Sarasota County Schools Farm to School

Sarasota County Schools Food and Nutrition Services established one of the first comprehensive Farm to School programs in the state of Florida in 2006. Our program follows the motto of "We Feed the Future" and provides food services and nutrition education to 42,000 students in 54 schools. In order to best feed our students and support our community, we prioritize purchasing from local farms and growing our school based gardens. Our Farm to School Program has a goal of 50% of our produce purchases coming from Florida farms. We seek to expand upon and improve the established distribution channels and relationships with local farmers, increase purchases of local produce, support for the local food economy, support food literacy and education, and support teachers and school gardens to enhance the breadth of the farm to school program in our District. Sarasota County Schools have 31 school gardens encompassing a variety of growing methods. This season, we seek to start a new farm and sustainable food forest on school property to further provide our students with healthy local food, growing children who know what they are eating and exactly where it came from.