Bayfield Regional Food Producers Cooperative

The following description is a summary of our farm to school plan funded by a 2014 USDA Farm to School Program grant: Expanding farm to school in northern Wisconsin will require solving the challenge of a very short growing season. Through a collaborative effort, the Member Producers of the Bayfield Regional Food Producers Cooperative will help local school districts install and manage high tunnels to supplement each district’s school gardens. The tunnels will allow district educators to implement experiential, project‐based learning in the spring and fall seasons. In addition, the high tunnels will help the schools provide nutrient‐dense hardy greens and other vegetables to the students in their lunch and snacks. To further the impact of the high tunnels, UW Extension and the Bayfield Regional Food Producers Cooperative will develop and implement an “agripreneur” training program to encourage older students to use high tunnels for commercial vegetable production. Further expanding the impact of farm to school efforts in the region, we will assist the community (schools, families, restaurants) in developing locally‐relevant meals that are healthy and easy to prepare, that can be served at schools, restaurants, and at home, and that can be sourced from local producers. This multi‐faceted approach to farm to school will increase opportunities for experiential learning, the volume of local vegetables consumed at school, and help transfer lessons learned at school to home, where health outcomes are largely determined.