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Fruits and vegetables surrounding a school building.

Local Food Procurement Pathways: Key Drivers of Farm to School Participating Authorities Buying Directly From Farmers

  • by D. Adeline Yeh, Ashley Spalding, Christine Sauer, Pratyoosh Kashyap, Ashley Chaifetz, Becca B.R. Jablonski and Zoe Plakias
  • 9/8/2026
  • EIB-305

Overview

Farm to School (F2S) programs are widely adopted in U.S. school food systems: in 2022–2023, 74 percent of U.S. schools participated in F2S activities, and their local food purchases totaled $1.8 billion. This report analyzes how these schools source local products and the factors shaping their procurement choices.

Yeh, D. A., Spalding, A., Sauer, C., Kashyap, P., Chaifetz, A., Jablonski, B. B. R., & Plakias, Z. (2026). Local food procurement pathways: Key drivers of Farm to School participating authorities buying directly from farmers (Report No. EIB-305). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. https://doi.org/10.32747/2026.9562456.ers

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