Farm to School Project

Access to wholesome, fresh, nutritious food and lack of physical activity impacts children's health and well-being.  Efforts to combat obesity and chronic illnesses among children are starting nationwide.  Here in Buffalo, MAP has begun a Farm to School (FtS) Project. This project is designed to connect Western New York farmers and their produce to Buffalo schools in an effort to get healthy, local fruits and vegetables in the mouths and stomachs of Buffalo kids, to support local farms and to create a greater awareness of healthy diet choices and food issues among youth.

One big aspect of FtS is education. Six Buffalo schools are partnering with MAP right now to implement inschool and afterschool programs. The programs are a result of collaboration with farmers that are interested in FtS and MAP’s staff and resources and include fieldtrip opportunities to FtS farms, visits by the Mobile Market, workshops with MAP staff on topics like community food systems, worm composting, healthy snacking, green business practices and creative problem solving in business.

The other big aspect of Farm to School is the Farm portion. FtS is working to facilitate relationships between farmers and the school district. Many WNY farmers, policy makers and school district employees feel passionate about providing fresh local produce to youth in their communities and schools and see potential for an expanded business relationship between neighboring farms and schools.