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

Report sections

Recommended Policies and Support

  • State or federal policies that were detailed as hindrances by food service directors to the buying of products from local farmers included cider and egg product pasteurization requirements, other food safety requirements, $1 million insurance requirement for farmers (Most farmers and all of the cooperatives interviewed carry liability insurance), difficulty for farmers in abiding by some of the organic guidelines, and bidding policies that demand purchasing the cheapest products.
  • Organizers recommended the following policies and support to encourage college food service to buy product from local farmers: grants/ subsidies to help farmers organize cooperatives, build season extenders, shift to more sustainable production and direct marketing; college policy commitment; state institution requirement; language written into contracts that support local and organic purchasing of food; and federal and state policies that would provide incentives to state institutions to purchase locally grown. At some colleges, there are stipulations in the contracts regarding a percentage of food being purchased locally. Bon Appetite, the contracted food service for Evergreen State College, has 20% local purchases as one of the goals in their contracts.
  • Policies that food service would like to see in place to encourage colleges and universities to buy product from local farmers include: Incentives for colleges and universities to buy local, state favoring bids from farmers, more leniency in the bidding regulations, grants to encourage such programs, and assurance that what you are buying is organic. Others felt that the college needs to take this on as a mission and there shouldn't be a government policy to buy local. Some food service indicated an appreciation for government regulations that stay on top of food safety issues. Food service has a responsibility to their customers and is careful not to compromise on food safety issues.
  • The future goals of the farm to college projects as outlined by organizers included forming grower cooperatives or getting a distributor to carry local products, institutionalizing the purchasing of local foods through incorporating this into food service's contract or through creating a position within food service to coordinate the farm to college project, and involving more students.

Hmong Farmers

Barriers

  • Barriers listed by organizers for starting or sustaining farm-to-college projects included the added inconvenience for kitchen managers who are already time deficient, inconsistency of local supply (including seasonal variation in local supply, quality, dependability and quantity), convincing students that eating healthy food is in their best interest; administrative barriers of more costs and more work; logistical hassle - no distribution infrastructure - getting products to the table like in the conventional system; Food safety stereotypes-not as clean; Price of fossil fuel-its so cheap: College food service has evolved along with the transportation system. There is no significant food storage on campus. Food is delivered almost every day and consumed within 48 hours. The low cost of fossil fuel has allowed this transportation and transportation has changed the nature of food service.
  • The most commonly listed barriers listed by food service directors for starting or sustaining farm to college projects were price, delivery (farmers can't deliver as frequently as food system needs), distribution (difficult for food service to call 15 farmers, farmers need to be organized), product consistency, product availability, product volume, understanding how the food system works and meeting speculations. Other barriers listed were: difficulties in finding interested growers, growing season does not fit with the academic year, not stepping on anyone's toes (farmers or distributors), and technology-farmers don't have answering machines or faxes.
  • The barrier that was listed as the greatest by most of the farmers and cooperatives was competing with the traditional food system that is extremely efficient and inexpensive. Food service can get everything they need, in the volumes they need it, when they need it, and the way they need it to be processed or packaged with just one call. Food service budgets and time are limited so they need to be convinced of the reasons to buy local and organized methods for purchasing from local farmers (cooperative, distributor, or some sort of farmer network) need to be developed.

Photo courtesy of UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

Benefits

  • Benefits for farm-to-college projects detailed by organizers included better markets for farmers, supports the local farmer; better nutrition for consumers (provides great fresh food- high in quality-tastes great), lower environmental impacts (using energy better-rather than having food trucked in from long distances); opportunity for education/ student research in economics, agriculture, environmental impacts etc., increased awareness of where food comes from and students' role in the local food system, a great educational opportunity for students to learn how to organize complex projects; ties in with academic mission of college - moves theory to practice, it enables the college to use its buying power to leverage real change in the local community; enhances local economy, public relations- often division between academic community and local lay community.
  • The most commonly listed benefit by food service directors for purchasing products from local farmers were supporting local farmers, the local community, and the local economy. As Patti Lee Klos from Tufts University stated, "At Tufts University- We believe that purchasing from local farms and local businesses is good for the local economy, keeping people at work, impacting transportation costs and providing the need for more green space in our communities. Take Care of Home First' is sort of an unspoken credo."
  • Other commonly listed benefits by food service directors included quality (freshness, flavor, less chemicals) and good public relations for the college and food service. Gale Secor from the University of Northern Iowa emphasized, "It helps local agriculture and the economy, whatever little we do. I like to see the farmer maintain their ability to stay in business. I would rather eat food grown on a farm down the road rather than food from California. We get positive responses from students' parents-they know some of the farmers and say, 'They are just down the road.' They are impressed that we take the time and effort to work with local farmers." Additional commonly listed benefits include personal relationships with farmers, educational opportunities (educating students on environmental issues and sustainable agriculture), meeting a desire and demand from students, no shipping costs, no extra packaging costs, and less costs for waste disposal.
  • The most commonly listed benefit for selling to local colleges by farmers and cooperatives: it is a good market for our products. Farmers and cooperatives felt that colleges were a reliable, direct market for their products and a market that could become more profitable down the road. The second most commonly listed benefits: 1) educating students about where their food comes from and the benefits of supporting local farmers; 2) supporting the local economy, keeping dollars local. By supporting local farmers, farms support local businesses and hire more local people.

Recommended Strategies

  • Strategies recommended by organizers for making farm-to-college projects work included: More organization and efforts at networking; Be patient; Recognize all players involved, make sure their needs are known and that they are committed, this has to be a diverse group, such as students, farmers, food service directors, administration etc. Strong school support is essential; Start with people who are interested, form a supportive group of students, decision making staff, and local farmers. Approach the project in a friendly, problem solving manner rather than attacking the existing system. Do lots of research, know what is available in the region; Student involvement is critical. However, without more continuous commitment on the part of a staff person, institutional manager, or other project steward, the project will likely not succeed in the long run; Education and awareness. Natural inclination to want to do this is there. Students and faculty want to do this. Get the word out; Build a relationship with food service staff-everyone-the director, the buyer, the kitchen staff, Don't go to them and tell them what they should do, approach them by saying 'we will assist you and you let us know what is realistic, what works for you', the commitment develops in time, first time around they may not be receptive at all, present it as a win-win situation, everyone wins.
  • Janet Parker, a graduate student who worked for the University of Wisconsin's Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems details on pp.23-24 of her thesis, THE COLLEGE FOOD PROJECT: COLLEGES IN WISCONSIN BUYING FOODS FROM LOCAL AND SUSTAINABLE FARMS, 2001 "Here are the steps that I took to encourage more Wisconsin colleges to buy more food from farmers & farmer coops:
    • See what farmer-direct buying is already going on, even if it is not much
    • Publicize the local buying that is already happening
    • Encourage all interested farmers and farmer coops to try to sell to college food service directors that have expressed interest
    • Bring together dining center directors - those that are buying directly from farmers & others that might be interested - to learn from each other how and why to do more, to inspire each other to do more
    • Bring together farmers and dining center directors, this is one way to make sales happen and dining center directors will often take the trouble to buy from farmers that they know
    • Bring together students (and other customers) and dining center directors, so demand for foods from local and sustainable farms is clear
    • Look for brokers between individual farmers and colleges
    • Look for foods that can easily be bought from local farmers (foods that are now being grown in large quantities, foods that are value-added or can be stored, foods that customers will appreciate like tomatoes in season, local apples, cheeses, etc.)
    • Ask colleges to buy directly from farmers - this is happening at all of the colleges where locally-grown foods are being served in WI, so evidently it is possible without brokers
    • Put together events featuring foods from local farms - catered meals, special events at dining centers - to show the level of interest from students and the community, and to show dining center staff and administrators that buying directly from farmers is possible, and to let farmers see what dining centers can buy from them."
  • Food service almost unanimously emphasized two crucial strategies for making farm to college projects work: communication and collaboration. They emphasize meeting with the farmer and going over everything, planning ahead, including volumes needed, food cost challenges, and what crops to grow. Be open and up-front when communicating the needs of everyone. Make sure the farmer understands the food service system and how she or he can fit into it. It may be best to advise the farmer to call the appropriate person in food service every week. The farmer should not wait for food service to call them.
  • The importance of cooperation on the side of farmers is mentioned repeatedly by food service directors. In order to supply food service with the volume and consistency that they need, when they need it, farmers need to organize themselves through some sort of farmer network, cooperative, or through a distributor. Food service are much more able to work with local farmers if they only need to make one phone call versus calling every farmer they buy from each week. Another option is a liaison role between food service and the farmers, such as a student intern or an agricultural center on campus who can recruit farmers and organize the distribution and delivery of the products.
  • Food service directors recommend institutionalizing the program through incorporating buying local requirements into the food service's contract and through getting students, staff, faculty, and the administration engaged in supporting and promoting the program. All of these players are vital to the sustainability and success of these programs. Begin this relationship and awareness-building process by offering tours for staff and students to local farms, tying the farm to college project to the curriculum, and publicizing the program in newspapers and on the radio and TV.
  • Randy Shelton, Director of Housing and Food Service, from Ohio University, details strategies in the USDA manual on 'How Local Farmers and School Food Service Buyers are Building Alliances.' Randy recommends the following to farmers: Don't be shy: knock on doors and let people know that you are available as a vendor, make sure that you work directly with the food service director when negotiating business contracts, build your network of contacts and use them to reach out to prospective buyers, listen to your customer, don't underestimate the importance of timely delivery to school food service personnel, be willing to adjust processing and packaging methods, have patience, be aware of seasonal fluctuations in market demand, know your competition-and identify existing gaps in available merchandise, explore the possibility of creating a partnership with a local small processor in order to expand your access to institutional markets, start small and establish realistic production and distribution goals, be respectful of your client's time, avoid the temptation of using political pressure to close a sale, recognize that personal service can be a key marketing tool, provide initial samples for free to gain credibility.
  • The two most commonly listed strategies by farmers were:
    1. Be professional, and
    2. Build a relationship with food service directors and staff.
    It was emphasized repeatedly that farmers must make this relationship work for food service. They are going out of their way to work with farmers so farmers must be organized and reliable and their products must be of high quality and meet food service specs. Take the time to understand the needs of food service, follow through with commitments, maintain good business practices, and show appreciation. In terms of building relationships, Anne Nordell, an organic farmer who sells to Pennsylvania College of Technology emphasized, " The commitment for buying local from the buyer is critical, not just the food service director. The relationship with the person you are interacting with/ the contact person is critical. If this relationship is not strong, this can be a strong stumbling block." Judy Stadnyk, an organic farmer who sells to Northland College suggested to farmers that they, "Be really open with food service, meet with them and meet with the cooks because they are the ones who are going to work with your produce. Maintain an open dialogue." Another strategy that was suggested by several farmers was to involve students. Educate students and student organizations about the benefits of buying local so they will encourage and support food service efforts. Without their commitment, food service will lose interest. And, as Lee Stadnyk (who sells to Northland College) states, "What humans put in their bodies to sustain themselves is one of the most important actions they take.....for personal health as well as for interactions with ecosystems. It should be part of any well rounded education."

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