ASAP’s Growing Minds Farm to School Program defines farm to school as giving children opportunities to learn about local food and farms in the classroom, cafeteria, and community. While farm to school programs serve K-12 students, farm to preschool serves children in pre-K, childcare centers, and family homes. Farm to school and farm to preschool programs include one or more of the following core activities:

• Edible school gardens
• Farm field trips / farmer visits to the classroom
• Classroom cooking with local food
• Locally grown food served in meals or provided via taste test in the cafeteria.

Why implement farm to school?

At its core, farm to school connects children to local food and farms. Through farm to school, children build community connections and learn about where food comes from and how it grows. Students who participate in farm to school activities gain comfort tasting, cooking with, and growing new fruits and vegetables. Beyond the basics, farm to school offers a holistic, hands-on approach to engaging students in a wide variety of subjects, including science, math, literacy, art, physical activity, nutrition, and more. Edible school gardens in particular can be used to promote social emotional learning, motor skill development, nature-based education, active play, problem solving, and more.