Farm To School Guide Aims To Increase Healthy Food Access

A new partnership aims to grown Indiana’s farm to school pipelines and connect students with local fresh fruits and vegetables.

For some Indiana students, meals at school provide the only healthy food they will eat all day.  Increased access to locally sourced produce is the goal of a new partnership between the Indiana State Department of Health, Purdue Extension and Indiana Department of Education.

Heather Tallman is a program manager with Indiana Grown and says a new guide will be provided to all Indiana school corporations.

"They’ll be able to look at it and see what is packaged, raised, produced and grown in their county and they can buy it direct, buy it through their distribution channels," says Tallman.

National school lunch nutrition standards include a daily serving of fruit and vegetables.

Tallman says the guide will help food service directors and farmers.

"It does help to visualize what is often found on a tray, from whole proteins to whole produce, that kind of thing," says Tallman. 

All Indiana farmers are eligible to participate. Indiana Grown will launch the guide next year.