Resources
The Oklahoma Farm to School Report
Preface
The Oklahoma Food Policy Council is a joint project of the Kerr Center
for Sustainable Agriculture and the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture,
Food, and Forestry and Drake University, in partnership with the USDA Risk
Management Agency.
It is an unusual group, composed of a broad base of individuals and organizations
interested in encouraging the use of local foods as a way to improve nutrition
in our school system, revitalize rural communities, and restore profitability
to farmers interested in this segment of the market. While there are many
other issues in which the council is interested, we chose to explore these
because they seemed to be areas that were timely and where this group could
have an impact.
To better understand the food purchasing behavior of our public schools,
we surveyed 638 public institutions (including colleges and universities,
technology centers, prisons, state hospitals, and state resorts. The overall
response rate was high (66.8%), especially from public schools. As you will
see in the data, food managers have a significant interest in this area
and that many of the perceived obstacles could be solved by education. The
Council, through partnerships, will work on educational gaps identified
in the survey.
Although Oklahoma is a farm state, the disconnect between what we grow
and what we eat is growing. Many people in our increasingly urbanized state
do not know what Oklahoma farmers grow and do not know whether the food
they purchase has been produced in the state. Studies in other Midwestern
states have indicated that most of the food dollars spent there flow elsewhere
and do not benefit local food producers. It seems likely that in Oklahoma,
too, very little of the food bought and consumed here is actually grown
here.
The route our food takes from farm to table is a long, circuitous one.
The result: very few of the food dollars spent by Oklahoma consumers each
year goes to Oklahoma farmers.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the state of children's health is
a problem in Oklahoma, indeed, nationwide. Choices of food in our school
system vary a great deal, however, the trend to convenience and fast
food is causing alarm. Could it be that diet contributes to health and behavioral
problems in our children? Obesity is a major problem and experts warn
us about increases in health-related diseases such as diabetes among school
children. Excitability, inability to concentrate and low achievement
in the classroom have been linked to poor diets at home and, sadly, at school.
One way to keep food dollars at home and also improve our kids’
diets would be to offer Oklahoma students fresh, tasty, locally grown
food. However, we know that food service budgets are tight and that there
may not be adequate labor to process local food in many schools. Therefore,
the council is interested in developing a mechanism that will not put
additional burdens on the school food service system. We must find ways
to process, prepare, and package local foods and then ensure convenience
in ordering.
In order to facilitate connections with Oklahoma institutions and Oklahoma
farmers, the Food Policy Council (utilizing the research of intern Shawn
Campbell) has prepared the first edition of a directory which includes a
list of farms interested in selling to institutions and what they grow,
a harvest calendar and list of produce grown in Oklahoma, and a list of
institutional food managers who may want to buy locally. The directory is
available by mail and online at www.kerrcenter.com. It will be updated periodically.
It is our hope that this study and other efforts will help us bring Oklahoma
food to Oklahoma tables. Our children, farmers, and communities will benefit—it
is the right thing to do.
James E. Horne, PhD
Co-chair, Oklahoma Food Policy Council
President and CEO, Kerr Center
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