Community Food Systems

IATP's Community Food Systems program is helping revitalize local economies, give farmers stable and predictable income through the buying power of institutions, like school districts and hospitals, and get fresh and healthy local food to students and communities. We are currently developing a model project for Farm to Head Start purchasing to put good food into the hands of underserved young children, because lifelong learning requires lifelong healthy eating. 

Over a half million students statewide offered farm-fresh, local food last year

MINNEAPOLIS – Schools serving over 558,000 students—or more than 68 percent of the state’s K-12 student population—are now engaged in Farm to School according to a pair of surveys released today by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) and the Minnesota School Nutrition Association (MSNA).

Minnesota's Ag Commissioner: "It doesn’t get much better" than Farm to School

In his December Commissioner's Column, Minnesota's Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson touts the benefits the state sees from the strong and expanding Farm-to-School movement taking place thanks to organizations like IATP, the Minnesota School Nutrition Association, and of course state agen