Oregon State University's Farm to School and School Gardens program, housed in the Center for Resilient Agriculture & Food Systems, works across OSU Extension programs to maximize the benefits for kids, food producers and processors, and communities.
Farm to school and school garden programs are any combinations of activities related to children engaged in learning about and eating local foods from early childhood education through 12th grade. Farm to school and school garden activities work together to improve kids' health and wellness, support their success in school and grow Oregon’s economy.
The OSU Extension Farm to School and School Gardens program helps bring locally grown foods into school cafeterias, supporting Oregon's farmers and providing students with fresh, healthy meals. Students participate in hands-on activities such as gardening, farm visits and cooking classes, which teach them about where their food comes from and the importance of healthy eating.
The program also supports local farmers, fishers, ranchers and food processors by creating a market for their products in schools. They can sell their produce directly to schools and receive funding for necessary infrastructure and equipment.
The program helps students build connections with local farmers and their community, promoting a sense of belonging and community engagement.
As of 2023, the Oregon Legislature has invested over $30 million in a suite of grant programs that provide funds for farm to school and school gardens in every county in Oregon. This state grant program is supported by numerous state and federally funded initiatives within OSU Extension and commodity commissions, along with private investments from philanthropy and businesses. OSU Farm to School plays a crucial role in ensuring these public and private funds are well-spent and durable.
Over the past year, OSU worked with the Oregon Department of Education, Oregon Department of Agriculture, FoodCorps, Ecotrust and the Oregon Farm to School Network to create a shared vision for how farm to school and school gardens can equitably improve child health and well-being, support academic achievement, promote environmental resilience and invigorate Oregon’s agricultural economy over the next decade.
Throughout the drafting process, 849 people across Oregon read the plan. Of these, 155 people provided 1,449 opinions and 288 comments. Results from this process will be released in 2025 and might inform OSU Extension activities over the next 10 years.
The Farm to School Podcast, launched in September 2023 and co-hosted with the Oregon Department of Education, shares stories of youths thriving and farmers prospering through local foods in schools. With a nationwide audience, the podcast features bimonthly interviews with leaders in farm to school and school gardens. In 2024, it reached 10,000-plus listens/downloads across all 50 states and three dozen countries.
In 2024, the Farm to School and School Gardens program partnered with KATU and KUNP Univision in Portland to produce a series of public service announcements that aired in both English and Spanish from October through December on KATU and KUNP, along with seven features on the KATU morning program AM Northwest. The campaign achieved significant reach, with 442 announcements aired that generated 180,000 impressions via streaming platforms and 6.4 million impressions through the KATU and KUNP websites.
The campaign drove traffic to the OSU Farm to School webpage, with new user traffic increasing by 55% in the first three months compared to the previous year. In 2024, the webpage saw a total of 1,023 visitors, with 895 new viewers in the first three months alone.
Engagement from the campaign led to actionable outcomes, such as the Food Hero Harissa Butternut Squash recipe. In November and December 2023, the recipe site had only one visitor, but after partnering with Portland Public Schools for tastings and featuring the recipe on AM Northwest, the site saw 378 sessions in November and December 2024. This included 309 unique users for the English page and 40 sessions for the Spanish page.
“By shining a light on the great work that is happening in communities across Oregon, this campaign lifts up the collective impact of the farm to school movement and provides inspiration for schools and food producers to participate, and legislators to continue to fund it,” said Melina Barker, director of the Oregon Farm to School Network.
OSU Extension’s Farm to School and School Gardens program helps students build connections with local farmers and their community, promoting a sense of belonging and community engagement. They foster relationships between schools, farmers and the community, promoting a sustainable and healthy food system.