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Getting Started
Planting a Farm to School Program, Tips for Farmers — Community Alliance with Family Farmers — This 2-page fact sheet provides brief, helpful advice for farmers.
Marketing Michigan Products: A Step-By-Step Guide — C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food & Systems, Michigan State University — This guide includes a detailed farmer assessment, sample invoices, and bid documents, tips for marketing and budgeting, and more. It was developed with input from farmers like you, and its practical tools are designed to address lessons learned through real farm to school experiences.
School Food Basics
School Food Service Market — USDA Farm to School - School food service can be a steady, reliable market for farmers, but they also have buying policies that are unique and specific to their industry. As is the case in any business venture, a good initial step is to learn more about the customer - in this case, the school food service market.
School Food Budgets — Michigan Farm to School — is a brief explanation of typical school food funding, costs, and procurement to help you understand the budgetary conditions under which most school food service programs operate.
For more information on ways to connect with school districts in your area, consult the Farmers’ Perspective in Selling to Schools section of the USDA Farm to School Team 2010 Summary Report and visit USDA Farm to School’s resources webpage.
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