Resources for Farmers

Farmers and food processors are key partners in farm to school efforts, and basic processing of fruits and vegetables can really make the difference in schools' ability to use local produce. Schools have limited budgets and staff time to do in-house processing of raw fruits and vegetables. They are especially interested in minimally-processed produce items to add to salad bars or conveniently serve in side dishes to meet their fruit and vegetable nutrition standard requirements. Some farms have found success with doing some value-added processing for their farm products, in order to expand their institutional market.

• Selling to Schools 101
• Selling to Schools & Other Institutions from the WSDA Handbook for Small & Direct Marketing Farms
• Top 10 Most Purchased Produce Items in Washington
• Market Channel Assessment Worksheet to help farms compare various market options, including schools
• Local Processed Product Business Planning Chart
• Top 10 Minimally Processed Foods in Washington
• Standard Pack Sizes for Fruit
• Common Processed Produce Pack Sizes & Specifications
• Vegetable Pack Size Chart
• USDA School Meal Pattern Basics
• Local Processed Product Pricing Examples

OSPI Child Nutrition has put together a handy visual chart to share the many vegetables within the subgroups schools are required to serve.