In this webinar, we’ll share local food safety best practices, including identifying safety measures for school gardens and school salad bars.
In this third webinar, USDA Farm to School local food procurement guru, Christina Conell, breaks down the how-tos of finding and buying local food.
Recently, we have received several questions about the use of funds from the nonprofit school food service account to cover expenditures related to farm to school activities and school gardens. The questions and answers below address specific scenarios that school food authorities may be dealing with when considering the allowability of such costs.
During this webinar, Maggie Gosselin from USDA's Farm to School Program will discuss the different ways schools may choose to use a forward contract when purchasing local foods. We'll also hear from Megan Kemple, a practitioner in Oregon, who has successfully used forward contracts to buy local products.
During the last webinar in the twelve-part series, recorded on June 26, 2014, the USDA Farm to School Program offers a speedy recap of the variety of ways districts can purchase local foods, and talks through an example of how one district is tying it all together with a comprehensive local purchasing program. Deborah Kane, the National Director of USDA's Farm to School Program, wraps up the webinar by showing us how local procurement fits into the larger farm to school picture and shares several resources that are available to help you meet your local purchasing goals.
In this webinar, the first of the series, Christina Conell and Maggie Gosselin from USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, covered basic procurement fundamentals relevant to the federal child nutrition programs. Topics include informal and formal procurement methods and maintaining competition.
In addition to USDA’s funding sources provided above, other federal agencies may have funding opportunities that support Farm to School activities.
A list of funding sources provided by USDA, as well as other federal agencies, that have supported and continue to support farm to school initiatives in local communities.
USDA funding opportunities for farmers, school and communities in a variety of agricultural areas.
Occasionally, applications for participation in the School Nutrition Programs may be received from organizations that do not clearly meet the definition of “school.”