Whole Kids Foundation is built on a spirit of collaboration, and we act as a catalyst for change by investing in partnerships with respected experts in the fields of nutrition and education.     

Together, we amplify each other’s efforts to improve children's nutrition and wellness.     

Throughout 2023, we are spotlighting our current partners and how these organizations are growing the next generation of healthy eaters.  

National Farm to School Network (NFSN) has a vision of a strong and just food system for all and seeks deep transformation toward this vision through farm to school – the way kids eat, grow, and learn about food in schools and early care and education settings. They seek to increase access to local food and nutrition education to improve children’s health, strengthen family farms, and cultivate vibrant communities. They envision a nation in which farm to school programs are an essential component of a strong and just local and regional food systems.   

Whole Kids Foundation has been a partner of National Farm to School Network since 2012 and has helped support NFSN’s National Farm to Cafeteria conference, bringing together hundreds of movement leaders working to source local food for cafeterias and foster a culture of healthy food and agriculture literacy. Together we work together toward the shared goal of getting more produce to the plates of children across the country.

We reached out to Jiyoon Chon, Communications Manager at National Farm to School Network, to get the scoop on how they are helping kids learn to love fresh, nutritious, whole foods.  

WHOLE KIDS FOUNDATION (WKF): TELL US ABOUT THE MISSION AND PROGRAMS OF NATIONAL FARM TO SCHOOL NETWORK.

National Farm to School Network (NFSN): At National Farm to School Network, we aim to create a world where food empowers communities and builds strong economies. Our mission is to achieve this through farm to school, which is exactly what it sounds like—getting more local, farm-fresh foods into school meals! Farm to school is a holistic approach that can benefit the entire community. Young children and students are able to enjoy nourishing and culturally-relevant school meals, gain knowledge about the food they’re eating through school gardens and activities such as taste tests, and make more informed food choices for the rest of their lives. But farm to school goes much beyond this—it can create new financial opportunities for local farmers, fishers, and ranchers, it can boost the local economy with new jobs, and can build community engagement and power.

Our programs focus on connecting people that want to start or grow a farm to school program to learn from each other, building awareness about farm to school, and increasing activities at the state and community levels through training, capacity building, and policy advocacy. We share information through our newsletter, free webinars, and social media. We also host virtual gatherings and networking opportunities, such as our upcoming Movement Meeting this October!

WKF: WHAT IS NATIONAL FARM TO SCHOOL NETWORK’S APPROACH TO IMPROVING SCHOOL MEALS?

NFSN: Our approach to improving school meals is through building strong communities. Farm to school brings together a community of individuals across sectors, generations, and interests—farmers, parents, students, advocates, teachers, food service workers, and lawmakers—who all share a common vision of a nourishing and equitable food system. National Farm to School Network supports this by creating resources, policy change, and networking opportunities that help each of these people engage in farm to school.

For example, we have an extensive online resource database that anyone can access. It contains a range of helpful resources for everyone, from folks getting started with farm to school to advocates who are curious about how policies are implemented in different states. We also encourage other organizations to sign up as Partners and provide a range of benefits to directly support their work.

As an example of our policy work, the Who’s at the Table? campaign advocates for free school meals for all children. So far, seven states have enacted permanent free school meals policies, which is a big win! When school meals are accessible to all students, the benefits of farm to school can also reach more people.

WKF: WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT OF WHOLE KIDS FOUNDATION’S SUPPORT OF THE NATIONAL FARM TO CAFETERIA CONFERENCE?

NFSN: Our signature farm to school event is the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference. Hosted biennially, the conference is the premier national gathering of stakeholders from across the farm to cafeteria and farm to school and ECE movement. The conference has grown from 200 participants at the inaugural event in 2002 to nearly 1,000 at the last conference in Cincinnati, OH in 2018. The conference focuses on creating space for rich discussion, learning, collaboration, networking, training, and movement building. As the only national conference for farm to school stakeholders across sectors, expertise areas, and locations, this event is instrumental for advancing farm to school activities across the country. The next conference is planned for spring 2025.

In the past, Whole Kids Foundation has been a partner of the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference by providing valuable scholarship support to enable youth and BIPOC farm to school stakeholders, as well as past Whole Kids Foundation grantees, to attend the conference for rich discussion, learning, and collaboration.

By nurturing the movement through events such as the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, we have been able to have a tremendous impact over the last several years. Based on data from the 2018-19 Farm to School Census data, farm to school now reaches more than 42 million students across the country—almost double the 23 million students it reached in 2015!

WKF: WE BELIEVE CHILDREN’S NUTRITION IS EQUITY WORK – THAT ALL CHILDREN DESERVE TO BE WELL-NOURISHED. TELL US ABOUT YOUR CALL TO ACTION AND HOW THAT IS GUIDING NFSN’S WORK.

NSFN: Our Call to Action, which states that 100% of communities will hold power in a racially just food system, guides our work in all ways. This is to ensure that school food benefits all people across race, socioeconomic status, and location.

Our Call to Action drives our work both internally and externally—for example, we are actively adopting healing justice into our staff culture and interactions with partners, cohorts, and communities. Currently, one of our key programs that support our Call to Action is the Racial Equity Learning Lab, which is a space that brings together leaders in the farm to school movement and equips them with the foundations to engage diverse, multi-racial audiences in their own organizations, networks and communities. The 2023 cohort began meeting last month—you can learn more and meet them here.

Our commitment to racial equity is also present in all of the ways we advocate for and engage with school meals. We believe that a nourishing school meal can look different for each community—instead of defining a standard for what a “healthy” meal should look like, we encourage local procurement of produce and recipes that are culturally relevant.

WKF: WHAT CURRENT OR UPCOMING PROJECT OR PROGRAM IS YOUR TEAM EXCITED ABOUT RIGHT NOW?

NFSN: Right now, we are very excited about National Farm to School Month! We advocated for the creation of National Farm to School Month in 2010, and now organize the annual celebration with hundreds of partners across the country. Throughout October, we celebrate the connections happening between children and local food, and it’s great to see all of the taste tests, garden activities and farm visits that communities are organizing. National Farm to School Network provides lots of free resources, including a celebration toolkit, printable posters, bookmarks, and stickers, and a national events calendar at farmtoschoolmonth.org. We’re encouraging everyone to connect with us on our social media channels @farmtoschool and with the hashtags #farmtoschool and #F2SMonth. Organizations can also sign on as partners to engage deeper with us!

Another project we’re excited to launch is the Farm to School Coordinators Project. Our goal with this project is to scale up farm to school implementation nationwide by establishing more dedicated farm to school coordinator positions at school districts. We will be providing unique professional development opportunities, supporting school communities, and developing research-driven resources to help make the case for the farm to school coordinator position. We are currently recruiting farm to school coordinators and school districts for paid professional development and networking opportunities as part of this project—folks can learn more through our blog post and apply!