5 things to know about the current state of farm-to-school

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its latest Farm to School Census which offers an inside look at changes and trends happening with farm-to-school programming across the country. 

The 2023 Census details farm-to-school programming during the 2022-23 school year. It includes responses from 11,803 public, private, and charter school food authorities (SFAs) taken during fall 2023. 

Here are five things to know from the report. 

1. Farm-to-school participation grew despite COVID-19

The pandemic did not block School Food Authorities (SFAs) efforts from participating in farm-to-school programing. According to the report, 74% of SFA’s participated in farm-to-school during the 22-23 school year compared to only 65% of SFA’s participating during the 2018-19 school year.  

In addition, half of the SFA’s who participated in farm-to-school programing in the 2022-23 school year said that have been participating for three or more years, compared to only 43% saying the same in 2019. 

2. Serving local foods was the most popular farm-to-school activity

A majority (63%) of SFA’s participating in farm-to-school served local foods in some form during the 2022-23 school year.  Forty-nine percent also reported offering at least one agricultural educational activity and 49% shared that they offered local food promotion activity. 

3. Fluid milk was the most common local food purchase made by SFA’s 

An estimated $1.8 billion was spent on local food during the 2022-23 school year representing about 16% of SFA’s total food spending. 

Fluid milk was the most common local product purchased, making up about half of local spending at $955 million.

Apples, beef, poultry, lettuce, baked goods, salad mix, watermelon, oranges and strawberries were also listed as some of the most popular local purchases by farm-to-school participants. 

4. Farm-to-school participants experienced a variety of benefits 

SFAs who did participate in farm-to-school programming said that they experienced a wide range of benefits, including an increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables in school meals (61% of participating SFAs), access to better quality foods (57 %) and an increased positive perception of the school food program among educators (49%).

5. Availability of local foods and staffing are barriers to participating in farm-to-schoolprogramming

Forty-two percent of SFA’s who participated in farm-to-school listed availability of local foods as their biggest challenge. The cost of local foods was the second biggest challenge cited by 35% of SFA’s. 

For SFA’s who do not participate in farm-to-school, staffing challenges were cited as the biggest reason for their lack of farm-to-school participation.