Farmers – How to Sell to Schools

Schools, early childhood education facilities, and alternative learning environments have the opportunity to serve local foods to students as part of their farm to school program. Local foods can be served in the classroom, cafeteria, or other locations depending on the structure of the learning environment.

The Arkansas Legislature defines local food as food products that are grown in Arkansas and/or packaged and processed in Arkansas. This definition comes from the Local Food, Farms, and Jobs Act.

If you are a farmer wanting to sell to schools, use the Farmer Flowchart as a guide for getting started. Another important resource to review is the Farm Food Safety Checklist if you are a produce grower. Schools may ask you to provide documentation related to your food safety practices, and this checklist walks you through the areas they may ask about. 

In addition, keeping up with regulations to ensure your farm is using best practices can be daunting. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service provides science-based, on-farm food safety knowledge to fresh fruit and vegetable farmers, packers, regulatory personnel, and others interested in the safety of fresh produce in Arkansas. Learn more about their produce safety courses here. 

To find schools to sell to that already buy local food, search on the Local Procurement Map.