Farm To School

"Connecting Children, Farms, and Food" REAP's Farm to School program is a grassroots initiative whose goal is to enhance Wisconsin schools' existing meal programs by introducing fresh, nutritious, local and sustainably grown food to children. The program, like similar "farm-to-school" programs around the country, provide opportunities for children to reconnect with their natural world, strengthen links between the classroom and the lunchroom, and help establish a stable market for local farmers and processors.

Farm to School Programs

Every day, thousands of Wisconsin children line up for breakfast and lunch at school. School meals are a significant part of their daily food consumption -- and for many children, they may be the day's only source of nutritious food. REAP believes that our school children, regardless of income level, should have access to Wisconsin's highest quality agricultural products.

To make these goals a reality, REAP's Farm to School Program is working on these exciting projects:

	Snack Program - REAP supplies schools with reasonably priced, fresh, locally produced fruits and vegetables such as sweet potatoes, heirloom cherry tomatoes, green beans, apples, kohlrabi, and carrot sticks. Kids love our snacks; teachers love the educational “Snack Bites” material that come with delivery; and farmers love knowing their produce is providing healthy snacks for kids.
	Chef in the Classroom - Students at Sherman and Cherokee Middle schools join local chefs to learn to cook fresh food. Classroom cooking lessons are integrated with education about making healthy choices. At Sherman lessons have been integrated with the school garden, where students learn to grow and harvest fresh food to be used in classroom lessons.
	Harvest of the Month - By choosing one locally-available item to highlight each month, schools can begin to develop purchasing relationships with local farms, test out new recipes in the kitchen, and introduce new items to students.
	School Fundraiser - Parents fed up with selling wrapping paper, overpriced candy and tins of stale popcorn are thrilled to have a new fundraising option.  Products available through the fundraiser include a wide selection of locally-made, hand-crafted and fairly-traded items such as: chocolate covered Door County cherries; rich maple syrup; specialty jams, crackers and cheeses; naturally scented soaps; and much much more.

In collaboration with school educators, school food service staff, and local food producers, we are establishing a thriving farm-to-school model for the upper Midwest.

REAP's Farm to School Program is working to:

• Increase access to fresh, local, and sustainably produced foods for Wisconsin school children through school meal and snack programs.
• Explore opportunities to build reliable markets for local sustainable farmers and food processors within school food services.
• Connect children with food and farmers by providing hands-on educational opportunities focused on the local food system and the connections between health, food, farms, and the environment.

Our Supporters

As a project of a non-profit organization, Farm to School relies on the financial support of a variety of foundations, individuals, and other groups. We extend our thanks to those whose generous support has helped us achieve so much since our beginning:

American Girl Fund for Children
Attic Angel Foundation
Blooming Prairie Foundation
Bradshaw Knight Foundation
Brico Fund, LLC
L’Etoile Restaurant
Love 4 One Another Charities
Madison Community Foundation
Whole Foods Market
WHL’s incredible farmer educators
WHL’s many generous private donors & volunteers
Williamson Street Grocery Cooperative
Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (WEEB)
USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE)