Farm To School Toolkits
Farm to school encourages healthy lifestyles in children and helps support local economies. The Wisconsin Farm to School Toolkits for school nutrition programs and producers can help you create a successful farm to school program in your community.
These toolkits are interactive. They include a wealth of information that will help you plan your farm to school program, source locally grown fruits and vegetables in season, work out purchasing details, estimate quantities, set prices, educate students, market your program and develop strong community partnerships. The toolkits also include links to invaluable online resources.
Wisconsin Farm to School: Toolkit for School Nutrition Programs
Updated January 2018
(Links open in new tabs. Tools are linked within each section and are also accessible individually below each section. Use the bookmarks in each PDF section to help you navigate between the text and the tools. The text of the entire toolkit, without the tools, can be found at the end of this list.)
Cover and table of contents (PDF)
Overview (PDF, 3.3 MB)
- Tool: Benefits of farm to school (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School baseline map (Link to external website)
Get started (PDF, 6.7 MB)
- Tool: Wisconsin memo regarding local purchasing for schools (PDF)
- Tool: School nutrition director survey (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School frequently asked questions (PDF)
- Tool: Seasonal availability of Wisconsin foods (PDF)
- Tool: Licensing, labeling and regulation requirements in Wisconsin (PDF)
- Tool: Buy local, buy safely guide (PDF)
- Tool: Buy local, buy safely checklist (PDF)
- Tool: On-farm food safety information for food service personnel (PDF)
- Tool: Food safety success story (PDF)
- Tool: “Farm to school 101″ PowerPoint (click here for PDF version)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School overview (PDF)
Locate and purchase local foods (PDF, 2.3 MB)
- Tool: USDA Fact Sheet: Using DoD Fresh to purchase local produce (PDF)
- USDA school garden Q&A memo (PDF)
- Tool: Servings to pounds calculator (Excel spreadsheet)
- Tool: Food buying guide for child nutrition programs (Link to external website)
- Tool: Pecks to pounds (PDF)
- Tool: Comparison of procurement methods (Link to external website)
- Tool: Solicitation tracking document (PDF)
- Tool: Sample vendor letter (Word document)
- Tool: Farm business questionnaire (Word document)
- Tool: Product availability and pricing form (PDF)
- Tool: New vendor meeting checklist (PDF)
- Tool: Sample purchasing agreement (Word document)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School success story: Ensuring meaningful participation in farm to school (Manitowoc success story) (PDF)
Incorporate local foods (PDF, 8.2 MB)
- Tool: List of recommended kitchen equipment for light processing (PDF)
- Tool: List of recommended kitchen equipment for from-scratch cooking (PDF)
- Tool: Field guide to salad bars in schools (PDF)
- Tool: Fresh fruit and vegetable bars: production log (Word document)
- Tool: Harvest of the Month sample calendar (PDF)
- Tool: Wood County Harvest of the Month calendar (PDF)
- Tool: Wood County Harvest of the Month success story (PDF)
Promote your program (PDF, 2.4 MB)
- Tool: Sample flyer—Where does your food come from? (PDF)
- Tool: Template flyer—Where does your food come from? (Word document)
- Tool: Sample promotion letter for staff and parents (Word document)
- Tool: Sample school menus promoting local food and/or Harvest of the Month (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School success story: Youth get active with school lunch (Viroqua) (PDF)
Educate students (PDF, 17 MB)
- Tool: Wisconsin Model Academic Standards for Nutrition (PDF)
- Tool: School composting guide (PDF)
- Tool: Got Dirt? Youth garden toolkit (PDF)
- Tool: Cultivating Childhood Wellness through Gardening (Link to external website)
- Tool: Got Veggies? Garden-based nutrition education curriculum (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School success story: Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Garden (Wausau)
- Tool: Nutritious, delicious, Wisconsin (PDF)
- Tool: the Hayride: A resource for educational farm field trips (PDF)
- Tool: Food education resources (PDF)
Evaluate your work (PDF, 4.1 MB)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School program evaluation report (PDF)
- Tool: Knowledge, attitudes and consumption behavior survey (PDF)
- Tool: Height and weight measurements (PDF)
- Tool: Monthly activity reports user guide (PDF)
- Tool: Monthly activity reports (Excel spreadsheet)
- Tool: Local purchasing tracking (Excel spreadsheet)
- Tool: Key stakeholder interviews (Word document)
- Tool: Student focus groups (Word document)
Build sustainability (PDF, 3.0 MB)
- Tool: Model wellness policy language for schools (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin Wellness: Putting Policy Into Practice (External link)
- Tool: Wisconsin School Garden Wellness Policy Tool (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin School Board Association local purchasing policy article (PDF)
- Tool: Advocating Local Policy Change (PDF)
- Tool: Funding Farm to School (PDF)
Additional resources (PDF)
Acknowledgements (PDF)
Printer-friendly full text without tools (PDF, 2.6 MB)
Wisconsin Farm to School Toolkit for Producers
Updated June 2014
(Links open in new tabs. Tools are linked within each section and are also accessible individually below each section. Use the bookmarks in each PDF section to help you navigate between the text and the tools. The text of the entire toolkit, without the tools, can be found at the end of this list.)
Cover and table of contents (PDF,4.2 MB)
Overview (PDF, 4.2 MB)
- Tool: Benefits of farm to school (PDF)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School baseline map (Link to external website)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School website (coming soon)
- Tool: The Locavore School (PDF)
- Tool: Crawford County success story (PDF)
Know your customer (PDF, 2 MB)
Prepare your business (PDF, 13.1 MB)
- Tool: Farm business questionnaire (Word document)
- Tool: Product availability and pricing (PDF)
- Tool: Setting prices for various markets (PDF)
- Tool: Introduction to insurance considerations (PDF)
- Tool: Food safety success story (PDF)
- Tool: Food safety and liability insurance (PDF)
- Tool: Buy local, buy safely guide (PDF)
- Tool: Buy local, buy safely checklist (PDF)
- Tool: Licensing, labeling and regulation requirements in Wisconsin (PDF)
- Tool: Collaborative marketing (PDF)
- Tool: USDA food hub resource guide (PDF)
- Tool: Distributors (PDF)
Connect with schools (PDF, 3.2 MB)
- Tool: Wisconsin Farm to School food service directory (PDF)
- Tool: School nutrition director survey (PDF)
- Tool: School nutrition meeting checklist (PDF)
- Tool: Pounds to servings calculator (Excel spreadsheet)
- Tool: Pecks to pounds (PDF)
- Tool: Sample purchasing agreement (Word document)
- Tool: Sample invoice (Excel spreadsheet)
School relationships and marketing (PDF, 3.2 MB)
- Tool: Wood County, Wisconsin Harvest of the Month success story (PDF)
- Tool: Guide for farm field trips (PDF)
Additional resources (PDF, 553 KB)
Acknowledgements (PDF, 552 KB)
Printer-friendly full text without tools (PDF, 1.4 MB)
These toolkits are a collaborative effort of the UW-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Their publication was supported by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
