Oregon has clearly embraced farm to school programs and is poised to increase the impact local foods have in the lives of school children statewide. Results of the first ever USDA Farm to School Census provide both a national and state-by-state snapshot of related efforts. The assessment shows that Oregon school districts are directing 24 percent of their food budgets to purchase local foods. That’s the highest percentage in the country. In addition, two-thirds of all Oregon school districts are participating in farm to school and school garden activities.In Oregon, the census shows 82 of the 123 public school districts responding to the survey are involved in farm to school programs, representing about 714 individual schools with an estimated 366,066 children in attendance. While school districts in some of the other states might be spending more dollars overall, nobody spends a higher percentage of their food budget on local foods. More than $9.5 million of the dollars spent by Oregon school districts on food was used to purchase local products.
