National Farm to College Research Report
By Kristen Markley ~ October, 2002

Report sections

• About This Report and the Programs Surveyed
• Processing Facilities, Staffing, and How Products are Incorporated
• Who is Involved, How Farmers Were Found, and Farmer Profitability <<
• Research, Funding, Related Projects, and Promotional Aspects
• Recommended Policies and Support, Barriers, Benefits, Recommended Strategies

Who is Involved

• The majority of the farm to college projects interviewed were initiated by students and food service directors. A few of the projects were initiated by faculty members.
• Several of the farm-to-college projects involve a larger organizing group or other collaborators and supporters, such as farmer associations, campus sustainable centers, environmental organizations, student groups, university departments, specific faculty members, other local institutions, and community groups.
• Most of the farm to college projects interviewed have a fair amount of student involvement through students in positions that help coordinate the orders and deliveries, student groups that advocate for sustainable agriculture and buying locally, on-campus farms that produce food for the dining halls, and student research projects initiated by students or faculty.

How Farmers Were Found

• Organizers established relationships with farmers mostly through local farmer associations or farmer owned cooperatives. Others found farmers through distributors, attending farmers markets, or visiting local farms.
• Food service found farmers and collaborators through local, sustainable agriculture and organic farming organizations, their member and farmer directories, their websites, and their conferences; through student research projects, sustainable agriculture centers on campus, cooperative extension agents, local distributors, local chefs, farmers markets, the state department of agriculture, and by visiting local farmers.
• Farmers who were interested in selling to local colleges found information through the National Association of College and University Food Service website, through sustainable agriculture organizations and conferences, or through faculty or centers based at the local college.

Farmer Profitability

• When organizers were asked if farmers were finding this a profitable market, there was a wide array of answers including yes, no, and not sure. No one was working with a farmer who based their entire business on selling to a local school.
• Most of the farmers estimated that 5% or less of their overall sales were through local colleges.
• Almost all of the farmers interviewed viewed this as a profitable market representing greater potential down the road.

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