Transcript Farm-to-School: Possibilities, Practicalities, and Policy

Farm-to-School
Possibilities, Practicalities,
and Policy
Jennifer Wilkins
Division of Nutritional Sciences
Cornell University
SARE’s 20th Anniversary
New American Farm Conference
Advancing the Frontier of Sustainable Agriculture
March 25-27, 2008 | Kansas City, MO
Presentation Overview





What is Farm to Cafeteria?
Who Benefits?
Why and Why now?
Challenges
Policy Opportunities
What is Farm to School?





“the ability to connect schools with local and
regional farmers to benefit both..”
A portion of the food served in school meals
is purchased directly from local farmers
Schools become a new market
New relationships between food service,
farmers, distributors, processors
Integration between food service, classroom
education, school gardens, student farms
Vallianatos, Gottlieb, and Haase. 2004.
What is Farm to School?


Immediate focus: Health, Nutrition, and Diet
Importance of FTS extends to a wide range
of other issues:
– Farm Viability - small, mid-size family farms
– Farmland preservation
– Urban sprawl

A Food Systems Approach counter to
– “Food from anywhere any time”
– Highly processed
– Concentration, Consolidation, Specialization
Farm to School: Goal


Increase amount of food schools procure
from local, regional farms
Can take a variety of forms:
–
–
–
–

Salad bars
Seasonal variety
Value-added
Fruits and vegetable snacks
Can involve: classroom education, school
gardens, farm field trips, farmer visits
Who Benefits?

Farmers
– Increased sales to nearby schools
– New markets

Students and Staff
– Access to fresh local fruits & vegetables

Schools: Healthier environment
– Improve diets, Lower chronic disease risk
– Improved academic performance

Communities: Economically, socially,
culturally
Why Farm to Cafeteria?
Why Now?
Child Health Crisis
“As we look to the
future and where
childhood obesity will
be in 20 years…it is
every bit as threatening
to us as the terrorist
threat we face today. It
is the threat from
within.”
US Surgeon General Richard Carmona
TIME/ABC Obesity Summit June 2004
Childhood Obesity

Prevalence of overweight
– children aged 2–5 increased from 5.0% to
13.9%
– children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled: 7% in
1980 to 19% in 2004
– adolescents aged 12 to 19 more than tripled:
5% to >17%

Overweight youth are more likely to become
overweight or obese adults
– at greater risk for adult health problems
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDC) Healthy Youth
Health Topics: Childhood Overweight. http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/overweight/index.htm
Obesity Among U.S. Adults
1990
1998
2006
Obesity: BMI 30, or
about 30 lbs.
overweight for 5’4”
person
No Data
<10%
10%–14%
15%–19%
20%–24%
25%–29%
≥30%
DHHS Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. U.S. Obesity Trends
1985–2006http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/
Hefty National Price Tag



Health care expenditures related to
obesity: $98 billion to $117 billion
annually
Taxpayers paying an increasingly
large share through Medicare and
Medicaid
Prediction: children of this generation
may be the first to be less healthy
and have a shorter life span than
their parents
Institute of Medicine Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance Sept. 2004.
U.S. Diet:
Room for Improvement





< 25% of US adults consume 5+ servings of
fruits and vegetables per day 1
Only 2% of children eat a healthy diet 2
< 15% of elementary school-age children
eat five+ servings of fruits and vegetables a
day 3
3 out of 4 high school students do not eat
5+ servings of fruits and vegetables 3
Diet factor in leading causes of death 4
Cserdula et al. AJPH, June 2004, 94(6): 10141018,
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. Children’s Diets in the Mid-1990s. 2001.NCHS/USDHHS.
4 Grunbaum, et al. 2002. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance – U.S., 2001
4 CDC/USDHHS Profiling Leading Causes of Death in the U.S. Chronic Diseases. Nov 30, 2005 .
1
2
High Intake of high-calorie,
low-nutrient Foods

HANES 1:
– Soft Drinks: #1 energy contributor
(7.1%)
– Top 10 Foods: Soft drinks, cakes,
hamburgers, pizza, etc. (32.4%)

Soda intake: 576 12-oz servings (53
gallons) per year 2
1Block,
2
G. J Food Comp Analysis. 2004
Center for Science in the Public Interest. 2005. Liquid Candy.
Healthy Foods Cost More
Graph source: Food without Thought: How U.S. Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity IATP, 2006
Junk Food: A Real Deal

Calorie-dense foods – composed of refined
grains, added sugars, or fats –
– “represented some of the lowest-cost options
and provided dietary energy at minimal cost.”

“Poverty and food insecurity are associated
with lower food expenditures, low fruit and
vegetable consumption, and [otherwise]
lower-quality diets.”
Drewnowski, A. and Specter, SE. AJCN, 79(1):6-16. 2004.
Why Farm to School?


Focus on fruits, vegetables, whole
foods and ingredients
FTS projects see:
– Decrease in Vending sales of calorie
dense low-nutrient options



School gardens offer physical activity
Greater acceptance of wide variety of
fruits and vegetables
Establish healthful eating habits
Role of Schools in Child
Health






a
Schools have significant influencing power
Lifelong habits and preferences
Feeding programs in place
Link to parents and community
Increasing evidence that both nutrition
and activity linked to achievement
Children consume a wider variety of foods
through school meals a
Wolfe. Child Nutritional Health and the Elementary School Environment
Viability of Family Farms





1.2 million acres of farmland are lost every
year ~2 acres a minute
Farmers > 65 outnumber those < 35 >2:1
Number of farmers making a reasonable
living and stay on farm declining
Farm prices chronically low – market
controlled by agribusinesses and retail food
industry
Farmer’s share of food dollar:
– >30% (1980) to 19% (2002)
What if we followed the
Dietary Guidelines?
Source: USDA, Economic Research Service.
2This is the total acreage adjustment needed to meet both the whole-grain and the total-grain recommendations. 3Not applicable—
dairy is not measured in terms of crop acreage. 4This analysis did not cover meat, added fats and oils, and caloric sweeteners.
Schools: Potentially Huge
Market for Farmers



25.4 Million school lunches/day
Public School Districts: 14,559 (94,112 K-12
public schools)
All K-12 schools: 133,362 (includes charter,
catholic, private)
– Elementary: 95,201
– Secondary: 38,161

Total K-12 enrollment: 51,610,806
– Elementary: 36,168,631
– Secondary: 13,989,239
– Combined: 1,452,937
National School Lunch
Program Reimbursement
COST to Child
FEDERAL SUPPORT
(2007-2008)
NYS SUPPORT
(2007-2008)
Free
2.47-2.49
.065
Reduced
2.07-2.09
.215
Paid
.23-.25
.065
(Federal reimbursement for snacks: free .60, reduced .30, paid .05. Note: programs operating in areas
where at least 50% of kids are eligible for F or RP meals, can serve all snacks free and be reimbursed.)
Value of Federal
Reimbursements - NY





Schools Participating in National
Breakfast Program: 5,160
Value: $110,937,922
Schools Participating in National Lunch
Program: 5,966
Value: $456,243,991
Nationally: Billions $$$
Peak Oil


The point at which we have
extracted half of all oil that has
ever existed in the world
the half that was:
– the easiest to get
– the most economically
obtained
– highest quality
– cheapest to refine
Kunstler, The Long Emergency, 2005
Peak Oil and Food
“The crisis in agriculture will be one of the defining
conditions…. We will simply have to grow more of
our food locally. The crisis will present itself when
industrial farming , dependent on massive oil and
gas ‘inputs’ at gigantic scales of operation, can no
longer be carried on economically.”
Kunstler, The Long Emergency, 2005
Food Miles
Distance food travels from where it is grown or
raised to where it is ultimately purchased by the
consumer or end-user.
Global Market
~1500 miles
Local Market
~50 miles
R. Pirog, A. Benjamin, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Ames, IA, 2003.
Food Miles
Local
Global
Apple
61 miles
1726 miles
Spinach
36 miles
1800 miles
Challenges





Dependence on Commodities
Competitive Foods
Vending sales
Cut costs: labor
Off-site Management
School Food Service Realities




Food service is financially independent
General fund cannot be used for school meals
program
The higher the rate of free and reduced lunches
the greater the budget
From 10% - 20% of food costs may be
subsidized by use of Commodity Foods
Dollars and Cents:
What does Lunch Money pay for?


Full-price lunch: $1.75 Elementary, $1.90
High School ($2.15 with reimbursements)
Free lunch: School receives $2.55 (Fed &
State)
– Half goes to labor and benefits
– 60¢ goes to the “center of the plate”
(protein)
– 20¢ for milk
– Leaves ~ 50¢ for bread, fruit, and vegetable
– But also need: 5¢ left for repairs,
cleaning supplies, utensils, trays,
straws, etc.
More Challenges







Harvest calendar vs. school year
Packing, grading, handling, and processing
requirements
Payment usually 30 - 90 days after delivery
Deliveries can be frequent, consistency
expected
Distribution
Potentially very large sales volume
Low Profit Margins
Policy:
School Level Strategies

Menus and Recipes
– Power and control is at the food service level

Food Skills
– Increase standard for training and education

Wellness Policies
– Include local food language

Infrastructure
– Kitchen facilities, equipment, cafeteria environment, space
for gardens

Procurement and Distribution
– Specifications - local, regionally sourced, production
method, seasonal products
State & Federal Level Policy

State policies
– Farm to School support
– Increase State reimbursement rates
– School infrastructure - kitchen facilities

National
–
–
–
–
–
Nutrition standards
Production standards for food served in schools
Federal Reimbursement
Expand fruit and vegetable snack program
Restrictions on geographic preference
Example: New York Farm to
School Law 2002





“To facilitate and promote the purchase of
NYS farm products by schools, universities
and other educational institutions.”
Ag and Markets and Education departments
should work with each other
Sharing information– products, volume,
packaging, prices, seasonality, recipes,
menus
Coordination, Cooperation & Communication
Formalized Harvest for New York Kids Week
Example: 2004 Law
Allowing Direct Purchases


General Municipal Law: Permitting Direct
Purchases by Schools of Local Farm
Products Without Competitive Bids (2004)
Amendment of existing law
– Little known, confusing, cumbersome process


Response to: school districts, farm groups,
academia and food businesses
Goal: make it easier for schools and farmers
to do business
But…
All amendments come
under question because of uncertainty
over Farm Bill language and USDA
regulations which prohibit
stating geographic preference.
The farm to school program across the U.S. could
benefit from a change in the federal language.
Procurement Strategies


Can’t specify on geography
Can specify on:
– Quality
– Freshness - time from harvest to school delivery
– Variety

Through specifications, may increase use of NY
grown foods: “Empire” apples.
The “5 cent” bill

Title: An Act to amend the education law, in
relation to establishing the fresh fruit and
vegetable program
– Promote increased consumption of fresh fruits
and vegetable
– Maximize procurement of NYS grown product

Mechanism: an addition 5 cents per meal
served for the purchase of fresh fruits and
vegetables.
“The 5 cent Bill”


The department shall establish a fresh fruit
and vegetable program providing
payments for the purchase of fresh or
minimally processed fruits and vegetables.
Such fruits and vegetables, to the maximum
extent practicable and in accordance with
federal and state statutes and rules and
regulations, shall be grown and produced
in New York state.
“The 5 cent Bill”

“The program would promote increased
consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables
by students and maximize the procurement
of New York State grown produce. These
offerings are particularly important to
children's health given the alarming rate of
childhood obesity in our society. The
program would promote healthy food
choices.”
Related Policy
Approaches









Land trust purchases
Habitat protection
Subsidy reform
Urban Growth boundaries
Purchase/Transfer Development Rights
Property Tax relief
Compensation to Farmers
Agriculture Districts
Incentivizing Food Assistance Benefits
Importance of School Food
“…the school meal is at the forefront of
the debate about the health of our young
people … a prism through which we can
examine some of the larger questions
that face us today.”
~ Kevin Morgan, Cardiff University, Wales
Thank You.