Farm to Cafeteria
Introduction
What comes to mind when you think of school lunch? Of hospital food? Your university dining hall? Probably, your memories are of
"mystery meat" and overcooked vegetables. For students and patients today, those images have given way to
McDonald's burgers and Domino's pizza -- washed down by the ubiquitous Coca-Cola. Rarely does institutional food conjure images
of ripe tomatoes and fresh fruits, whole-grain breads, local meats and dairy products -- meals made from scratch that create a feeling of
mouthwatering anticipation.
Supplying food to institutions has become big business. National food service providers compete with national fast food chains to offer food in cafeterias from elementary schools to retirement homes. Increased competition leads to cost-cutting, food quality suffers in the race to the bottom, and so too does human health.
School Meals in the Fast Food Era
The situation is particularly complicated in public schools, where the school food service funded in part by the government through the Federal School Meal Program increasingly must compete with fast food, soda, and other junk food. Soda companies can provide underfunded schools with much-needed money in exchange for the seemingly small price of giving the company exclusive "pouring rights" beverage contracts. This is such a lucrative business that almost two out of three middle and high schools nationwide sell soft drinks, mostly through vending machines.
Meanwhile, federal funding for the School Lunch Program, reimbursing schools for meals that meet certain nutritional and calorie requirements, has remained virtually stagnant for several years. As the quality of school-funded hot lunches declines and fast food companies pay schools to offer à la carte non-nutritious options such as Whoppers and fried chicken, schools lose federal reimbursements whenever students don't eat the school-provided lunch. School food service providers face tough choices, but some of them now have an alternative.
A New Partnership: Food from Small Farms
All of these factors are contributing at schools to the skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity in America. 
Similar pressures at institutions such as colleges, hospitals, and even prisons are contributing even more unhealthy food to our diets. Fortunately, a delicious alternative is being served up at cafeterias around the world. Farm to cafeteria programs create a partnership between local farmers and community institutions -- to everyone's benefit.
Farmers benefit from increased business; the community benefits from the dollars kept in the region; and the eaters - be they schoolchildren
at ever-increasing risk of obesity or hospital patients in particular need of a healthy diet - benefit from the taste, freshness, and nutrients of local produce.
In the cafeterias of the Davis Unified School District in California, kids eat more than three times the servings of fruits and vegetables on days when a salad bar is offered than on days when only a standard "hot lunch" is offered. Each of about 200 colleges and universities nationwide which purchase direct from farmers spends an average of $150,000 on local products. In a trial program at a residential school for court-referred boys with a history of criminal behavior, a switch to a whole foods, plant-based diet showed dramatic improvements in cholesterol, behavior, and academic performance.
Good Food for Poor Communities
For many low-income children, their free or reduced price school meal may be the only nutritious meal they eat all day. High-calorie, processed foods do little to improve the health of these kids, who are often at higher risk for nutritional problems. When appealing, fresh, local food is served at school, it has the potential to improve the health and educational prospects of many of the country's poorest children - a move that would reap long-term savings. Food direct from local farms can also connect people to their region's - and their own - cuisine. In New Mexico and California schools, ethnic dishes and culturally appropriate meals are increasingly on the menu, while institutions around some Native American reservations partner with local growers of traditional crops in order to improve the community's diet in schools and hospitals.
The Challenges Facing Farm to Cafeteria
For all their benefits, farm to cafeteria programs can be challenging to establish and maintain. Many institutional kitchens don't
have basics like pots or knives, not to mention ovens to cook with, and their food service staff lack cooking skills. Extra kitchen labor,
food staff retraining, consistency of local and regional food supply, changes in distribution procedures, and increased food costs can be
major hurdles to making changes in institutional food service. Further, it can take time and patience for children - and adults - to develop tastes for fresh, unprocessed food. Food education and cooking programs, market tours, and institutional gardens can be good opportunities for exploring and beginning to enjoy new tastes and getting people involved with where their food comes from.
A Growing Movement
Yet the movement for health, freshness, and good taste is growing rapidly. Some national distributors and major food service
providers are beginning to respond to demand for local food and work directly with small growers, dairies, and meat producers to
supply food to colleges and other institutions. The New York City Department of SchoolFood, which, at 860,000 school meals every day, is
the second-largest food service provider in the country (after the United States military), serves all whole wheat breads,
salad bars in many high schools, and apples and yogurt sourced exclusively from New York State -- and SchoolFood Executive Director
David Berkowitz says this is just the beginning. The city of Rome, Italy, recently overhauled the school meal service for its
140,000 students. Ingredients for all school meals are now seasonal, organic, regionally and/or fair trade-produced,
and cooked from scratch in school kitchens. (see WHY Speaks article Innovation in Rome's School Meal System.)
In more and more cafeterias, people are experiencing the incomparable tastes of that ripe tomato, crisp lettuce, and sweet peach grown on a nearby farm. They are relearning the delicious taste of local dairy and meats, and discovering the variety of seeds and grains within mainstream and ethnic cuisines. As this trend continues to change the flavor of institutional meals, we hope the next generation will grow up with fond memories of school lunch.
Updated 7/2007
