Farm to School and Farm to Early Care initiatives focus on three main tenets: local purchasing, gardening, and food and agriculture education.
The local purchasing component of Farm to School and Farm to Early Care reflects the importance of public procurement as a lever to strengthen farm economies. Schools and early care settings can provide a stable, profitable market for producers, particularly small and mid-size farmers, specialty crop growers and emerging farmers. Local procurement also keeps money circulating in local and state economies, boosting the impact of public spending for public good.
IATP is proud to have championed and supported Farm to School and Farm to Early Care for more than 10 years. IATP has supported these efforts in numerous ways, including evaluation, program support, technical assistance and policy advocacy.
Some highlights from IATP’s archives include:
Statewide surveys of schools and early cares documenting the implementation, interests, and support needed for sites implementing these initiatives.
IATP has partnered with the Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) for over a decade supporting farm to early care. This started working together with Head Starts in Minnesota back in 2014.
IATP is continuing to support evaluation and connections for schools and early care providers to learn more and support one another in implementing these programs. This support looks a variety of ways, from ‘office hours’ with the Farm to School leadership team where sites can join with questions and needed connections, to informal ‘bite size’ naptime connections where early care providers share tips and ideas with one another, to evaluation documenting spending in the Farm to School grant program. In all its forms, IATP is excited to support the implementation of these initiatives, benefiting our local farmers and our littlest eaters.
This October, get involved in Farm to School and Early Care Month! Follow along with weekly themes for the month, consider crunching a local apple on October 10th, or just learn about all the ways investing in farm to school and farm to early care can be strategies to work toward a just, vibrant farm and food system.
For early care providers and schools, learn more about Farm to School and Farm to Early Care month and click the link to register your crunch at these links:
