Are you a Wisconsin producer or local food business? Connect with us!
Farm to School (F2S) initiatives are the practice of participating in and promoting the use of locally sourced foods in school meal programs. Key elements of F2S are engaging with procurement, nutrition education, and school gardens.
Farm to Institution initiatives are the practice of engaging and developing regional food system supply chains to provide local food to eaters through institutional kitchens such as corporate and college campuses, hospitals, and food banks.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) Agricultural Development Division provides services through a Farm to School and Institution Specialist and DATCP programs focusing on procurement and economic development for farmers by supporting and facilitating connections along local food supply chains from producer to processor, buyer, and ultimately to people's plates.
Farm to School is an international movement calling to support our local producers in providing a bounty for nutritious school meals and snacks for all.
Wisconsin Farm to School
After many years of a statewide grassroots efforts, Wisconsin Act 293 established a DATCP Farm to School Program which formalized and provided structure to Wisconsin Farm to School and created the Wisconsin Farm to School Advisory Council.
The Wisconsin Farm to School Advisory Council members are nominated and appointed by the Secretary of DATCP. The council is comprised of 15 individuals working in various sectors that advance farm to school including agricultural and local food supply chain leaders, child health and nutrition professionals, school food service authorities, educators, and community leaders. The council makes key recommendations that guide the development of Farm to School in Wisconsin and create the Wisconsin Farm to School Annual Report.
2021 Wisconsin Farm to School Advisory Council Members
Farm to School Advisory Council Nomination Form
Note: For a PDF copy of the 2019-2020 Wisconsin Farm to School Annual Report, click here.
Wisconsin Farm to School Stewardship Team are non-voting members of the council and serve as a working body to engage the Wisconsin Farm to School Network around the council's key recommendations, align state agency efforts, coordinate strategies and efforts across the state, and seek funding. The Wisconsin Farm to School Stewardship Team is comprised of employees from the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and ROOTED.
Wisconsin Farm to School Leadership Team is coordinated by the Wisconsin Farm to School Stewardship Team and is for farm to school practitioners. Farmers, local food suppliers, and farm to school leaders of nonprofits, government agencies, and community organizations come together to discuss what is happening in farm to school. It is a meeting to touch base on how things are in F2S day-to-day, how to plug into developing activities, projects, and programs, communicate on opportunities, needs, and barriers, connect with the DATCP Farm to School Advisory Council's key recommendations, and work together to create and carry out Wisconsin Farm to School strategic plans.
Wisconsin Farm to School Network (WI F2SN)
These statewide formalized structures, along with a vast network of local and grassroots farm to school initiatives throughout the state, make up the Wisconsin Farm to School Network. Please sign on and connect to DATCP, network resources, activites, and technical assistance.
For more information, please contact:
April Yancer, Wisconsin Farm to School Coordinator
april.yancer@wisconsin.gov or wifarmtoschool@wisconsin.gov