Amy  L.  Yaroch,  Ph.D.  Community  Food  Security  Coali:on  

Annual  Conference  November  5,  2011    

 

,Challenges  and  Opportuni:es  with  Introducing  Farm  to  School  in  Omaha  

 

About  Us  

The  Center  is  a  Omaha  based  independent  non-­‐pro7it  research  organization  providing  research,  evaluation  and  partnership  in:  

childhood  obesity  prevention,  food  insecurity,  and  local  food  systems  

   

 Website:    www.centerfornutri:on.org  Like  us  on  Facebook:      www.facebook.com/CenterforNutri:on  Follow  us  on  Twi4er:    hKp://twiKer.com/#!/gretchenswanson    

 

What  is  Farm  to  School?  

Farm  to  School  in  Douglas  County,  NE  

Benefits   Challenges  Support  local  and  regional  producers  (and  hence  the  economy)  

Budget  constraints  

Connects  children  to  agriculture   Changing  exis:ng  procedures  (insurance,  bidding  process,  distribu?on)  

Benefits  the  environment   Procuring  sufficient  volume  of  par:cular  products  

Builds  community    (know  your  farmer,  know  your  food)  

GeUng  started  

Increasing  awareness  of  local  foods  

Timeline  of  activities  

Receive  CPPW  grant  

Mee:ng  with    key  

stakeholders  

12/10  03/10  

Conduct  needs  

assessment  

Technical  assistance  –  NY  City  Dept  Health    

Technical  assistance  –  CFSC  

Develop  Toolkits  

Re-­‐conduct  needs  

assessment  

Bootcamp  with  food  service  directors  

03/12  10/11  

Where  is  NE  at  on  the  Farm  to  School  Spectrum?  

•   Our  CPPW  program  is  the  first  major          farm  to  school  ini:a:ve  in  state  •   NE  is  an  agricultural  state,  but  not                tradi:onally  “into  local”  •   Omaha  is  currently  undergoing  a  paradigm          shia  in  the  local  foods  movement  •   Growth  in  Farmers  Markets  (also  EBT)  •   NE  Food  Coopera:ve    •   Restaurants    

The  needs  assessment  in  NE  

Administered  ques:onnaires  in  2010  with:    •     Food  service  directors  (N=7)  

                     Local  producers  (N=49)      

       Distributors  (N=5)    

Food  Service  Directors  

•   Reasons  FOOD  SERVICE  DIRECTORS  did  not  purchase  from  local  producers:  •   Food  Safety  Concerns  (67%)  •   Difficult  to  purchase  directly  (62%)  •   Distribu:on  issues  (45%)  •   Timing  of  deliveries  (43%)  •   Harder  to  handle  fresh  produce    (36%)  •   Price  and  Budget  (33%)  •   Other  (seasonality,  quality,  #  of  invoices  and  ini:a:ves)  

Producers  

•   Reasons  why  PRODUCERS  not  selling  to  schools:  •   Not  being  able  to  produce  food  throughout  the  en:re  school  year  •   Not  being  able  to  produce  sufficient  volume  of  food  

•   PRODUCERS  mainly  selling  products  to:  •   Farmers  Markets  •   Local  stores    •   Restaurants  •   CSA’s    

 Distributors  

75%  75%  

25%  25%  25%  25%  25%  25%  25%  

75%  75%  

25%  25%  

0%   10%   20%   30%   40%   50%   60%   70%   80%  

fresh  fruit  fresh  veg  

canned  fruit  canned  veg  frozen  fruit  frozen  veg  

beef  pork  

poultry  dairy  eggs  

grains  prepared  foods  

100%  75%  

0%  0%  0%  0%  

25%  25%  25%  25%  25%  

0%  0%  

0%   20%   40%   60%   80%   100%   120%  

fresh  fruit  fresh  veg  

canned  fruit  canned  veg  frozen  fruit  frozen  veg  

beef  pork  

poultry  dairy  eggs  

grains  prepared  foods  

Foods  Most  Commonly  

Sold  to  Schools  

Foods  Most  Commonly  

Sourced  Locally  

Grassroots  approach  •   Some  states  work  from  a  top  down  approach  such  as  passing  policies  through  the  board  of  educa:on  •   In  Nebraska,  schools  more  likely  to  start  with  implementa:on  and  think  about  policy  later    

Farm  to  school  activities  in  Omaha      

Success  with  3  Food  Service  Directors  • A  to  Z  Salad  Bar  •  Fresh  Pick  of  the  Month  

• NewsleKers/menus  

Procedural  Change  • ALL  signed  a  memo  added  to  opera:ng  procedures  

•  “when  economically  feasible,  the  preference  will  be  to  purchase  local  foods”  

Greater  Awareness  of  Local  Food  and  Farm  to  School  • Food  Day  Omaha  

Diversity  of  foods  for  F2S  in  NE  

Local  doesn’t  have  to  mean  fruits  and  vegetables!  

Low  sodium,  whole-­‐wheat  tor:llas  

Local  meat  such  as  bison  and  ground  

hamburger  

Locally  produced  cheese  

Toolkits    

•   Not  originally  planned,  developed  in  response  to  stakeholders  request  •   Prac:cal  resources  and  guidance  to  implement  farm  to  school  for  key  stakeholders  •   Food  service  personnel,  producers,  distributors    

•   Created  with  Nebraskans  in  mind  •   Goals  are  to  increase  implementa;on  and  dissemina;on    

Toolkits  for  Farm  to  School  in  Nebraska  

 •   One-­‐stop  resource  to  get  started  as  well  as    for  those  who  are  further  advanced    • For  food  service  professionals,  producers,  and  distributors  • toolkit.centerfornutri:on.org  

What  is  local?  (250  mile  radius)  

Seasonality  in  NE  

Choose  Local  Poster  

Technical  Assistance  

Allows  us  to  bridge  the  gap  between  knowledge  

and  ac:on!  

•   NY  City  Department  of  Health  •   Support  FSD  from  largest  district  to  aKend  “What’s  Working  in  School  Food”  conference  and  the  School  Food  Focus  mee:ng  

•   Community  Food  Security  Coali:on  •   Support  two  team  members  to  par:cipate  in  Maine’s  food  service  director  boot  camp  •   Support  to  conduct  Nebraska  boot  camp    

 

Boot  Camp  for  Food  Service  Personnel  

•  Foods  available  year  round  •  Demonstrate  other  ins:tu:on’s  method  

•   Demonstrate  viable  op:ons  for  recipes  

•  Discuss  hurdles  and  how  to  overcome  

Show  different  ways  to  

integrate  local  food  in  menus  

•  Farm  tours  allows  food  service  personnel  to  network  with  producers  

•  Exposed  to  the  benefits  of  naturally  raised,  locally  procured  products  

•  Ability  to  network  with  peers  

PuUng  a  face  on  local  foods  

Remaining  Challenges  

•   Engaging  the  remaining  food  service  directors  •   GeUng  community  buy-­‐in  for  sustainability  •   Engage  distributors  further  •   Producers  seeing  value  outside  of  current              successful  venues        

Future  Directions  

Build  Infrastructure  

Lengthen  growing  season  

Educate  

Acknowledgements  

•  Mary  Chapman  •  Chelsey  Erpelding,  MPH  •  Courtney  Pinard,  PhD    

Questions?  

Amy L Yaroch, PhD

Executive Director

Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition

505 Durham Research Plaza

Omaha, NE 68105-1313

Phone: 402-559-5500

Fax: 402-559-7302

ayaroch@centerfornutrition.org

www.centerfornutrition.org