Buying Direct From Farmers and Food Hubs
As school districts work to serve more delicious, nutritious, and sustainable meals, sourcing “regenerative” and “climate-smart” can feel overwhelming.
When looking for products and farms, certified organic is ideal. Organic is proven to reduce students’ exposure to toxic pesticides while supporting resilient farms and healthy soils.
In some cases, organic products may already be available from a school’s primary supplier, a food hub, or the state’s DoD Fresh program. In others, purchasing directly from local farms and ranches may be the best way to meet your district’s needs.
Some farmers and ranchers may use organic practices but not be certified due to cost or other barriers. That’s why we created this farmer questionnaire and farmer assessment to help K–12 school districts identify producers using climate-smart practices aligned with organic production. We also created a conversation guide to help food purchasers build stronger relationships with their suppliers.
Please use the resources below to connect with producers who are helping to build a healthier, more resilient food system. For more information or school-specific assistance, please reach out to our team at [email protected]
Farmer Questionnaire
This questionnaire helps you evaluate whether a farm’s climate-smart practices align with your district’s goals. If a farmer isn’t certified organic, these questions can help determine whether their practices still meet your needs.
Internal Farmer Assessment Guide
This farmer assessment should be used in conjunction with the Farmer Questionnaire to better understand a producer’s practices.
Conversation Guide
This guide is designed to help food purchases build stronger relationships with their suppliers. You can use these questions to learn how a farmer approaches soil health, pest management, biodiversity, and more.
Making Sense of Climate-Smart Sourcing
Feeling confused by environmental food labels? This resource shares practical tips for understanding terms like “climate-smart” and “regenerative” so you can start making more climate-friendly purchases.
California Organic & Regenerative Producers
This resource for California schools features farms and producers already supplying certified organic produce, meat, dairy, grains, and more to schools and institutions, along with non-certified farmers using organic-aligned practices.
How to Get Organic Certified
This guide helps producers navigate the organic certification process. If you’re working with a farmer interested in becoming certified, share this resource with them.