What is F2S?

"Fresh from the farm to the school lunch tray."

Farm2School programs link local farmers with nearby schools by including farm fresh foods in meals and snacks. This simple idea has great potential to help sustain local farms and enhance schools’ existing meal programs by introducing fresh, nutritious, local and sustainable food to children. Farm2School also provides an opportunity for educators to incorporate innovative educational activities into their classroom. Farm2School programs have been operational in the United States for nearly ten years; however, only a few schools have tried it.

In 2010, the Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society and University of Nebraska Rural Initiative received a grant to establish Farm2School in four pilot schools in rural Nebraska. The four participating schools are: Auburn Public Schools, Central City Public Schools, Centura Public Schools, and the Norris School District.

The goal of the project is to incorporate local foods into the cafeteria meals and food snack programs and to create awareness and education in the classrooms about local foods while creating a new market for small farmers and producers. The grant will provide technical assistance and training for local food businesses and producers through participation in the Farm2School program.

The project will begin serving dairy products in Norris at the beginning of March. Featured products will include milk from Praireland Dairy in Firth, NE and cheese from Jisa Farmstead Cheese in Brainard, NE. Currently work is being down to develop educational materials to use when they serve local. We will share the educational and promotional materials we are developing for the schools on this website as we complete them.

If you are interested in beginning the Farm2School movement at your school, please contact Kim Peterson at the Nebraska Rural Initiative at 402-472-9087.