Food Education for All
Every student in early childhood education or K–12 schools in Oregon has access to experiential learning about food and agriculture that supports whole child development and understanding of career options.
Youth of all abilities, localities, cultures, and neurocapacities are engaged in all aspects of local food, from production to consumption, including foods harvested from farms, seas, rivers, forests, ranches, orchards, fields, gardens, and/or processed. Culture and food justice are embedded in education that emphasizes community building, curiosity, and positivity around diverse food choices.
Background
As of 2024-25 school year, there were about 545,000 K-12th grade students attending more than 1,400 public schools in Oregon. As of 2022, there were 4,780 early childhood education providers in Oregon serving more than 125,000 children.
In 2019, the Oregon Department of Education identified 784 educational sites known to have school garden infrastructure. Of those sites, 463 confirmed they had active school garden programs at that time. At least 730 schools in Oregon did not have a school garden at that time.
There are also numerous local, regional, and statewide programs that implement agriculture, food, and garden-based education programs. Programs include SNAP-Ed Food Hero, Oregon Harvest for Schools, Oregon Ag in the Classroom, and 4H. Other School Garden Support Organizations partner with schools to provide hands-on garden education that aligns with classroom subjects and social emotional learning objectives. These are just a few examples of the rich patchwork of on-the-ground educators in every corner of Oregon.
Our Strategic Approach
Strategy #1
Drive the adoption of integrated, experiential food, agriculture, and garden-based education in early childhood education, K–12, afterschool, and summer programming.
SAMPLE APPROACHES
- Create a framework that identifies best practices for how food, garden, and agricultural education can address Oregon state standards across multiple subject areas.
- Support the creation and use of agriculture, food, and garden-based educational activities and lessons that are inclusive and celebrate global food traditions.
- Fund research and evaluation of programs and practices to build the evidence base.
- Support early care and education program providers with needed resources and training.
- Support communications materials and strategies for school communities, including school staff, families, and community partners, so that farm to school is a household phrase in Oregon.
- Strengthen connections between 9th–12th grade vocational programs and food, garden, and agriculture education.
Strategy #2
Maintain or increase critical existing state and federal resources for food, garden, and agricultural education. Identify access gaps and develop novel funding and programmatic pathways to institutionalize programming that results in all students being served.
SAMPLE APPROACHES
- Identify, map, and publish data that identifies which K–12 districts, schools, and early childhood education sites currently offer food, garden, and agricultural education.
- Perform a gap analysis on access to food education to identify where the most significant gaps exist.
- Create case studies that identify promising practices for institutionalizing food, garden, and agricultural education opportunities at the school district level.
- Based on identified best practices, identify novel pathways to fund and implement "Food Education for All" programming in underserved schools or regions.
- Consider sharing assets, positions, and resources via Educational Service Districts or OSU Extension to serve numerous school districts, particularly rural schools.
Progress Indicators
0%
of Child Nutrition Programs are conducting food, agriculture, and garden education.
Of those programs, here's what they're doing:
40%
of all education sites that have a school garden DO NOT have an active garden program.
BRIGHT SPOTS
How School Wellness Policies Connect Farm to School Programs Across Oregon Districts
Full-Time School Garden Coordinator Transforms Rural Oregon Charter School Into Edible Landscape
What Is Farm to School? A Guide to Local Food in Schools and Child Nutrition Programs
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.