Farm to School Procurement Pathways Analyzed in New Publication

Local Food Procurement Pathways: Key Drivers of Farm to School Participating Authorities Buying Directly From Farmers is a new report from USDA Economic Research Service that analyzes how schools source local products and the factors shaping their procurement choices. In 2022–2023, 74% of U.S. schools participated in farm to school activities, and their local food purchases totaled $1.8 billion. Although school food authorities reported increasing their local food purchases during the year covered by the report, more than 42% also noted challenges in procuring local foods, such as limited supply, lack of access through primary vendors, difficulty identifying local producers or distributors, limited access to precut or processed products, and lack of product variety. This research suggested that school purchases through intermediated markets showed more positive outcomes for farms than direct markets alone.