by a team of four: Reggie Knox, CAFF's program director, Jered Lawson, , project coordinator for the Food Systems Project of the Center for Ecoliteracy, Susie Melican, a Life Lab garden classroom apprentice and Jennifer Ryan, a Masters in Public Health candidate at San Jose State University. This team has been conducting interviews with teachers, administrators, and food service personnel in the three school districts under consideration.
Here are some of the questions that the survey is answering: How many students eat meals at each school? How many of those students qualify for free or reduced meals? (These schools are eligible for federal matching funding to implement farm to school projects). How many schools have school garden programs and which teachers are involved? Are the gardens already integrated into the classroom or cafeteria? What nutrition curriculum are being used in what grades and what nutrition programs are sponsored by Food Service? What types of cooking classes are being taught, is 4H or FFA active, and does existing curriculum incorporate agriculture awareness including tours of farms or farmer's markets for children? Are there active complimentary programs like Healthy Start or Nutrition Network?
The interviews will also help determine the level of interest of key players in each district, including teachers, administrators, food service and the superintendent. Once the feasibility study is complete, the coordinating team hopes to create a Nutrition Advisory Committee of key stakeholders and have this group assist with implementation.
