By: Isabel Hernandez

In Oregon, farm to school initiatives have become very successful. Oregon is home to a number of local food producers and processors that pride themselves in fresh, organic produce. Farm to school’s basic mission is to deliver local, healthy food to cafeterias in school districts of all ages. These programs also entail educating students on where their food comes from by visiting local farms and gardens. Farm to school has become popular in the state of Oregon for many reasons including the enhancement of childhood nutrition, reducing obesity and hunger, as well as improving the economy by supporting local farmers.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 5,254 school districts and 42, 587 schools currently participate in farm to school activities. That is $789 million spent on local food for cafeterias and 42% of all school districts in the U.S. surveyed by the USDA. In Oregon specifically, 128 school districts, delivering about 89% of Oregon’s school meals, served all healthy, local food in the 2015-2016 school year, according to Oregon State Government statistics. This local progress was made possible by Oregon’s Farm to School and School Garden Grant Program. Currently, this grant allows all Oregon schools to purchase Oregon grown/processed food items as well as garden/food-based educational activities and be fully reimbursed.

Dating back to 2006, Oregon Department of Agriculture held their first meeting to introduce local farmers to schools. The same year, the first statewide gathering of supporters was held by Oregon’s Department of Education. By 2007, Oregon Farm to School and School Garden network was created. In 2011, Legislature created a grant program to allocate money to local school districts for farm to school programs. By 2015, the total funds for the grant was at $4.5 million. In 2016, Oregon Department of Education awarded education grants to 24 Organizations, and 144 Oregon school districts received program funding for 2017.

Although the emergence of farm to school initiatives have been made clear, some parents are worried about these school garden educational programs being a waste of time. They believe that the time their children will be learning about where their food comes from and working in gardens should be spent learning about more academic subjects and not distract from a school’s mission to advance reading and math. Supporters of farm to school believe that these programs enrich their children’s educational experience because those topics are important.