Farm-to-School Project

Contact the Project, call 413-253-3844 or mafarmtoschool@gmail.com

From kindergarten to college, interest in serving locally grown foods in cafeterias is increasing in Massachusetts and throughout the northeast U.S. Feeding locally grown foods to students can be a good way for food service directors to improve the nutritional value and taste of school meals, while supporting the local economy. Selling local products to schools can be profitable for Massachusetts growers who are looking for a new way to connect with local consumers.

Farm-to-school transactions must be evaluated for good “fit” and positive value for both sides. MDAR, through its support of the Massachusetts Farm to School Project, provides technical assistance to Massachusetts farmers and schools as they attempt to find a good match. To date there are about 250 public school districts, private schools, and colleges in the Commonwealth preferentially serving local foods, over half of which have received assistance from the Mass. Farm to School Project. About 50 farms are currently selling their products directly to schools across the state.

A Bountiful Week

The third annual Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week was a great success!

School food services, school administrators, community organizations, local farmers, students, parents, as well as government officials collaborated to make the 2009 Harvest Week a huge success.

The goal of Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week is to encourage new relationships between schools and farms, and to increase local foods purchasing in school and college food services around the state.

All around the state folks celebrated the bounty of Massachusetts’s agriculture and highlighted local foods in schools. From school-wide corn husking to class trips and taste tests at local farmers markets; thank you to all participating schools and districts for your involvement in making the Week a huge success.

Please check out all the creative ways that schools and communities organized to celebrate. Click Here

Photo Highlights:

One day, Seven Schools, Over 6000 seeds planted! Seeds of Solidarity Education Center traveled to seven school gardens in the North Quabbin area to work with students to plant cool-weather-tolerant crops.	The Massachusetts Farm to School Project collaborated with the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation to host a luncheon in Quincy to honor Kathleen Millett, administrator of Nutrition, Health, and Saftey for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. She was the 2009 recipient of the Mass Farm to School "Blue Ribbon Award" given to celebrate her leadership and support for the farm-to-school movement in Massachusetts.	On Tuesday, September 22, the Kids Cooking Green program took 25 5th grade students to the Lexington farmers market for a field trip. Students met the farmers, tasted local produce and looked for menu ideas to plan an upcoming dinner they will cook at school for family and friends.

Massachusetts Farm-to-School Cookbook
Highlights Fresh and Locally Grown Products for Schools!

DOWNLOAD COOKBOOK HERE [PDF]

The cookbook features:

• 45 easy-to-follow recipes using Massachusetts crop, including value added produce such as peeled butternut squash and sliced carrots.
• Easy to prep recipes using dormant seasonal crop, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut squash .
• Recipes have been school tested by Food Service Directors, cooks, and students in the schools themselves and designed for 50 to 100 servings.
• Nutritional analysis for each recipe
• Contacts for accessing farm produce
• Kid’s favorites include: Brown Rice Pilaf with Carrots, Chinese Green Beans, Tropical Cole Slaw and Garlic Mashed New Potatoes