Cultivating Collaborations in Farm to School

Farm to Institution of New York State (FINYS) is excited to kick off their year long farmer focused series, Cultivating Collaborations in Farm to School, which will continue our efforts to foster and strengthen partnerships between New York farmers and schools to support a resilient food economy. Cultivating Collaborations Series is designed to actively gain insight and offer resources to farmers interested and/or already engaged in farm to school procurement that will help build bridges with FINYS school affiliates throughout the year. 

Through sessions and resource sharing throughout the year, we aim to learn more about the business capacity, supply, and interest in the Farm to School procurement process from local small/mid-scale farms, especially farmers of color, and form connections to the FINYS Institute teams that make their school food decisions. This spring, we are offering the video release of the FINYS Farmer Readiness Scan Info Video upon registration and the recorded virtual session, “Steps to a Seasonal Menu." Please see below for details. 

FINYS Farmer Readiness Scan Info

Explainer Video

The video will provide a short explanation of: 

• What the FINYS Farmer Readiness Scan is;
• How to complete the Scan on your own;
• And how to utilize the tool so that FINYS can provide Farm To School resources and information tailored to you!

In addition to the video release, FINYS is also providing farmers with access to virtual office hours throughout the summer to offer extra support to answer related Farm to School questions and also time individual walk through opportunities to complete the Scan. 

Steps to a Seasonal Menu

Recorded Virtual Session

 Farm to School might just be three words, but farmers know it takes many steps to get fresh food from their fields into institutions like schools. In this session, we will walk through some examples of how regional farmers have successfully gotten their bounty onto the plates of students in NYS and some critical steps and barriers that might have gotten in the way. Through an active exercise, participants on the call will be able to assess their own operations and supply in order to better understand how to start their own pathway and opportunities for resources and support. This session will also provide a chance for farmers to learn more about what schools are looking for in food procurement and ways to highlight and market their seasonal and culturally relevant supply. Qiana Mickie, AFT Consultant and designer of the Farmer Readiness Scan, will moderate the session. 

Registration will provide you links to the FINYS Farmer Readiness Scan, FINYS Team office hours, the Farmer Readiness Scan explainer video, and the recorded virtual session "Steps to a Seasonal Menu."

Language Access Acknowledgement. Currently, the video and live session will be provided in English.  FINYS plans to offer the sessions, office hours, and Farmer Readiness Scan in Spanish in the coming weeks. If non-English sessions, materials, and office hours are desired, please share in the form below and include a preferred language.

About FINYS: Farm to Institution New York State (FINYS) is a collaborative initiative led by American Farmland Trust to dramatically expand the volume of food grown on local farms that is served in institutions across New York. We believe that transforming the local food economy requires systemic change and efforts of many - from agriculture, public health, economic development, environment, education and other sectors.