Pennsylvania Food Education to Increase Consumption of Locally Grown Food

2004 Annual Report for LNE04-209

Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2004: $61,863.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2006
Region: Northeast
State: Pennsylvania
Project Leader:
Karima Rose
The Food Trust

Pennsylvania Food Education to Increase Consumption of Locally Grown Food

Summary

“The children love the apples! We are very happy. It was a difficult birth but the results have been really great. The farmer is easy to work with and his apples are of the very best quality. Also the 'local' aspect has worked for us because the recent natural disasters in the south has made getting fresh fruit from those areas difficult.”

Pat Temple West, Director of Nutrition Development Services, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

This project works to immediately increase sales of locally grown foods in Greater Philadelphia area schools, while building interest and support among young people for sustaining agriculture in the region. The project will increase student knowledge about local farming, the food system, food purchasing, nutrition, and diet. It will also build sustainable connections between local farms and urban communities through farmer visits to schools and students visiting farms.

The Food Trust has partnered with the Keystone Agriculture Innovation Center, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, and public kindergarten schools for this project. In the first eight months, the partnership has made significant progress toward establishing systems that bring locally grown produce into Philadelphia schools. 224,000 fresh Pennsylvania grown apples have been purchased by Philadelphia Archdiocese schools and kindergartens to date. The apples were consumed by students attending these schools throughout the city. Thus far, $17,000 of produce has been purchased by the parochial schools. Public kindergarten programs have purchased $10,000 of produce. Although total sales of $27,000 are below projected volume figures, they represent major steps forward for the farm-to-school movement in Pennsylvania. They likewise attest to the inherent challenges in linking local farm products with schools.

Objectives/Performance Targets

The project’s performance targets create new markets for small and medium-scale growers with diversified operations. The targets contribute to farm profitability and help to sustain agriculture in the region. Targets include:

1) Forty Philadelphia area farmers will market local, fresh produce to at least five area schools for lunch, after school, and summer feeding programs. Sales contracts of an estimated value of $350,000 will be executed between local farmers and the Archdiocese Nutrition Development Services (NDS) to integrate local, fresh produce into school cafeterias during the school year and summer feeding programs. Contracts are expected to increase annually by 10%.

2) Nine Philadelphia area schools will build sustainable connections with local farms and urban communities, evidenced by 10 student farm tours and 20 farmer visits to schools annually, which will reach 700 students.

3) Sixty percent of participants (based on a random sampling) will reach a clear understanding of farming, the food system, food purchasing and marketing, nutrition, and diet. The participants’ learning text will be the criterion-referenced food and farming lesson packets developed by the project.

Accomplishments/Milestones

• Farmer commitment to marketing local produce to NDS.

• Farmers and NDS reach agreement on purchase parameters of fresh local produce, signing contracts estimated to increase 10% annually.

Status: Through a partnership with The Food Trust, Keystone Agriculture Innovation Center, and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Nutrition Development Services (NDS) has piloted one dynamic farmer to test the initiative. After speaking with the farmer, it was very clear that he had an interest in marketing his produce to schools. His major challenge was getting into the system.

• Seven hundred students participate in in-class farmer presentations and farm visits, developing and understanding of farming and farm life.
Status: Classrooms and farms have been identified. Presentations and farm trips will occur in the spring.

• A team of agriculture and nutrition professionals developed food and farming lessons. Teachers will be trained on the lessons in February, for implementation in March.

• Forty teachers, 20 from nine elementary and middle schools in the Greater Philadelphia area and 20 teachers from the Archdiocese Schools will be trained on using the lessons.

• At least seven hundred students receive instruction on farming and the food system, food purchasing, nutrition and diet through project-developed lesson packets.

• Sixty percent of students in participating schools demonstrate mastery in knowledge of farming and the food system, food purchasing, nutrition and diet from project-created and tested lessons.

Status: Evaluations will occur at the end of School Year 2006.

Status of Objectives

Objective 1: Increase sales of locally grown foods in area schools

Status: Currently, we have connected one farmer with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia schools to provide apples on a bi-weekly basis from September through December. One farmer has contracted with kindergartens in Philadelphia on a bi-weekly basis for the months of September through December.

Objective 2: Increase student knowledge about farming, etc.

Performance Target: 60% of participants (based on randomized sampling) will reach a clear understanding of farming, etc. “from the criterion-referenced food and farming lesson packets developed by the project.”
Status: Three lessons have been developed: Farming and the Food System, Food Purchasing, and Nutrition & Diet are ready for teacher trainings in the spring. Using these lessons, students will be able to:

• Identify places to purchase locally grown food

• Understand marketing strategies that companies use to target children

• Calculate how much of the family dollar goes to farmers and ranchers

• Identify top Pennsylvania crops

• Identify farm careers

Objective 3: Build sustainable connections between local farms and urban communities
Performance target: Nine Philadelphia area schools will build sustainable connections with local farms and urban communities, evidenced by 10 student farm tours and 20 farmer visits to schools annually, which will reach 700 students.

Status: Trips are planned, schools and teachers have been identified, and interested farmers have been contacted. Eight schools will take an estimated 500 students to visit four farms in the spring. At the farm visits, farmers will show students the process from seed to harvest. Students will also have the opportunity to sample produce growing in front of them. They will also have a locally made lunch. As a follow-up activity, teachers will have students journal their farm trip experience.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Overall, the project is proceeding according to plan. However, in terms of the farm to school transactions, although the transactions created thus far for schools to purchase fresh produce have been very successful, the total sales of these transactions are below projections originally estimated to be $350,000 for the life of the project. Although we anticipate increases to occur as the project builds up momentum, at current levels of product sales transactions, assuming no increase in volume or additional contracts, projected sales would only be projected to reach $81,000 in December 2006, the end date of the project.

Challenges encountered are:

1. Although the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is very committed to bringing more produce into their schools, the volume of sales to them thus far is lower than originally projected. We hope to increase these sales over time.

2. The School District of Philadelphia, which does afford the volumes needed to reach sales projections, already has contracts for the current school year of 2004-2005 thus virtually eliminating any significant transactions to take place before September 2005.

3. Awarding of new contracts in the School District of Philadelphia will be difficult for subsequent years because contracts are often awarded to large companies that have the lowest bid on produce continuously throughout the year. It is difficult for local farmers to compete because their product is often seasonal; quantities may vary; produce must be “ready to eat” and delivered; and prices may or may not be the lowest price available.

4. In addition, the level of commitment present at the Archdiocese to purchase local farm product has not yet been discovered within the Philadelphia Public Schools, and we believe this to be an important factor for success.

Opportunities are:

1. Many sources of supply of farm product have been identified and a database of suppliers has been developed.

2. The Jersey Fresh Availability & Forecast Report that provides a weekly update of Jersey Fresh produce has been useful to the project and several contacts within our network that purchase fresh local farm product.

3. Sunny Valley International Jersey Fruit Cooperative of Glassboro, New Jersey has expressed a great deal of interest in working with us.

4. The Keystone Agriculture Innovation Center of Penn State University has been very helpful in developing links between the Archdiocese and farmers.

In summary, we intend to continue to develop sources of supply, yet unless we develop more demand at the schools, or expand the type of enterprises we approach beyond schools, we will not reach the projections we hoped to achieve. Planning in January 2005 and discussions with USDA SARE staff will determine our future project activities.

The Food Trust collaborated with the Keystone Agriculture Innovation Center of Penn State University to identify farmers that can provide produce to schools. The Keystone Agriculture Innovation Center provides education and technical assistance to Pennsylvania agricultural producers and communities that want to establish and maintain value-added agricultural activities.

The Center is a network of three regional sites housed in Penn State Cooperative Extension offices in Blair, Cumberland and Lebanon counties. Their staff offers programming and assistance statewide. The Center has been very helpful to the Pennsylvania Food Education Project in establishing initial contracts between farmers and the schools.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia agreed specifically to work directly with one farmer to pilot the system. For the months of September through December, an average of 14,000 apples per week were sold to the Archdioceses Food Service. In addition, 450 students in four kindergarten classes in Philadelphia received local snacks three times per week from September through December. These snacks were fresh sliced fruit, fresh vegetables, pumpkin pudding and muffins. Although both of these avenues into the schools in Philadelphia were very successful, this proved to be more difficult to achieve than originally planned. Sales achieved are far below projections originally estimated. Although we anticipate increases to occur as the project builds momentum, the current levels of product transactions (assuming no increase in volume or additional contracts), project sales to be only $81,000 in December 2006, the end date of the project.