The Farm to School Institute is a unique year-long professional learning opportunity for selected school or district teams in Oregon. The Institute supports teams in working together to create a culture of equity and wellness, improve food access, increase leadership, and strengthen local food systems. Since 2010, Vermont FEED’s Northeast Farm to School Institute, has been bringing teams together across New England and New York and since 2015, they have been working with other regions to adapt the Institute model. 2025 is the second time the Institute will be offered in Oregon.

Teams selected for the Institute are given support leading up to and during the entire 2025-2026 school year. Selected teams first start with an onboarding session and ideas to gather student and family input. Then at a 3-day in-person summer retreat, teams are joined by an experienced coach that supports the team to develop an action plan inspired by workshops, learning experiences, and the work of other schools. During the school year, team members implement and adapt their plans with the support of their coach. Throughout the year, participants network and learn with peers in a professional learning community and through virtual workshops.

The 3Cs Approach to Farm to School (adapted from Vermont FEED)

The 3Cs approach, which Vermont FEED developed in 2000, has taken root across the country as a successful model of change that connects efforts in the Cafeteria, Classroom, and Community to achieve robust and sustainable farm to school programs.

We’ve found that the more successful programs are not “add-ons” to school policies and curricula, but integrated throughout the school priorities and culture. This requires collaboration among administrators, school nutrition professionals, students, families, and educators.

In the Classroom: Farm to school education provides a real-world context for learning across all disciplines. Engaging youth in hands-on opportunities such as planting school gardens, cooking food from scratch, and visiting local farms establishes meaningful connections to the curriculum and deepens understanding. Rather than an add-on to an already crowded curriculum, food, nutrition, and agriculture can be integrated within the existing curriculum, from literacy and history to math and science.

In the Cafeteria: The school cafeteria is a major hub of activity. It can be a powerful educational environment, engaging youth in activities like taste tests and cooking lessons to introduce them to new foods and empower them to make healthy choices. Farm to school programs connect the expertise of school nutrition staff with education initiatives, resulting in increased participation in the meal program, reduced waste, and making nutritious food accessible to all students.

More than half of America’s children—nearly 30 million students—get daily nutrition from school meals, and schools spend over $6.3 billion on food costs. These numbers present enormous opportunities, and farm to school programs leverage this potential by strengthening connections between school meal programs and local food producers. When a cafeteria increases its local purchasing, it bolsters its local economy, resourcing it with funds that recirculate and build value long after the original sale.

In the Community: Making connections within the community builds partnerships outside the school for place-based learning and garners community support for school initiatives. Youth have opportunities to learn about how their food is produced and to develop their own agency for creating change. Farmers build relationships with schools, early childhood programs, and other local institutions that allow them to expand into other wholesale markets and boost the local economy. Community dinners, service learning projects, and harvest festivals involve parents, families, and the whole community in building a food culture that is celebratory, honors multiple foodways, and is committed to healthy and sustainable food choices.

The application is used to gain an understanding of each applicant’s school community and existing farm to school efforts. We aim to build a diverse cohort of teams that have both similarities and opportunities to share lessons learned with others. We are looking for schools that prioritize making their farm to school program inclusive of diverse students and community members, equitable, and incorporating opportunities for youth and family leadership. 

We use the following criteria to evaluate all applications: 

1. Team composition: The team has at least one member from each of the following roles: school nutrition, administrator, and educator. 
2. Accessibility: We consider metrics such as the percentage of students participating in free and reduced lunch (public schools/districts that serve at least 40% of children eligible for free or reduced-price meals are prioritized), demographics of the student body and staff, school location (rural/urban), and other demographic information of the geographic region. 
3. Team readiness: The team demonstrates some experience in farm to school and is in a suitable phase to receive support and grow. 
4. 3Cs mindset: The team has an understanding of the 3Cs (classroom, cafeteria, and community) and intends to use an integrated approach to bring the three components together. 
5. Equity: The team has clear goals for centering equity in their farm to school work, and demonstrates how the Institute will benefit their equity work. 
6. Staying power: The team has a clear commitment to farm to school, and has in-place or identified strategy and additional resources to sustain their farm to school work. 
7. The “why”: The team has a clear “why” for their farm to school work, and can explain how their goals align with the Institute’s vision.

During the summer retreat, teams gather in-person to get inspired by and learn from leaders in farm to school, build relationships across the team, gain new skills, and develop a year-long action plan for farm to school programming. A network of farm to school partners provide support via workshops and learning experiences during the retreat. During the school year, as the team implements their action plan, they work with their coach to assess and adapt to successes and challenges.

When: Kickoff retreat in late June; program continues through the school year until the following spring.

Where: The retreat takes place at Oregon Garden Resort in Silverton, OR. The rest of the year action plans are implemented at your site with virtual learning and connections continuing until the virtual program celebration and reflection in May 2026.

What: Three days of professional learning, networking, planning, and fun! Participation in the summer retreat is a requirement of 4-5 members of each selected team. Food and board is included.