Other Resources For Farm to School

Find resources local organizations have created to support Farm to School in Minnesota!

Preparing Local Food

Check out this Tips for Farm to School Success video from The Good Acre and Renewing the Countryside for great information on kitchen equipment and techniques to help you use your Farm to School food items! (The kitchen equipment section starts at 5:45.)

School Foodservice Recipes

Sprout Food Hub’s Recipe Collection, featuring locally available and sometimes hard-to-use produce

The Good Acre’s Farm to School Recipes, including both institutional and at-home versions of recipes

Minnesota’s Harvest of the Month Recipes, with recipes focused on the 12 Harvest of the Month products

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U of MN Extension’s Farm to School resource page

This includes a section for foodservice with resources on procuring local foods, as well as other resources.

AGRI Farm to School Website

MDA’s page with the overview of the grant and links to applications (due November 17tg by 4 p.m. CT sharp)

Minnesota Grown FREE Resources to promote local food items

These are free promotional items, including signs and window clings that you can use on the lunch line and in your schools to highlight the local items you serve.

MISA Fact Sheets

These resources address some of the questions on rules around serving local foods, particularly the “Selling of Serving Locally Grown Produce in Food Facilities” fact sheet.

Farm to School & Early Care Office Hours

Register for our monthly Farm to School & Early Care Office Hours, happening the second Wednesday of each month, 2:30-3:30 pm CT 
This is a great place to come to get answers to your Farm to School questions!  

Purchasing Local Foods in Your Cafeteria

Minnesota Grown Wholesale Directory

find farmers local to you

Minnesota Grown Directory

non-wholesale, which might be a good fit for some smaller districts

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Minnesota Farmers Market Association

Especially for smaller districts, going to the farmers market and talking with vendors can be helpful!

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MN Farmers Market Food Hubs

Aggregation by a farmers’ market is an approach to pool enough local produce to supply wholesale buyers at a local farmers market, requiring limited infrastructure and staff compared to physical food hubs.

There are a number of sites throughout Minnesota - click the location on the map on the main page to connect directly with your local hub!

Food Hubs

If your school is near Little Falls or Lauderdale, The Good Acre and Sprout are both amazing resources to check out.

Potential Funding and Partnership Resources

The AGRI Farm to School grants support Minnesota districts to purchase and serve Minnesota Agricultural Products.

The Statewide Healthy Improvement Partnership (SHIP) may be able to support farm to school with mini grant funding. New grant cycle begins in the late fall usually. Depending on the project, SHIP can sometimes help with stipends, equipment, and community connections. Schools are one key setting SHIP supports, and specifics of support are determined locally.

Reach out to your local SHIP contact for more information. FIND YOUR SHIP CONTACT

AGRI Urban Agriculture Grant

This is a funding opportunity through MDA, and supports a variety of projects. The definition of Urban encompasses many communities throughout Minnesota, so look to see if your community meets the definition. This could be a good fit for supporting school gardens.

Support for Teachers

Consider reaching out to FAC teachers or Wellbeing Coordinators.

Or check out these free resources:

  • Harvest of the Month - free resources, recipes, activities, and promotional items featuring 12 Minnesota items