The California Farm To School Taskforce

Mission and Vision

Mission: The California Farm to School Taskforce will provide leadership and coordination for the promotion and expansion of farm to school activities in California.

More than 30 million children eat a school lunch five days a week, 180 days a year. If school lunch can taste great, and support the local community, it is a win-win for everyone.

Vision: The vision of the California Farm to School Taskforce is healthy, agriculturally literate Californians who have access to and enjoy nutritious foods from economically viable California farms in all schools, communities, and homes.

Overview

In 2005 Center for Food & Justice staff began facilitating the California Farm to School Taskforce. The group brought together farm to school stakeholders from around the state including representatives of the state departments of Health, Education, and Food and Agriculture, members of the California Food and Justice Coalition , Western Growers’, the California Alliance with Family Farmers, the California Farm Bureau, school food service directors, school garden promoters, and other organizations working on aspects of farm to school. The Taskforce now meets with the mission to provide leadership and coordination for the promotion and expansion of farm to school activities in California.

The Taskforce, funded in part by the CA Department of Health is an excellent example of the increasing focus on Farm to School from diverse stakeholders. The Farm to School model has become widespread and has been proven to be a beneficial program for children, teachers, and farmers, and therefore interest is growing even at the highest levels, to support farm to school. Drawing on the Taskforce’s diverse membership and its potential to influence support for farm to school at the highest levels of the state, the group will work statewide to provide information and training for a broad base of potential farm to school practitioners.

Taskforce Members

• California Department of Education
• California Department of Food and Agriculture
• California Department of Public Health
• California Farm Bureau Federation
• California Foundation for Ag in the Classroom
• California Food and Justice Coalition
• California School Garden Network
• California School Nutrition Association
• Center for Food & Justice, Occidental College
• Central Coast Ag Network
• Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)
• Novato Unified School District
• Tierra Miguel Foundation and Farm
• University of California Cooperative Extension
• University of California Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (UC SAREP)
• Urban Sprouts
• Ventura Unified School District
• Western Growers

Join Us

  If you want to take part in the California Farm to School Taskforce please contact: