Farm to school programs: exploring the role of regionally-based food distributors in alternative agrifood networks

Farm to school programs are at the vanguard of efforts to create an alternative agrifood system in the United States. Regionally-based, mid-tier food distributors may play an important role in harnessing the potential of farm to school programs to create viable market opportunities for small- and mi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agriculture and human values 2010-09, Vol.27 (3), p.335-350
Main Authors: Izumi, Betty T, Wright, D. Wynne, Hamm, Michael W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agribusiness
Agricultural commodities
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Cafeterias
Collaboration
Distributors
Education
Ethics
Evolutionary Biology
Family farms
Farmers
Farms
Food
Food programs
Food service
History
Nutrition
Philosophy
Prices
School lunches
Small & medium sized enterprises-SME
Studies
Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science
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Summary:Farm to school programs are at the vanguard of efforts to create an alternative agrifood system in the United States. Regionally-based, mid-tier food distributors may play an important role in harnessing the potential of farm to school programs to create viable market opportunities for small- and mid-size family farmers, while bringing more locally grown fresh food to school cafeterias. This paper focuses on the perspectives of food distributors. Our findings suggest that the food distributors profiled have the potential to help institutionalize farm to school programs. Notably, their relationships with farmers may be a critical element in expanding the scale and scope of local school food procurement. Their ability to catalyze local school food procurement however, is limited by the structural context in which farm to school programs operate. Specifically, the oppositional school year and agriculture production cycle, and tight food service budget constraints disembed and limit the potential of farm to school programs to decrease the “marketness” of school food procurement and to shift it from a process based largely on price to one that is more territorially embedded. As farm to school programs continue to gain support, regionally-based food distributors that have the meaningful relationships necessary to re-embed the school food service market back into the larger society may be critical to enabling advocates to achieve their goals.
ISSN:0889-048X
1572-8366
DOI:10.1007/s10460-009-9221-x