Sales to Schools, Hospitals, Institutions

 

 

Arizona Resources

Colorado Resources

New Mexico Resources

Utah Resources

Organizations and Web Resource Lists

Resources for Beginning New Farm to School Projects

Resources for Farm to College

Resources for Selling to Hospitals

Policy Information

Case Studies and Success Stories

Funding Resources

 

 

*Each resource within Four Corners region will be marked with an asterisk

 

See also:

 

 

Arizona Resources

 

*Canyon Country Fresh

Since 2000, the Center for Sustainable Environments has been working with local farmers, ranchers, markets, and restaurants to promote local food production and use. Recently, with the addition of a USDA grant for local marketing initiatives, CSE has begun to implement strategic marketing practices to help promote local farm products, from a food directory to development of links between farmers and restaurants.

http://home.nau.edu/environment/canyon_country.asp

 

*Prescott College Crossroads Café

Get a delicious, local-food-rich breakfast or lunch in Prescott, Arizona, at the newly opened Crossroads Cafe. A part of the larger Crossroads Center at Prescott College, the cafe serves as a meeting point for residents, students, visitors and staff in the area. The cafe offers a number of local food delights from vegetarian Borscht to Beef Bourguignon to daily sandwich specials, salads and soups.

http://www.localharvest.org/restaurants/M10306

 

Colorado Resources

 

*Colorado Proud School Meal Day

The Colorado Departments of Agriculture and Education would like to invite Colorado schools to participate in the fourth annual Colorado Proud School Meal Day on Wednesday, September 12, 2007. This is a day to celebrate Colorado agriculture and to educate schoolchildren about healthy eating.

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?c=Page&cid=1184613391369&pagename=Agriculture-Main%2FCDAGLayout

 

*Healthy Kids and Healthy Economies

This article documents the results from the 2006 Farm to School Survey of Colorado Food Service Operations. The survey has shown that Colorado has tremendous promise to provide year-round produce to schools.

http://www.cipp.colostate.edu/pdf/RMFU_Healthy_Kids.pdf

 

*Sustainability Alliance of Southwest Colorado: Farm to School

The purpose of the Farm to School project is to ensure that our Pre-K through College students consume the highest quality, sustainably produced, culturally appropriate foods from local farms and ranches. The website includes information about school wellness policies, web resources and information about meetings of the Farm to School group in SW Colorado.

http://www.sustainableswcolorado.org/farmtoschool.htm

 

New Mexico Resources

 

*Farm to School Projects in NM

The Farm to School website profiles projects in New Mexico that connect the produce from NM farmers with schools in the state.

http://www.farmtoschool.org/nm/

 

*New Mexico Organic Producers Marketing Guide

This guide is designed to help you explore which markets might work best for you and give you some ideas about how to access those markets. Marketing topics include Farmers’ Markets, CSAs, Selling to Retail Outlets, Selling to Restaurants, and Selling to Wholesalers.

http://nmocc.state.nm.us/pdf/MarketManual.pdf

 

Utah Resources

 

*Utah Slow Food: Slow Food in Schools

Slow Food in Schools is a garden–to–table program with children that cultivates the senses and teaches an ecological approach to food. The objective is to awaken children to the enjoyment and health benefits of quality foods and the principles of land stewardship.

http://www.slowfoodutah.org/main_sfu_projects.html

 

Organizations and Web Resource Lists

 

Bon Appetit Management Company

Bon Appetit is an innovative food service that supports sustainable agriculture whenever possible. They are often involved in Farm to Chef connections.

http://www.bamco.com/website/responsibility.html

 

*Farm to School

The National Farm to School Network is a collaborative project with the goal of strengthening and expanding activities in states with existing programs and assisting others that do not yet have programs.

http://www.farmtoschool.org/index.htm

 

Community Food Security Coalition Farm-to-School Program
Brings together farmers, school food service directors, parents, and community organizers to address the barriers and opportunities involved in creating a farm-to-school project.
http://www.foodsecurity.org/farm_to_school.html 

 

Resources for Beginning Farm to School Projects

 

Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions

This publication provides farmers, school administrators, and institutional food-service planners with contact information and descriptions of existing programs that have made these connections between local farmers and local school lunchrooms, college dining halls, or cafeterias in other institutions.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/farmtoschool.pdf

 

Eat Smart- Farm Fresh: A Guide to Buying and Serving Locally-Grown Produce in School Meals

This is a report published by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service that evaluates several aspects of beginning farm to school projects. Topics covered include; distribution models, building support for local purchasing, and how to find locally produced foods.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/Guidance/Farm-to-School-Guidance_12-19-2005.pdf

 

FoodRoutes: Buy Fresh Buy Local

FoodRoutes Network is a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania that provides communications tools, organizing support, and marketing resources to our grassroots chapters throughout the US that are working to rebuild local food systems and promote sustainable agriculture.

http://www.foodroutes.org/buy-fresh-buy-local.jsp

 

How Farmers and Local Food Service Buyers are Building Relationships

This is a report of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service that helps make the case for why farm to school connections are important. The report looks at preferences and criteria of food service buyers, potential obstacles, and case studies of farm to school projects.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/MSB/PDFpubList/localfarmsandschool.pdf

 

Local Food Connections: Food Service Considerations

This publication explores the benefits and challenges of institutional buying. This article also explains how a food service operation can start purchasing local foods.

http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/other/files/PM1853C.pdf

 

Marketing Local Food

This publication introduces the basics of different marketing systems, suggests resources and includes profiles of farmers who are selling farm products directly to consumers via farmers' markets, roadside stands, CSAs, on-farm stores; as well as information and profiles about selling indirectly via retail food establishments or food services.

http://www.misa.umn.edu/vd/publications/marketing_local_food.pdf

 

Small Farms/School Meals Initiative: Town Hall Meetings

A step-by-step guide of activities for groups to plan, conduct, and publicize professional town meetings that encourage small farmers and local school food officials to begin a farm-to-school project.

http://www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/lunch/Downloadable/small.pdf

 

Resources for Farm to College

 

The College Food Project

This article highlights how the University of Wisconsin is now serving local produce at several college cafeterias. The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems is helping connect college cafeterias with produce from local farmers.

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/collegefood.php

 

New Markets for Producers: Selling to Colleges

This is a report of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The report looks at six colleges involved in “Farm to College” relationships and explains the benefits of institutional selling.

http://www.cias.wisc.edu/archives/1999/02/02/new_markets_for_producers_selling_to_colleges/index.php

 

CFSC Farm to College Page

The Community Food Security Coalition has a webpage devoted to “Farm to College” information and resources. In addition to resources to start new projects, the site has a report on existing Farm to College projects.

http://www.foodsecurity.org/farm_to_college.html

 

FoodRoutes: Farm to College Resource Page

This webpage empowers college students to advocate for local foods in their college cafeterias. Resources include fact sheets and other advocacy tools.

http://www.foodroutes.org/farmtocollege.jsp

 

FoodRoutes: Buy Fresh Buy Local

FoodRoutes Network is a non-profit organization based in Pennsylvania that provides communications tools, organizing support, and marketing resources to our grassroots chapters throughout the US that are working to rebuild local food systems and promote sustainable agriculture.

http://www.foodroutes.org/buy-fresh-buy-local.jsp

 

Local Food Connections: Food Service Considerations

This publication explores the benefits and challenges of institutional buying. This article also explains how a food service operation can start purchasing local foods.

http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/other/files/PM1853C.pdf

 

*Prescott College Crossroads Café

Get a delicious, local-food-rich breakfast or lunch in Prescott, Arizona, at the newly opened Crossroads Cafe. A part of the larger Crossroads Center at Prescott College, the cafe serves as a meeting point for residents, students, visitors and staff in the area. The cafe offers a number of local food delights from vegetarian Borscht to Beef Bourguignon to daily sandwich specials, salads and soups.

http://www.localharvest.org/restaurants/M10306

 

Resources for Selling to Hospitals

 

Farm to Hospital: Supporting Local Agriculture and Improving Health Care

This brochure introduces interested farmers and hospital food service departments to the ins and outs of developing partnerships between hospitals and local farms. Included are examples of ways hospitals can improve the food they offer, issues for farmers to consider if they are interested in selling products to area hospitals, and specific case studies of successful programs.

http://www.foodsecurity.org/F2H_Brochure.pdf

 

Farm to Hospital: Promoting Health and Supporting Local Agriculture

This working paper discusses the opportunities and challenges involved in creating and enhancing farm-hospital connections. Drawing lessons from existing farm to hospital programs and a burgeoning farm to school movement, it provides a snapshot of current hospital food conditions and a vision of a healthier hospital food environment based, in part, on local, farm-fresh food.

http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/publications/farm_to_hospital.pdf

 

Local Food Connections: Food Service Considerations

This publication explores the benefits and challenges of institutional buying. This article also explains how a food service operation can start purchasing local foods.

http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/other/files/PM1853C.pdf

 

Policy Information

 

The Farm to Cafeteria Projects Act

The Farm to School website has a very comprehensive policy page about the federal grant program, “The Farm to Cafeteria Projects Act.”

http://www.farmtoschool.org/policy.htm

 

Case Studies and Success Stories

 

Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions

This publication provides farmers, school administrators, and institutional food-service planners with contact information and descriptions of existing programs that have made these connections between local farmers and local school lunchrooms, college dining halls, or cafeterias in other institutions.

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/PDF/farmtoschool.pdf

 

Direct Marketing to Schools: A New Opportunity for Family Farmers

This case study—part of a larger study on direct marketing techniques used by small farmers—focuses on the experiences of six farmers in California who have participated in farm-to-school farmers market salad bar projects.

http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/CDPP/directmarketingtoschool.htm

 

Farm to School: Case Studies & Resources for Success

This 2004 study highlights Farm to School Success Stories from around the country. The report includes a comprehensive list of resources to help schools and farmers with Farm to School projects.

http://www.foodroutes.org/doclib/243/FarmtoSchoolSuccess.pdf

 

Going Local: Paths to Success for Farm to School Programs

This report showcases innovative farm to school programs from around the country. It draws upon the existing information as well as new research to present a compilation of eight case studies of farm to school programs operating in different regions of the country.

http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/cfj/publications/goinglocal.pdf

 

Funding Resources

 

Please see:

  • Financing for general resources to help fund agricultural marketing ventures.