| Farm to School Program |
New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets |
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Mission
Our goal is to increase the consumption of New York-grown and minimally processed foods in schools in order to strengthen local agriculture, improve student health, and promote regional food systems awareness. Through technical assistance and promotional support we help schools, farms, distributors and other supporting organizations provide students with nutritious, delicious, seasonally varied meals from foods produced by local farms and food processors.
Through this program, the Department:
- Promotes locally farmed and processed foods
- Assists producers in the development of products and distribution options that meet the needs of institutional food service buyers
- Tracks the needs of school food service through our Farm to School Survey
- Provides materials and special event support such as Farm to You Fest! to help food service teams promote the local menu items
- Encourages networking and sharing among farm to school programs around the state
- Helps develop supportive farm to school policies
- Staffs the Farm to School Coordinating Committee
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