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Abstract
Excerpts: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) supports a range of farm to school activities in which schools serve locally produced foods in their cafeterias and expose students to food and agricultural education experiences. Farm to school activities might include local and regional food procurement efforts; hands-on learning activities such as school gardening, farm visits, and culinary classes; or integration of food-related education into the regular curriculum. Beginning in 2017, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service contracted with Abt Associates to design and conduct the Farm to School Census and Comprehensive Review, a multi-year study that examines and describes the multiple facets of farm to school efforts across the country. This report summarizes findings from the 2019 Farm to School Census (2019 Census). Results from the 2019 Census indicate that nearly two-thirds of SFAs (65 percent) participated in farm to school activities in SY 2018-2019, and nearly three-fourths (73 percent) participated in SY 2019-2020. The majority of F2S SFAs (57 percent) began participating in farm to school activities in the last three years. These findings suggest an increase in farm to school participation in recent years. Some of the most common farm to school activities included serving local foods in school meals, promoting local foods in schools, holding taste tests or cooking demonstrations, organizing student field trips to farms, and having edible school gardens. Given that the majority of SFAs nationwide are participating in farm to school, opportunities exist not only to expand initial engagement but also to deepen existing connections among local food producers, educators, and school nutrition professionals.