Policy and Protocols for School Gardens and Garden to Cafeteria

 
 

 On this page:
Serving School Garden Grown Produce in the Cafeteria - Sample Policy and Protocols
Safe Produce Handling Resources
Sample Wellness Policy Language to Support School Gardens and Local Foods
Garden to Cafeteria in Action - Videos  



Overview Resources

Starting a school garden-to-cafeteria program involves additional coordination, effort and logistics. Implementation can be simple or complex depending on the size and scope of the school garden-to-cafeteria program (which could range from including greens or tomatoes in a salad bar in a single school to integrating district farmed produce into a lunch menu). If the school district contracts with a management company or other vendor to supply school lunches, an adjustment to the contract may be necessary.

View Whole Kid's Foundation and Slow Food USA's Garden To Cafeteria Toolkit

Legal issues related to sourcing school garden grown produce for meal programs

There is no provision in the National School Lunch Program or other federal law that prevents school cafeterias from using school garden produce. In fact, you might be surprised to know that there are USDA Bulletins that state federal school food service funds can be used to purchase edible school gardening supplies and to support farm to school efforts. See:

Serving School Garden Grown Produce in the Cafeteria - Sample Policy and Protocols

Below are examples of policy that have been created and adopted by various districts and states that provide protocol for harvesting, handling and serving garden grow produce. Also listed are general resources for school garden management and produce handling.

General Safe Produce Handling Resources

Sample Wellness Policy Language to Support School Gardens and Local Foods

Let's Go Local: Recommendations for Linking Locally Grown Food, School Gardens, and Joint-Use Agreements to School Wellness Policies

Garden to Cafeteria in Action

Judy Honerkamp and Lunch Lady Amy share how they include garden grown food in school lunch. Ft. Bragg Food Service Director and Food Service Staff talk about using garden produce in school lunch. See the 5:50 mark to jump to the conversation.

Ft. Bragg Food Service Director and Food Service Staff talk about using garden produce in school lunch. See the 5:50 mark to jump to the conversation.

 

 For over 30 years Pacific Elementary School has had a strong garden to cafeteria connection. This small school campus food service is ran by students! The Education Fund shares an overview of their Food Forest programs and how it is tied to cafeteria and community nutrition.

The Education Fund shares an overview of their Food Forest programs and how it is tied to cafeteria and community nutrition.