Farms: Farm to School in NC: Bringing Farms and Schools Together

Farm to School (F2S) is a mutually beneficial partnership between NC schools and NC farmers. At its most basic level, the F2S program in North Carolina is a strategy to get fresh, local produce to NC students. F2S can also include taking students on farm field trips, creating school gardens, teaching cooking classes, and even offering nutrition education. How do schools participate in Farm to School? Its easy for a school to get involved in F2S! Some schools participate by working directly with local farmers in their communities. Others work through community organizations that seek to connect farmers with schools such as the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project (ASAP) (www.growingminds.org). However, the majority of schools participate in Farm to School through the North Carolina Department of Agriculture (NCDA) program (www.ncfarmtoschool.com). This video was produced by the Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at UNC-Chapel Hill and Cirque Productions with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, NC Child Nutrition Services, Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project and many others. For more information about the F2S program in NC and to learn how you can get involved, please visit www.ncschoolnutrition.com.