Farm-to-School Forum Summary

In February 2002, Food Matters in Sonoma County hosted a Farm to School Forum. A broad cross section of members of health services, education, farming, government, non-profit and the community attended. This half day workshop, with excellent speakers and breakout sessions, provided an opportunity to create awareness in our community about the importance of supporting local agriculture and feeding our kids healthy locally produced food.

As a result of the forum, four subcommittees met monthly, and later evolved into two distinct committees: farmer committee – focusing on distribution, and the farm to school committee – working with school food service directors to create connections with farmers and educate kids and parents about healthy eating for kids.

The Farm to School Forum was a catalyst for all that has come since, including food service directors buying direct from farmers, back to school nights showcasing fresh healthy food, meetings on creating school food policy, educating kids about their food source by visiting local farms and farmers markets. It has linked us with other regional communities, sharing information and resources and supporting each other in our work to bring about lasting positive change in our communities.