Farm to school is at the intersection of several sectors — health and nutrition, agriculture, education and more. Information about some of the basic systems that affect farm to school participation can sometimes be multi-layered and complex. The Pennsylvania Farm to School Network seeks to create resources that foster an understanding of these systems and ways farm to school can fit in. We’re excited to bring you four new fact sheets:

• Child Nutrition Programs: Serving local foods in federal Child Nutrition Programs, like the National School Lunch Program, is a core component of farm to school, but how exactly do Child Nutrition Programs work? What are the best and most feasible ways to incorporate local products? This fact sheet provides an overview of these programs for those who are less familiar and ideas for farm to school integration for those working in the sector.
• Early Care and Education in Pennsylvania: Farm to Early Care and Education has gained traction in recent years, but keeping up with the ever-evolving ECE landscape, acronyms, systems and supports can be challenging. This fact sheet gives a snapshot of what ECE looks like in Pennsylvania and where there is traction and opportunity for farm to ECE incorporation.
• State Level Farm to School Policy: Farm to school is supported at the federal level, but there is enormous opportunity to create meaningful, sustainable change at the state level, as well. This fact sheet covers trends in state level farm to school policies across the country, current supportive policies in Pennsylvania and future possibilities.
• Network Initiatives: Learn more about how the network is working to advance farm to school, provide resources and training to those implementing farm to school practices, and ultimately influence systems to be more supportive of this work.

One of the goals of creating these resources is to orient new partners to the farm to school landscape and help tee people up to meaningfully engage in farm to school working groups that align with our strategic plan. For more information about working groups and to express interest in joining, visit our website.

These resources are not exhaustive and don’t cover every system at work in farm to school. If there is a topic you’d like more information about, you can always request a resource here. We hope to provide more resources like these in the future and value your feedback.