2004 Essay Contest:
Why Schools Should Serve Locally-Grown Foods

1st Place – Dakota Allison 11th Grade/Canton High School

Is There a Need for Farm-to-School Programs? I Think So

Why should schools serve locally grown foods? I can think of many reasons and benefits. Too many times kids stand in the lunch line at school and wrinkle their noses when they see the fruits and vegetables offered, many of which end up in the garbage disposal. It is fact that many more children are becoming overweight and obese at a much younger age than in the past. The cost to the state of Oklahoma for health costs due to obesity is enormous. Kids are losing sight of agriculture, many kids only see food in a grocery store and have no idea how it is grown or produced and have no appreciation for our farming heritage. Many of Oklahoma’s rural communities are faltering in part due to the disappearance of small to mid sized farms. There is one answer that can help solve many of the above problems – local Farm to School programs.

In 1946, the National School Lunch Act was passed. From that point forward our country has taken an active role in making sure that kids receive a well balanced nutritional lunch at school. But currently, less than 20% of kids eat the recommended servings of vegetables and less than 15% of fruit. In recent years, there has been a trend at schools, due to budget constraints to purchase the lowest-cost food in the most convenient form. Many schools are contracting with fast food franchises that allow kids to choose “fast food” every day. Although this might be a cost effective choice in the short term, in the long run this leads to a growing problem that is affecting many kids across our state and American – obesity. The U. S. Surgeon general along with Oklahoma’s state board of health has declared childhood obesity an epidemic. Overall, Oklahoma’s health ranking has declined putting us in the lower part of the nation’s ranks.

The food industry spends $12 billion per year on advertising targeted to kids. They want to get kids hooked at an early age. Much of what we believe and like is set at a very early age and many of our habits are formed in childhood. Farm to School programs can be used in a similar manner to get kids hooked on a healthy lifestyle – one that includes fresh fruits and vegetables. If kids learn to like fresh vegetables and produce, which it has been shown that kids do enjoy eating tasty produce served in an appealing way, then they have a better chance of eating a healthy balanced diet as adults, and this would result in a healthier society.

Kids won’t necessarily learn to love fresh produce immediately. But if a Farm to School program is integrated into the school system, with kids at a young age, it could reap enormous benefits. The program could include school gardens, trips to local farms, classroom lessons on nutrition, cooking in the classroom, environmental lessons, and an emphasis on exercise. A whole new generation of kids could rediscover agriculture and learn a grater appreciation for their communities and state.

Local Farm to School programs would not only be good for the children that consume the foods, but also for rural farming communities and local economies. On an average, every day there are 33 farms that disappear from America, and Oklahoma is no exception to this problem. This is due to the fact that large businesses and corporations are taking over the country with their low cost and mass production ways of producing crops. Small to mid size family farms are losing markets for their goods. If schools would begin to serve local foods, this would be a driving force in revitalizing the local farming economies across our state. The national school lunch program is supplemented with tax-payer monies. Why should these monies be paid to out of state producers when instead it would be returned to our local communities by purchasing produce from local farmers?

Section 4303 of the 2002 Farm Bill encourages those participating in the school lunch and breakfast program to purchase locally produced foods to the maximum extent practicable. Although this will require some work and a new way of thinking, to move away from conventionally purchased products to locally grown produce, the long term benefits will out weight the short term costs. Numerous fruits and vegetables, cheeses, nuts, as well as other products are produced in Oklahoma. Local farmers are banning together to take advantage of these new opportunities and to work on the details of providing a cost effective product to local schools. Some programs work through individual farmers, or through already organized farmers markets. Some farmers are forming cooperatives to make the process of selling to local markets more feasible. Organizations like the Kerr Center and Oklahoma Food Policy Council have already begun the framework to link together local farmers with schools.

Locally grown foods and produce could arrive at the schools ripe and ready to be processed or consumed as is. Large out of state producers pick their produce before it is ripe so that it can be shipped to its final destination. This leads to a lack of nutrients and taste for the underdeveloped crops. In addition to a personalized sense of care for their crops, local farmers can work with schools and consumers to provide pesticide free produce and work to meet safety requirements and state regulations. One of the many reasons that makes local crops and produce better is the fact that farmers put every ounce of strength and attention they have into their crops for the pure fact that it is their livelihood and way of life.

I believe that local Farm to School programs would greatly benefit Oklahoma. These programs would keep money in the state that many of our small to mid-size farms desperately need. Kids would benefit from having fresh produce available and by learning healthy habits that will last them a lifetime.

Reference
"Crunch Lunch Manual: Farm-to-School Case Study" [online] Available, http://www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/cedpp/farmtoschool/, 9 March 2004.

“2002 Farm Bill.” [online] Available http://www.fns.usda.gov/cga/2002_Farm Bill/child_nutrition.html, 8 March 2004.

“Farm to School- Food Routes.” [online] Available http://www.foodroutes.org/farmtoschool.jsp, 9 March 2004.

“Farm-to-School Initiative.” [online] Available http://www.cals.cornell.edu/agcommunity/afs_temp2.cfm?topicID=81, 9 March 2004.

“Farm to School Projects – Is There a Need?” [online] Available
http://foodsecurity.org/farm_to_school.html,http://foodsecurity.org/farm_to_school.html, 6 March 2004.

“The 2003 Farm-to-School Report.” [online] http://www.kerrcenter.com/ofpc/farmtoschool.htm, 5 March 2004.

“From Farm to School: Improving Small Farm Viability and School Meals.” [online] Available
http://cals.cornell.edu/agfoodcummunity/afs_temp3.cfm?topicID=245, 6 March 2004.

“Healthier Schools, Happier Farmers: Getting Crops to Schools.” [online] Available, http://www.healthyschoolscampaign.org/farm-to-school.htm., 6 March 2004

“National School Lunch Program.” [online] Available http://www.fns.usda/gov/cnd/Lunch/,
9 March 2004.

“The Oklahoma Food Connection 2003.” [online] Available http//www.kerrcenter.com/ofpc/foodconnection.htm, 4 March 2004.

“Overweight and Obesity.” [online] Available, http://cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/, 8 March 2004.

“Planet Twinkie weighs on us, our children.” [online] Available, http://www.ardmoreite.com/stories/060702/opE_ryan.shtml, 9 March 2004.

“Prevalence of Overweight Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2000.”
[online] Available http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pubd/hestats/overwght99.htm,
8 March 2004.

“Welcome to the Community Food Security Coalition.” [online] Available,
http://foodsecurity.org/index.html, 7 March 2004.

“Why Schools Should Serve Locally-Grown Foods,” [online] Available
http://www.kerrcenter.com/HTML/essay_2004.htm, 6 March 2004.