Farm to ECE Local Food Procurement:
Decision Tree: Farm to Early Care and Education Local Food Purchasing Guide (NC State Extension)
o There are many different ways to buy local food, and this guide provides information that childcare centers and technical assistance providers can use to understand where to find local food, what to expect, and how to decide which local food source is right for different centers.
Guidelines for Hosting a Successful Taste Test in Early Childhood Settings
o This resource offers best practices, recommended supplies, and other tips for hosting taste tests in early care classrooms.
Local Purchasing For Family Child Care Providers
o This short guide offers options and tips for purchasing local foods and for family child care providers.
Recipes for Child Care: Centers and Homes
o These recipes provide child care centers with delicious new dishes that meet the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) meal pattern requirements. These kid-friendly recipes are standardized to provide updated crediting information for easy menu planning. They also include recipes made with legumes, whole grains, and/or dark green, red, and/or orange vegetables.
K-12 Local Food Procurement:
o The recipes provide school nutrition program operators with delicious new dishes that meet school meal pattern requirements. These recipes are standardized to provide updated crediting information, including the vegetable subgroups.
o The Northeast Iowa Farm to School Cycle Menu was created by school food service directors as an easy way to incorporate more Iowa-grown foods onto school lunch trays. The Cycle Menu incorporates Iowa-grown foods each week including fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy, offers Fall, Winter, and Spring variations, and meets the nutrition requirements of the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids act for grades K-12.
Oklahoma Farm to School Program Produce Calculator (downloads as spreadsheet)
o The produce calculator was developed to help producers and food service personnel calculate quantities and costs of various fruits and vegetables needed by a school/university cafeteria or any other food service provider. The program calculates poundage needed based on number of servings and serving size, and calculates the per serving cost based on the price of the produce
Checklist for Retail Purchase of Local Foods
o This checklist is designed for buyers of food service operations to begin the conversation with small-scale local growers about good agricultural practices and food safety.
Chop! Chop! Videos for Culinary Skill
These free training videos will help you and your school food service staff use more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains in your school meal program by introducing new foods, recipes and culinary skills.