Building a more resilient community-based food system begins with education
Building a more resilient community-based food system begins with education.
It starts with the littlest eaters. To help kids learn where their food comes from and encourage healthy eating habits, Field to Family brings the ‘farm to the school.’
Driven by our mission to support local farmers and educate our community on the power of local foods, Field to Family partners with Eastern Iowa school districts to connect schools with local farmers, procure local food for school lunch menus, and provide food system educational programming.
Keep reading to learn more about our efforts to get every eater on board.
Sourcing Local Food for School Lunches
We know getting healthy foods on kids’ plates is the best way to create healthy eaters for life. Field to Family procures fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, honey, mushrooms, meat, and dairy for school lunch menus. The demand for locally produced foods in schools ensures producers can expand their operations year after year to meet the growing demand. By providing students with easy access to fresh, local foods, we also give hard-working Iowa producers an outlet to promote and sell their products wholesale.
Field to Family has been procuring local food for the Iowa City Community School District since 2011. Our food hub has since expanded local food procurement to other school districts, private schools, and early care centers. In 2024, Field to Family sourced local to 44 school districts.
Local Food Exploration Boxes
At Field to Family, we believe that learning about local food goes beyond taste-tests. Our Local Food Exploration (LFE) Boxes allows you to explore the history and seasonality of local food with students from Pre-K to third grade or even with loved ones at home! From September to May, we offer a uniquely themed Local Food Exploration box, equipped with everything you need to learn about the sheer diversity of local food in Iowa. Click here to access the free curriculum, designed with the seasonality of our Online Market in mind.
Field to Family adapted Farm to School curriculum from ISU Extension’s Teacher Box program to create Local Food Exploration Boxes. Each month, educators can choose to incorporate these multifaceted lessons into their classrooms.
The goals for the Local Food Exploration Boxes are as follows:
- Increase access to fresh, local foods through local food procurement as well as food and agriculture education activities
- Help early care staff, educators, parents, and guardians identify seasonal foods each month to teach young children about local seasonal foods
- Incorporate lessons about culture and cultural relevance where applicable, as well as uplift cultures outside of white Eurocentric cultural norms
- Incorporate information about the food highlighted, ideas for taste tests, a related physical activity, and other similar learning activities to celebrate the act of trying a new food that engages children with lessons about local food and food systems
Dig into Local Foods and Resilient Food Systems
There’s so much to learn about local and sustainable food systems, both in our region and beyond. Take a look at some of these posts to learn more about Field to Family, our partners and the food system we envision.
Help Preserve the Future of the Program
We envision a resilient community-based food system where everyone can eat fresh, locally grown food with the seasons and where farmers of all backgrounds can make a living. But we need every eater on board.
Learn more about how you can help support Field to Family’s mission and our work through the Farm to School Program.
