1. Growing Farm to Preschool
Bringing the “Farm”
to Preschool Settings
Stacey Sobell, Ecotrust
Rosa Romero, UEPI, Occidental College
Zoe Phillips, UEPI, Occidental College
15th Annual CFSC Conference– November 6, 2011
2. Group popcorn questions:
who is in the room?
• Do you work with preschools or childcare?
• Are you involved with farm to school programs?
• Are you a educator? Do you work for a non-
profit? Are you food service staff? Are you a
farmer or food producer?
• Are you from the west coast? The east coast?
From out of the country?
3. Key Concepts
• K-12 farm to school movement is strong
and growing
• Farm to preschool movement is emerging
• Farm to preschool is a systems approach
• National Farm to School Network and
www.farmtopreschool.org website provide
resources and support
4. Topics
• Introduction/Overview:
– Farm to preschool – what and why?
– Systems approach
– Case study: program in Los Angeles
– National support
• Interactive activities:
– Student activities
– A closer look at the systems approach
6. What is Farm to Preschool?
• Farm to School:
– Connects local food producers and
processors with the school cafeteria or
kitchen
– Food- and garden-based education in the
classroom, lunchroom, and community
• Farm to Preschool:
– Ages 0-5
– Childcare centers, preschool, daycare
centers, in-home care, Head Start
Cafeteria – Classroom - Community
7. National Farm to School Network
http://www.farmtoschool.org/
Operating in 50 states
More than 2,352 programs in K-12
8. Why Farm to Preschool?
• Addresses increases in obesity among
preschoolers
• Encourages preference and consumption
of fruits and vegetables
• Increases access to fresh fruits and
vegetables
9. Why Farm to Preschool?
• Teaches food and environmental literacy
to students, teachers and food service
workers
• Benefits local economy and environment
• Improves opportunities for small farmers
10. Why Preschool?
• Children consume as much as 80% of
daily nutrients in childcare
• Early patterns are a determinant of later
eating habits
• Children and schools can be agents of
change in their family and community
• K-12 Farm to School movement strong
– Prepares preschoolers for later activities
12. Farm to Preschool Partners/
Stakeholders
Students
Families Educators
Farm-
to-
Farmers & Community
Food School Members
Producers
Preschool Food
Service/
Staff Cooks
14. Farm to Preschool Program
UEPI, Occidental College
• Nutrition and Garden curriculum
• Experiential learning
• Physical activity
• Parent outreach and workshops
• Local food sourcing
• Wellness policies
• Community links
• Evaluation
15. Nutrition and Garden Educators
Education
Harvest of the Month nutrition curriculum Students
– CA state developed program for K-12
– Modified a PreK version
– Meets Head Start Domains and DRDP-R
– Weekly lessons
– Monthly taste tests
– New topics include:
-Seasonal and local food system
-Plant cycles through gardening
16. Experiential Learning Educators
Students
Interactive Books Monthly Taste Test
Gardening
Language and Arts Science Labs
17. Physical Activity Educators
• “Tutti-Fruitti” physical activity breaks with
Students
healthy eating themes
• Studies show that PA breaks increase
concentration throughout the day
• Ideal for during group and transitional times
18. Parent Outreach & Preschool
Families
Workshops Staff
• Workshop Themes:
Students Farmers &
- Healthy Eating on a Budget Food
Producers
- Reading Nutritional Labels
- Understanding Diabetes/Cholesterol
- Home Gardening
• Monthly family newsletters
• Field trips & CSA
19. Food
Local Food Sourcing Service/
Cooks
Farmers &
Food
• Facilitate relationships with farmers, Producers
farmers‟ markets, and food distributors
• Source locally in meal and snack menus
• Best Practices: start small,
realize budget is the bottom-
line; volume and seasonality
are key
• Models are emerging:
-Cooperative Buying (Springfield, Mass)
-Scratch cooking by large distributors (San Diego, Ca)
-Farmers‟ Markets, Farm direct, CSAs, Farm Cooperatives
20. Preschool
Wellness Policies Staff
Families
• Not required in childcare
Educators
• Watered-down
• Potential for sustainable improvements in
school environment
• Include language for farm to
preschool components
• Barriers: buy-in, not required
• Best Practices: involve administrators, staff,
teachers and parents in development
21. Farmers &
Community
Community Links Food
Producers
Members
Farmers‟ Market Fieldtrip
Students
Educators
Cooperative Extension Farmer in the Classroom
22. Evaluation Educators Families
Surveys from students and parents
Preschool
over two school years showed: Community
Staff Members
• Increased knowledge of „local‟ and „fresh‟
• Increased knowledge of fruits and vegetables
• Increased willingness to try new fruits and vegetables
• Trend towards preferring more fruits and vegetables, less
likely to prefer unhealthy foods
• Parents: Increased knowledge of farmers‟ markets,
healthy eating practices, reading nutrition labels,
identifying obesity risk factors
24. A Growing Movement
– Handful of pilot programs a few years ago
– National Farm to School Network: one-year
farm to preschool planning initiative
– Farm to Preschool Subcommittee
– 2012 Activities:
• National survey of programs
• Convening key stakeholders
• Farm to Cafeteria Conference
• Report
• Website…
27. Sample Farm to Preschool
Activities
Students:
• Science Discovery Lab
• Taste test
• Gardening
• Tutti Fruitti stretch
28. Community Mapping Families
Students
Educators
Activity: Farmers &
Food
Producers
Farm-
to-
School Community
Members
Creating a Farm to Preschool Preschool
Staff
Food
Service/
Cooks
Community Action Plan
