Benefits of Farm to School program:

• Promoting healthy eating habits in children and reducing their risk for obesity and related health disorders.
• Providing children access to local, healthy and fresh foods.
• Facilitating education about nutrition, food, and agriculture through activity-based curriculum and experiential learning.
• Increasing school lunch participation.
• Expanding new markets for local farmers and ranchers.

Awards:

• Best Practice Example by National Association of Counties' Center for Sustainable Communities, July 2007
• Congressional Hunger Center's Victory Against Hunger Award, September 2008

Accomplishments:

• During the 2007-2008 school year, 26.7% of all Missoula County Public School food purchases were local items. This equals 31,911 pounds of local food that was served to students and over $233,000 that has remained in Montana's economy.
• Farm to School presented lessons and activities about local food systems, healthy eating, and Montana agriculture to 1,718 students in grades K-12 during the 2007-2008 school year.
• School lunch participation has increased since the inception of Farm to School in 2005, while the overall enrollment in MCPS has deceased. The semi-annual "Montana Meal Days" have consistently been some of the highest participation days in the school lunch program.

Farm to School Educational Opportunities

Missoula Farm to School and Garden City Harvest have teamed up to present BEANS: Blending Education, Agriculture, and Nutrition in Schools.  BEANS provides students the chance to learn about local food systems, healthy eating habits, and Montana agriculture through a number of classroom-based lessons and field-based experiential learning opportunities.  BEANS is committed to teaching age-appropriate lessons based in the MCPS curriculum standards, particularly in the areas of science, social studies, and health enhancement.

BEANS in the Classroom:

Teachers are given a choice of lessons in three subject areas: science, culture, and nutrition.  Lessons vary over the course of the school-year to reflect seasonality and can be altered to suit any grade level.

Options include:

• In-class lessons and activities about topics including, but not limited to: dissecting and planting seeds, tracing our food from farm to plate, learning about different foods grown in Montana and how they fit into a healthy diet, and exploring different cultural uses of local food.
• The Mobile Cooking Cart provides students the opportunity to prepare dishes using local, seasonal foods.
• Taste tests encourage students to try new or unfamiliar foods, become exposed to more fruits and vegetables, and compare local versus "conventional" foods.
• Farmer classroom visits allow students to make personal connections with the individual(s) responsible for growing the food in their school lunches.

Field Trips and Experiential Learning Opportunities:

BEANS field trips offer students the chance to witness our local food system in action, enhancing their understanding and appreciation for the work involved in getting food from the farm to their plates.

• Visits to the PEAS farm offer students the opportunity to foster a direct connection with the literal "roots" of their food. These trips help increase students' understanding of how, where, and when some of their favorite foods are grown.
• Trips to the Central Kitchen reinforce nutritional concepts taught in the classroom and expose youth to the steps involved in preparing hot lunch.

School Gardens

School gardens help students make a direct link between agriculture and food consumption by allowing them to become a part of the food production process. Students' experiences of growing their own food can strengthen their connection to local farmers and enhance their appreciation for agriculture.

BEANS has tools and resources to assist your school in implementing its own garden.