As someone who spent a lot of time on her Grandparent’s farm as a child, Duitsman knew how important to the local community it is to support local producers, as well as the dollars that area farmers put into the local economy. She found that many of her colleagues agreed, so they came together to bring local produce and proteins to Lake City schools. First, Duitsman had to connect the stakeholders; she had meetings with Sara George, from the Farmers' Market, Samantha Burington, from the State of Minnesota Department of Education, and representatives from Lunchtime Solutions, Lake City Schools’ food service management partner, who were also very supportive of Lake City’s Farm to School efforts. With these meetings, over time the effort was not just Duitsman’s goal, it became a commitment of the Lake City community to their schools, their farmers, and to the local economy. 

It started with a small grant, the First Bite Grant, which was five thousand dollars, from the State of Minnesota. Then the Full Table Grant was a “matching grant” for ten thousand dollars, with the stipulation that another ten thousand would be matched/spent by the schools on local foods. Today, Lake City boasts one of the highest percentages in the state of local food on the schools menu, largely due to the efforts spearheaded by Duitsman over the past few years, and the mutually beneficial relationships built between the school district and area farmers. Events like farm tours have helped Duitsman get to know and establish relationships with the producers. 

Pictured here is Duitsman (Right), with staff members of the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation Barbara Gunderson and Pam Bishop, Sara George of Renewing the Countryside (front), and Meave Mallozzi-Kelly of the Minnesota Farmers’ Market Association (left).

But how does Farm to Schools work? These relationship between school and producer need to be very strong. In Lake City, preordering proteins for the whole school year at one time works well for each side. Duitsman says that teamwork and collaboration build the foundation for strong Farm to School relationships. It is important for fruit and vegetable producers to know what the schools standards are for produce - what are the packing (boxes, bands, labels), and individual weights requirements. Duitsman states that she can be more flexible on apple sizes, for instance, because they slice the apples.

Other questions to answer:

• What are the Expectations from the school for quality and consistency of product?

• What will the Costs be for your operation to sell to the school - take into account the time, travel, and packaging fees. Estimate these costs to guide your pricing. When you calculate the costs, consider what you can do for the schools to give them a discount when ordering in bulk quantities

• Consider an Intermediate Outlet - like distributors and Food Hubs - organizations that have resources to help with getting started with Farm to School. Food hubs are a great way to aggregate and combine to sell to the schools, and other wholesale outlets. Be aware that selling directly to schools can be a labor intensive-option.