Center for Rural Affairs - Nebraska Farm to School Program

The Center for Rural Affairs spearheads a statewide Farm to School in Nebraska by providing support and training to small and medium size family farms, schools and food service directors, and by providing opportunities to come together and learn at our Farm to School statewide summits and regional conferences.  

10 rural schools joined our pilot program to receive one on one facilitation, support, resources and event planning assistance in order to launch or further their Farm to School programs within their schools and/or districts. Each school has used their own unique model for wellness policy initiatives, Farm to (After) School, school gardens and greenhouse including procurement to their own cafeteria in some cases. 

In 2013, a statewide survey went out to farmers and ranchers across Nebraska gathering information about operations and crops produced as well as contact information, and interest in expanding markets to schools.  Several farmer-specific trainings were held in key communities to provide more information and resources to producers wishing to scale up operations.

Through our food service director workshops, we created a space for several school districts to join together in one place to receive additional resources about local procurement, demo a tasting event, as well as learn from a farmer and 2 food service directors in rural schools with Farm to School programs.

At our 2014 statewide summit,10,000 rural students were represented from across the state, including an opening keynote from a Nebraska legislator who had introduced a bill supporting Farm to School and the effects of local procurement in rural communities.

In 2015, the regional conference in southeast Nebraska featured a live fresh foods demonstration by a food service director, panel sessions on building your Farm to School team featuring 2 school teams from our pilot programs, and a Farm to School 101 for Farmers that included experts in farm food safety, production, distribution and local meat processing and procurement.  A presense from USDA Farm to School, University of Nebraska Extension and University of Nebraska Meat Lab were in attendance.  

We have since launched our Find a Farmer Tool and Farm to School Online Guidebook and in August 2015, a series of webinars will roll out to provide resources for Farm to School Month in October, 101 sessions for both food producers and food service professionals, as well as a webinar touching on local meat procurement which is a natural fit in a state known for beef production.

This fall, 2 schools have come on board through the Blooming Prairies Foundation grant program, Greenhouse to Cafeteria providing support to these schools in teaching organic fruit and vegetable growing skills in their greenhouse and procuring those foods to their cafeteria.