The 2023 Farm to School Census is a survey of all school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the national school lunch program and collects information on nationwide farm to school activity.
The 2023 Farm to School Census Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) addresses commonly asked questions regarding the development of the Farm to School Census (the Census) and the methodology used in determining all findings related to the Census. For more information related to the findings, please refer the Farm to School Census webpage and 2023 Farm to School Census Report.
- What is the Farm to School Census?
The Farm to School Census (the Census) is an online survey designed to collect information about farm to school activities happening nationwide. This information is vital to help schools, partners, advocates, and producers understand the role of farm to school in supporting resilient local food systems and food and agricultural education in schools. The Census provides important information to help FNS, policymakers, and other advocates learn about the benefits and challenges of doing farm to school activities so that they can secure and direct resources to support farm to school initiation and expansion.
- Who participates in the Census?
The Census is a survey of all school food authorities (SFAs) that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Requests to complete this online survey were sent to more than 18,000 SFAs in all 50 states and American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C. SFAs were asked to complete the survey, regardless of whether they participated in farm to school activities.
- When is the Census conducted?
The Census is conducted every four years. USDA conducted the most recent Census from October 2023 to January 2024, asking SFAs questions about their farm to school activities in the 2022-23 school year. The USDA also conducted the Census in 2019, 2015, and 2013.
- How many SFAs responded to the Census?
Invitations to participate in the Census were sent to 18,833 SFAs, and 12,559 SFAs (67%) submitted a response. Some responses did not provide enough information to be included in our analysis. However, other responses that were not officially submitted did include enough information, and these were included in the national and state-level findings presented on the Farm to School Census website and in the 2023 Farm to School Census Report. The national and state-level findings are based on responses from 11,803 SFAs.
Survey responses from individual SFAs can be found on the Farm to School Census website. If an SFA did not formally submit their response, or if their response was missing key information, they are not included on the website.
- What types of activities are considered “farm to school?”
The Census groups farm to school activities into four main categories:
- Serving local food items as part of school meals;
- Providing educational activities involving food, nutrition, and agriculture, including edible school gardens;
- Promoting local foods at school and in the community; and
- Other activities to source and procure local foods.
- What is considered local?
Federal regulations give SFAs the flexibility to establish their own definition of local when buying food for school meal programs. SFAs can set their definition of local based on the kind of food they are buying, the season, the number of vendors producing the food in an area, and other factors. Some SFAs use a specific geographic range (such as within 200 miles of the school) or a defined locality (such as a city or county, within the state, or within a defined region of the country). For the Census, SFAs are asked to use their own definition of local to answer questions.
- Does the Census include pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) and afterschool programs?
Only SFAs participating in the NSLP may respond to the Census. Some, but not all, SFAs participate in both the NSLP and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Census reports the percentage of those SFAs serving local foods in CACFP and CACFP At-Risk Afterschool. The Census also asks all SFAs whether they offer farm to school activities for pre-K students as well as whether they host local food events as part of CACFP.
- Where can I find how a specific SFA answered the Census?
Responses to select Census questions from individual SFAs can be found on the Farm to School Census website. Users can also download the full 2023 Census dataset, which includes responses to all questions from Ag Data Commons.
- Why are there only comparisons between 2023 and 2019 Census responses if USDA also did the Census in 2015 and 2013?
Between the 2015 and 2019 Census, FNS made substantial changes to the Census survey instrument and how the survey was conducted. As a result, it is not possible to compare responses from the 2023 or 2019 Census to responses from 2013 and 2015.
- What is the difference between a “SFA” and a “Farm to School SFA” or “Participating SFA?”
All SFAs that participate in the NSLP were invited to complete the 2023 Farm to School Census. SFAs that reported doing at least one farm to school activity in school year 2022-23 are considered to be participating in farm to school. We refer to these SFAs as “farm to school SFAs,” “F2S SFAs,” and “participating SFAs.” Most of the percentages provided on the Farm to School Census website and in the National and State Data Workbook are of all SFAs; however, some statistics are restricted to farm to school SFAs. For example, when showing length of participation in farm to school, we present this as a percentage of farm to school participants.
- What does it mean when the Census references “weighted” data in the national and state level analysis?
The national and state numbers and percentages presented on the Farm to School Census website are weighted to be representative of the U.S. or the relevant state. “Weighting” is a statistical technique used to adjust for the fact that not all SFAs completed the survey. Using what is known about the respondents and their answers, we estimate the values we would have gotten if every SFA in the country or the state had responded to the Census. More details on how this weighting was done can be found in Appendix A of the 2023 Farm to School Census Report. Note that the percentages shown in the Census Data Explorer are simple calculations based on the SFAs listed on the website and are NOT weighted to be representative of the broader population.