For the past five years, the School Food Service (SFS) Department has procured and served district students nutritious, locally grown “Fresh from the Farm” fruits and vegetables at all schools. The 2012-2013 school year was a key year for the expansion of our program. The year began with tremendous support from the Florida Food Nutrition & Wellness Department under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. This vertical alignment enabled school districts from across the State to work collaboratively with local farmers in various regions.

After meeting with local legislative representatives to create the groundwork for a Farm to School proposal, we worked with Audrey Norman with University of Florida IFAS to coordinate a round table discussion with local farmers and legislative representatives. This was a great opportunity to meet some of the “smaller” farmers in Palm Beach County and have candid discussions about partnering for the future.

• default_titleFarm to School Legislative Bid Bullet Points
• default_titleFarm to School Initiative - Agenda
• default_titleFarm to School Initiative Discussion
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This year we were able to purchase Farm to School produce from two separate bids. We continued to utilize our district’s contract - Farm to School - Fresh Bulk Produce Bid (12C-72C) to procure the following vegetables: corn cobbettes, green beans, yellow squash and zucchini, and carrot and green bean medley. In addition to our local contract, we were able to purchase a variety of other Farm to School fruits and vegetables off the State contract to include the following: strawberries, navel oranges, honey tangerines, mini sweet peppers, and grape tomatoes. When feasible, we streamlined our menu offerings and/or marketing material to align with the Florida Department of Agriculture's Fresh from Florida’s common menu campaign. See attached spreadsheet. To allow for greater flexibility, we recommended that the Florida Department of Agriculture highlight produce on a monthly basis verses weekly. 

Some of the Farm to School community and school involvement activities highlighted throughout the 2012-2013 school year include:

• default_titleSpecial Food Day Events on October 24, 2012
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• default_titleS.D. Spady Elementary with one of the Local Farms - Pero Family Farms Press Release - Event Images
• default_titlePanel Discussion at the Mounts Botanical Gardens
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• default_titleParticipated as a panel presenter and led a round table discussion on "Addressing Barriers to Healthy Eating in our Schools" presented by Green Schools National Conference Solution Summit  February 24, 2013
• default_titlePTA green event at Sandpiper Shores Elementary on March 6, 2013 Photos
• default_titleA panel discussion on "Raising a Healthy Generation of Children" in coordination with the Green Climate Conference on May 23, 2013 – Photos
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