The Farm to School Program through the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services helps get North Carolina-grown fruits and vegetables onto school cafeteria trays across the state, and it all started with strawberries.
According to Heather Lifsey, NCDA&CS marketing specialist, the program is a win-win-win – it helps schools provide fresh foods to kids, it allows farmers to supply their products, and it introduces students to the state’s agriculture industry.
“The Farm to School program was created to connect North Carolina farmers with school nutrition directors,” Lifsey said. “Our farmers were growing produce and school nutrition directors had a demand to get more local foods into their schools, so it was a natural fit.”
The Farm to School program was founded in 1997 with eastern N.C. strawberries as the pilot. The program began with strawberries because of their perishable nature.
“We thought if we could deliver strawberries of good quality and the schools are able to use them, we can deliver anything,” Lifsey said.
The NCDA&CS Food Distribution division was already delivering food to local schools through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s commodities program, so it was a “natural extension” to branch into local fresh fruits and vegetables, Lifsey said.
The pilot was a success, and the program quickly grew to include many other crops. Now, the program offers a variety of products throughout the season, including watermelons, cantaloupes, apples, slicing and grape tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, apple slices, kale, collards, peaches, Asian pears, romaine, honeydew melon and blueberries.
The program was developed with the U.S. Department of Defense Produce Merchandising Office, but has been operated solely by the NCDA&CS since the 2008-09 school year. The program is a collaboration between the department’s Food Distribution division – which coordinates the ordering, receipt and delivery of the produce – and the Marketing division, which works with farmers to fulfill orders and develops promotional and educational materials for the schools.
“We have a number of growers that are committed to getting North Carolina-grown foods into the school system,” Lifsey said. “They understand that the younger you start with that exposure, not only just to strawberries but North Carolina strawberries, it builds that knowledge and eventually a customer base. Plus, it gets a healthy, fresh foods into the school system. It’s just a win all the way around.”
The program goes beyond getting food onto trays, though. The department’s Marketing division has produced promotional and educational materials to help students learn more about the food they’re eating, where it came from and how it was grown. From storybooks and activity guides to lesson plans and the Farm to School Calendar, the program helps students understand the importance of our state’s agriculture industry.
Today, dozens of school divisions across the state participate in the Farm to School program. During the 2023-24 school year, 90 school districts in North Carolina served North Carolina commodities through the program.
To learn more about the program or find educational materials, visit https://www.ncfarmtoschool.com.