2019 Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review

The Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review includes the 2019 Farm to School Census; a descriptive review of the USDA Farm to School grant program; a review of published research on farm to school since 2010; and a set of interviews with school food distributors.

The Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review Summary Report describes the components of the Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review and synthesizes key findings from the reports listed below.

The 2019 Farm to School Census reached out to all public and private school food authorities (SFAs) that participated in the National School Lunch Program in SY 2018-19. The 2019 Farm to School Census Report summarizes findings from the 2019 Census and compares across SFA characteristics such as size, eligibility rates for free and reduced-price lunch, and urbanicity.

Key Findings

• About two-thirds of all SFAs (65 percent) participated in one or more farm to school activities in SY 2018-2019.
• Approximately half of SFAs engaged in farm to school (46 percent) participated in seven or more distinct farm to school activities.
• Over half of SFAs participating in farm to school activities (57 percent) had done so for fewer than three years.
• Local foods accounted for an estimated 20 percent of overall food purchases by F2S SFAs, excluding entitlement spending.

Census findings, including state- and SFA-level results, are also available on the USDA Farm to School Census website.