Local Food Access for All
Every student in early childhood education or K–12 schools who participates in a Child Nutrition Program has access to foods grown, caught, gathered, raised, and/or processed locally.
Each community defines what counts as local food for itself. We aim to have 100% of Child Nutrition Programs provide access to locally sourced foods, with one-third of all food purchased for Child Nutrition Programs is sourced from within Oregon.
Background
In 2015, Oregon became the first state in the country to offer non-competitive funding to 100% of school districts to buy Oregon foods. In 2019 the Oregon State Legislature expanded this funding to many early childhood centers and summer meal programs. This funding equates to about .05 to .08 cents per meal served to support the purchasing of Oregon-grown and -processed food that might otherwise be cost prohibitive.
Currently, not all sites that are eligible for this money have participated in the program, and as a result, not all students have access to this state program. During the 2021–23 school years, 52% of all eligible sponsors (197 of 380) participated in the Non-Competitive Reimbursement Grant for Oregon Foods administered by the Oregon Department of Education. Many of those who did not participate were early childhood education centers and smaller school districts.
How do we ensure all students get the benefit of the Non-Competitive Reimbursement Grant for Oregon Foods? Instead of being prescriptive, we suggest individual Child Nutrition Program sponsors work with their communities to first set their own goals related to local food procurement. Then we offer the technical assistance and resources needed to achieve them. Incorporating local food into Child Nutrition Programs often requires additional labor and equipment to source, prepare, and serve local foods.
Many communities value scratch cooking and the use of fresh, local ingredients in Child Nutrition Programs. Yet over time, many schools have transitioned away from scratch cooking and now lack the infrastructure and equipment to prepare unprocessed products. The USDA allocates funding to states to support kitchen equipment for schools. In 2022, the Oregon Department of Education received $936,608.02 in requests from schools for kitchen equipment, which is nearly two times the funding available for this program.
Our Strategic Approach
Strategy #1
Explore and establish pathways to fund and/or build capacity for paid farm to school coordination activities for schools, districts, Education Service Districts and early childhood education sites.
SAMPLE APPROACHES
- Advocate for funding from the state and federal government for paid coordinator positions and staff.
- Explore initiatives similar to “Outdoor School for All” to provide dedicated funding for paid coordinator positions.
- Explore districts partnering with contract food service management companies to share costs of paid coordinator positions.
- Identify and disseminate innovative solutions such as “labor stipends” connected to freshly prepared meals.
- Leverage existing state and federally funded programs such as Oregon State University Extension’s programs to meet this goal.
Strategy #2
Provide each district or early care and education center with the kitchen and/or cafeteria infrastructure needed to meet local food purchasing goals.
SAMPLE APPROACHES
- Conduct an inventory of kitchen equipment needs throughout the state.
- Establish new state funding streams for kitchen equipment.
- Activate Oregon partners toward advocacy for federal kitchen infrastructure funding.
- Develop sample bond language and kitchen layouts that sites can use to inform their renovation and new construction plans.
Strategy #3
Provide technical assistance and training to buyers so that every meal provider has the knowledge, skills, motivation, and resources to make their local food purchasing goals a reality.
SAMPLE APPROACHES
- Establish and staff Farm to School Regional Hubs.
- Build awareness of Oregon State University Extension Support.
- Organize peer-to-peer learning opportunities.
- Convene and facilitate communities of practice.
- Host conferences, workshops, webinars, and culinary training.
- Support benevolent brokering/value chain coordination for local products.
- Support districts and sites in accessing and utilizing state and federal funds, such as Local Food for Schools, United States Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition and Local Foods for Schools, Specialty Crop Block Grant programs.
- Research solutions for food service management companies to increase participation in the Farm to School Non-Competitive Reimbursement Grant.
- Explore innovative models, such as food hubs, to reduce barriers and implementation burdens for Child Nutrition Programs' local food sourcing and procurement.
- Market and promote Oregon’s diverse producers and processors and the breadth of foods they grow, harvest, gather, and make.
Strategy #4
Advocate for School Meals for All
SAMPLE APPROACHES
- Research models in other states that have adopted School Meals for All practices such as universal free school meals, healthy meal incentives, resourcing cafeterias and child nutrition staff, and training.
- Build will for legislative approval where appropriate.
- Convene listening sessions with families and schools across the state so school communities are supported through proposed legislation.
- Support education and outreach to districts and communities about School Meals for All.
- Support successful implementation of School Meals for All policies.
Progress Indicators
0%
of Child Nutrition Programs are serving local foods0%
of Child Nutrition Programs' budget spent on local foodsLength of farm to school involvement among participating Child Nutrition Programs
BRIGHT SPOTS
From Migrant Worker to School Food Pioneer: How Lucy DeLeon Brings Authentic Tamales to Oregon Schools
How Michelle Markesteyn Built Oregon’s Farm to School Movement From School Gardens to State Policy
Oregon Producers Share Farm to School Success Stories
Remote Oregon School District Transforms Local Food Access Despite Distribution Challenges
We want to celebrate and share all the amazing Farm to School work in Oregon. Whether you're a teacher connecting students with their food, a nutrition director sourcing local ingredients, or a community member supporting school gardens, your story matters and deserves to be shared.