You wouldn't think it's difficult to get local food into schools, to replace food from across state borders with food from across the street -- but it is. Some legislators acknowledge the problem and are pushing bills that encourage schools to purchase food from local farmers, as seen most recently in Maryland and Washington.

In Maryland, Senate Bill 158 would establish "Maryland Homegrown" week in cafeterias, which introduces local food into school meals and encourages field trips to area farms. And Washington State's "Local Farms-Healthy Kids" legislation would provide $570,000 in school nutrition grants to use for purchasing state-grown produce, to help improve the nutrition of school meals and support state agriculture. Both bills create a farm-to-school program within the state Department of Agriculture.

Washington can look to a working model in Olympia, where the school district there has been buying local produce for school lunches since 2002. Its commitment to local food was spurred by parents' requests, and what began at one school soon expanded to all 18 Olympia schools.

To date, there are nearly 2,000 farm-to-school programs spanning 38 states.

But, as mentioned before, there are barriers to linking local farmers with school cafeterias. For one, cafeteria staff can't easily deal with whole foods, and rely on partially prepared ingredients (such as peeled and chopped carrots) for creating meals. It's also difficult to work within the constraints of growing seasons, a consistency (especially in quantity) that only wholesalers typically offer.

Still, as fuel costs continue to climb – and the effects of our warming climate become more visible – serving local food in any institution is a smart way to cut transportation costs and decrease our carbon footprint.

And, of course, we can't forget about the farmers. Supporting local agriculture helps farmers survive in an increasingly tumultuous market, and by keeping farmers profitable we keep them on the land: preserving open space and valuable agricultural soil.

At the end of the school day, kids should know that food doesn't come from a store shelf, but from a farm, important lessons that get to the root of environmental stewardship, nutrition, and community – all of which can be wrapped up in the experience of harvesting a single carrot.

There are plenty of resources on how to begin a farm-to-cafeteria program in your community. For starters, see:

• FarmtoSchool.org
• Bringing Local Food to Local Institutions
• Grow Montana

Sources: AP and The News Tribune

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.