Farm to School and Summer

Farm to School embodies three core elements: Procurement: Purchasing local foods; Education: Education related to agriculture, food, health and nutrition; School Gardens: Support and sustain school gardens to provide hand-on educational experiences and connecting students with their food.

Farm to School is a program focused on connecting communities to healthy, fresh and local food by influencing change within who and how food is purchased, nutrition and agricultural education and supporting schools in establishing school gardens and agricultural programs.

The Benefits of Farm to School (PDF)
- Farm to School provides a Win-Win approach, harvesting a life-long impact on kids, farmers and communities.
Tell Us Your Story
- Your voice, your story and your passion are powerful. Impact and influence Farm to School and Farm to Summer in Colorado by sharing your story.

Farm to School - playing in the dirt

Congrats to the Farm to School Sub-grantees!

School Nutrition awarded nine SFAs with Farm to School Sub-grants. SFAs will use the funding for a variety of projects to increase student access to local foods, provide nutrition and agriculture education, and improve school meal quality. Sub-grantees will complete the Masterclass training series and receive tailored technical assistance to support sub-grant plans. Congratulations, sub-grantees!

Farm to School Sub-grant funding will support the following projects:

Boulder Valley School District: District greenhouse enhancements, student experiential learning and teacher engagement in the greenhouses
Cripple Creek-Victor School District: New hydroponic system, partnerships with agriculture team at the school district and student nutrition and agriculture education
Division of Youth Services: School gardens, new salad bars and student experiential nutrition and agriculture education
The Juniper School (Durango 9-R School District): School gardens and student experiential nutrition and agriculture education
North Conejos School District: Purchase of a new greenhouse and student nutrition and agriculture education
Pueblo City School District 60: Tower gardens in select elementary schools and student nutrition and agriculture education
St. Vrain Valley School District: District greenhouse expansion, purchase of a whole animal from student FFA group and student nutrition and agriculture education
Swink School District: Local procurement, student nutrition and agriculture education and attending the LoProCO training series
Vilas School District: Equipment to support scratch cooking, student nutrition and agriculture education and attending the LoProCO training series

Farm To School Legislative Updates

Local Food Program

With the passage of Colorado HB-1132 during the 2019 legislative session, the Local Food Program will offer selected School Food Authorities (SFAs) a reimbursement for the purchase of Colorado grown, raised, or processed products. This program encourages SFAs to procure local products, foster nutrition education, bolster farm to child nutrition activities, and support Colorado producers and farmers. This program has been reinstated. CDE School Nutrition will provide updated guidance when available.

Resources

Colorado Farm to School Task Force

In 2019, HB19-1202 merged the Colorado Farm to School Task Force with the Colorado Food Systems Advisory Council (COFSAC). This will strengthen the work of the Task Force, align priorities with COFSAC and those outlined in the Colorado Blueprint for Food and Agriculture.

Farm To School and Farm to Summer Partner Organizations

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Resources

Learn to build a strong farm to school team, learn about food safety, food and nutrition education, and school gardens as well as how to promote the program.

Farm to School Census
- To find your SFA, start at the State Profile for Colorado, then scroll to the bottom to type your SFA name.

National Farm to School Network

Resources for school gardens, trainings, fact sheets, and educational materials.

National Farm to School Network (NFSN)

Nourish Colorado

Nourish Colorado (formerly LiveWell Colorado) is a core partner of the NFSN and offers networking opportunities and webinars related to farm to school initiatives.

Local Procurement Colorado (LoProCO)

Toolkits and Manuals

Implementing a Farm to School Program

Find Local Products

Local Producer List
- Use this list to identify Colorado producers who want to sell their product to school districts. This list is updated weekly.
Procuring Local Foods for Child Nutrition Programs (PDF)
Colorado Proud Produce Calendar (PDF)
Colorado Proud

Education and Curriculum

Food Safety

Funding Opportunities

Funding Sources Available for Farm to Cafeteria Programs
AmeriCorps Programs
- Apply here to host an AmeriCorps member at your school to help implement Farm to School and Summer activities.

For more information or if an alternate version of a document is needed, please contact McKenna Pullen.