Concrete School District Farm to School Program

The mission of Concrete Farm to School is to build resilient students and families by providing access to healthy local foods, nutrition and culinary education, and hands-on gardening activities in the cafeteria, classroom, and community. In the agriculturally rich and diverse Skagit County, the small town of Concrete is a food desert. The geographically isolated Concrete School District has an enrollment of about 550 students spread over 1,915 square miles with only one grocery store. Farm to School, founded as a part of the the Healthy Community and Schools Initiative, is one strategy to educate children and their families about healthy eating, physical activity, and local abundance through a kitchen classroom, school garden, farm and community garden field trips, and cafeteria taste tests. Concrete Farm to School also partners closely with the Food Service staff as they transition to scratch-cooked meals incorporating as much local product as possible.