On April 15, the Land Stewardship Project saw farmers, community members, agency staffers, nonprofit folks, legislators, school district staff, and champions of Farm to School engage in this farm-to-fork initiative in the most hands-on way possible — by breaking bread together over school lunch trays at the Hutchinson High School. This diverse group of people came together to share their excitement, ideas, and support for expanding the Farm to School and Early Care Programs in Minnesota.

Attendees of our program at Hutchinson experienced firsthand what a successful Farm to School program looks like. Local farmers shared how having the reliable market of the school system gave them the confidence to expand their operations. Community members shared how the program has had positive ripple effects throughout the area, from small businesses like the local butcher who can count on steady orders to small childcare centers that not only have access to high-quality food for young children, but can use the Farm to School model as a creative way to educate our youngest learners.

Farm to School funding is a catalyst for school districts, early childcare centers, and family-based or “in-home” daycares to start building out those relationships, getting high quality, fresh products into schools and exploring what local sourcing is possible. This funding is also critical for the additional equipment that is needed for school districts to move beyond pre-packed, pre-processed foods. Our tour in Hutchinson showcased how equipment grants allow the school to work with specialty crop growers at the height of the growing season by bringing on in-season vegetables and preserving them directly at the school for later use.

Bobbie Harder, Republican Representative and co-vice chair of the House Ag Finance and Policy Committee, and Mary Kunesh, DFL Senator and Senate Education Finance Committee chair, shared the following after the event:

“This is an example of how perfect it is when you know your farmers are growing the food that the school is buying, which is feeding the children…I think when I go back (to the Legislature), I will renew my willingness to advocate both in the Agriculture Committee and in the Education Committee around making sure that we are putting really good dollars into these areas of child nutrition.”   — Senator Mary Kunesh (DFL-39)

“For me, agriculture is number one in the state. And I think it’s very important that we educate our youth on the importance of agriculture and where their food comes from. We have many students that have no connection to agriculture other than perhaps going to a grocery store. That’s where they get their food and they need to understand from start to finish…And I think it’s valuable for students to know and learn that process because it’ll help them to make better choices.” — Representative Bobbie Harder (R-17B)

The Minnesota Legislature has the opportunity to support adding funding to the program. Year-after-year there is greater demand for this program than funding available. In 2023, there were $5.3 million in requests for the program’s resources, and currently the state funds it at $1.29 million. Sign LSP’s petition that we will deliver to House and Senate leadership to ask for the important work of this program to continue and expand.

LSP government relations director Laura Schreiber can be reached via e-mail.