Farm to School

Farm to School is a win for students, farmers, and communities. Our Southern Tier Farm to School Program works to increase the use of local food in school meals, integrate food and agriculture education in the cafeteria, classroom, and community, and empower students through involvement in their local food system.

We do this through local food procurement, working with farm and food businesses to strengthen the regional food system, taste tests in the classroom and cafeteria, designing student-tested school menus, school gardens, building capacity through direct consultation services, and fostering connections with organizations and communities in the region.

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Schools

Farm to school provides all students access to nutritious, high-quality, local food so they are ready to learn and grow. Farm to school activities enhance classroom education through hands-on learning related to food, health, agriculture, and nutrition.

Farmers

Farm to school can serve as a significant financial opportunity for farmers, fishers, ranchers, food processors and food manufacturers by opening doors to an institutional market.

Community

Farm to school benefits everyone from students, teachers and administrators to parents and farmers, providing opportunities to build family and community engagement. Buying from local producers and processors creates new jobs and strengthens the local economy.

We catalyze collaboration between School Nutrition Professionals, Local Producers, and Food Hubs to design seasonally appropriate menus, coordinate transportation and delivery, identify school processing needs, and implement Geographic Preference Bids to stimulate local purchasing.

Program Overview

“For every dollar spent on school food, an additional $0.86 is spent in the local economy.”

-USDA 2024

Who is Involved?

Our partners include Broome-Tioga BOCES School Nutrition Services, Delaware-Chenango-Madison-Otsego (DCMO) BOCES School Nutrition Services, Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, participating farms, hubs, and processors, VINES, the NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets, United Way of Mid Rural New York and Farm to Institution New York State.

Check out Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County’s Quarterly Farm to School Newsletters!
For more information on our partnership with Broome-Tioga BOCES and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Broome County, review our Farm to School Guide!

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