What is the Fresh Food in Schools Project?

New Project to Help Schools Purchase Washington-Grown Fruits and Vegetables

Washington State Department of Agriculture awarded The Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network $172,000 to help implement its three-year Fresh Food in Schools project. The project will build public awareness and support to increase school district purchasing of Washington’s fruits and vegetables specialty crops.

“We are delighted to be able to work across Washington State to support our farmers feeding our kids! Our Fresh Food in Schools program will help farmers enter the school market and help our kids get better access to Washington grown fruits and vegetables.” says Ellen Gray, Executive Director of The Washington Sustainable Food & Farming Network. 

Partners supporting the Fresh Food in Schools project include:  the Washington State PTA, the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, PCC Natural Markets, the Child Obesity Prevention Coalition and WSDA’s Farm to School program.

“Building relationships between farmers, parents and schools, and encouraging schools to purchase more fresh fruits and vegetables from local farmers will lead to greater stability in our rural communities and strengthen our state’s economic base,” states Trudy Bialic, Director of Public Affairs at PCC Natural Markets.

Only twenty schools will be targeted to participate in the three year project.

“It has been determined that on average, school children receive 1/3 of their calories at school. Washington State PTA is very supportive of improving the quality of our school food and helping improve the nutrition for our schoolchildren” stated Bill Williams, Executive Director of the Washington State PTA.

“The Fresh Food in Schools project will provide important support to our School Districts in their efforts to improve the nutritional value of their meals,” says Victor Colman with the Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, a partner on this project.

“Fresh Food in Schools is a win-win for our farmers, our kids, our schools and our local communities”, says Paul Benz, Executive Director of the Lutheran Public Policy Office of Washington State.

Funding for this program is provided by private donations and the WSDA, through the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant.

If you would like more information about Fresh Food in Schools project contact Ellen Gray at egray@wsffn.org or 360-336-9694.