Farm to School & The Future of Food

_{Image: A beautiful classroom garden at Conway School District.}

Farm to School is an enrichment program that does just what the name suggests by connecting school kitchens with local farmers, creating a winning situation for all involved.

Over 95,000 students are reached by Farm to School in the state of Arkansas.* These students have access to fresh produce, food nutrition and hands-on learning experiences coordinated through the cooperation of educators and farmers.

It is encouraging to see students given an opportunity to learn first-hand where their food comes from and help them foster an awareness of the relationship between their plate and our fields.

What affects the land affects society and teaching students about agriculture offers them the opportunity to wrestle with important and challenging issues facing our planet. 

When teachers incorporate a farm to school curriculum in their classrooms, they are offering opportunities to learn efficiency in process, diverse and complex ecosystems, cooperation between individuals and groups, and cross-curriculum skills such as math, language, and science. A good example of this would be a community garden where students are responsible for figuring the amount of plants needed to feed their school population, comparing fertilization methods based on a sustainability matrix, maintaining and harvesting the produce, and compiling menus to make sure none of their hard work goes to waste. These are real-life scenarios played out in classrooms and cafeterias across our state and nation.

We support programs that aid in a positive future for children, farmers, and the food we all love to love.

*http://www.arkansasfarmtoschool.org