North Dakota Farm to School Program Delivers Ag Education and Local Food
In partnership with: North Dakota Department of Agriculture
About 79% of the state’s schools participate in North Dakota’s Farm to School, a program allowing schools to buy and feature locally produced fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, honey, dairy products and more.
“We have nearly 200 School Food Authorities in North Dakota,” says Amanda Olson, child nutrition specialist and Farm to School specialist for the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. “That means about 79% of our schools are incorporating some sort of local food component in their meals where they can. It’s a very, very good number we have participating.”
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Nourishing Bodies & Minds
The national Farm to School program has been modified over the years, but its original goals have remained consistent: to positively influence children’s eating habits through increased consumption of fresh and local foods, hands-on nutrition education and community involvement.
Katrina Hanenberg with the North Dakota Department of Agriculture estimates between 20 and 25 local producers supply beef, produce and other foods to schools in their communities.
“The largest percentage is producers providing local beef,” Hanenberg says. “We’ve also partnered with several producers, placed their local products on the lunch menu and then delivered ag education to schools in the same day. The students love meeting the producer and learning more about how their food made it to their plate.”
Education is one of the biggest benefits of Farm to School, both ag education as well as learning the importance of locally sourced food.
“You’re literally teaching kids where their food comes from,” Hanenberg says. “Getting kids to eat local is so important. And it’s a neat way for producers to connect with students, explaining who they are, what they do and what agriculture is all about.”
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Produce Problem Solving
In addition to learning where their food comes from, students learn the benefits of putting local food into their bodies. Olson says research shows children retain more nutrients when produce travels shorter distances from picking to plate.
“School food directors participating in the program say local produce is fresher, smells better, tastes better and looks better,” she says. “They see an increase in kids eating more fruits and vegetables because of fresher, local products.”
However, bringing local produce into schools can be challenging during North Dakota’s harsh winters, but they are working on ways to improve winter options.
“We’re trying to figure out innovative ways to grow produce in classrooms,” Hanenberg says. “Microgreens and hydroponic growing towers have been very successful. We’ve granted hydroponic growing towers to 51 schools across the state as part of the Farm to School program.”
These towers are utilized directly in classrooms where students grow a variety of produce in vertical units that don’t need soil.
“Teachers use the units for instruction, and then the produce is given to students in the classroom or school lunchrooms for salad bars and meals,” says Hanenberg, noting an additional 50 hydroponic growing units will be granted to schools in the 2025-26 school year. “We’ve had great success putting these in classrooms.”
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Local Links
Keeping local dollars in local communities is a significant benefit of the Farm to School program, helping strengthen the food chain.
“Selling their products to schools is a key marketing aspect for our local producers, whether they’re family farms, ranchers or produce growers,” Olson says.
It’s a revenue stream that helps strengthen local food chains.
“North Dakota has the best producers,” Olson says. “Instead of buying from other parts of the country or even overseas, we can do it right here, and I think that’s the best part. It’s making our state thrive.”
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