What is Farm to School & Early Childhood?

The 3Cs Approach to Farm to School & Early Childhood

The 3Cs approach, which Vermont FEED developed in 2000, has taken root across the country as a successful model of change that connects efforts in the cafeteria/kitchen, classroom, and community to achieve robust and sustainable farm to school programs.

We’ve found that the more successful programs are not “add ons” to policies and curricula, but integrated throughout the educational priorities and culture. This requires collaboration among administrators, school nutrition professionals, students, families, caregivers, and educators. 

In the Classroom

Farm to school education provides a real-world context for learning across all disciplines. Engaging youth in hands-on opportunities such as planting gardens, cooking food from scratch, and visiting local farms establishes meaningful connections to their learning and deepens understanding.

Rather than an add-on to an already crowded schedule and curriculum, food systems education can be integrated within the existing curriculum and aligned with learning standards, educator professional development, and licensing standards.

In the Cafeteria & Kitchen

Early childhood settings present a prime opportunity to help young children and families think about nutrition and healthy food options, increase their access to healthy foods, and develop healthier food preferences at young ages.

The cafeteria, too, can be a powerful educational environment engaging youth in activities like taste tests and cooking lessons to introduce them to new foods and empower them to make healthy choices. Farm to school programs connect the expertise of school nutrition staff with education initiatives, resulting in increased participation in the meal program, reduced waste, and making nutritious food accessible to all students.

More than half of America’s children—nearly 30 million students—get daily nutrition from school meals, and schools spend over $6.3 billion on food costs. These numbers present enormous opportunities, and farm to school programs leverage this potential by strengthening connections between school and early childhood meal programs and local farms to increase local purchasing and bolster the local economy.

In the Community

Making connections within the community builds partnerships outside the school for place-based learning and garners community support for education initiatives. Youth have opportunities to learn about how their food is produced and to develop their own agency for creating change. Farmers build relationships with schools, early childhood programs, and other local institutions that allow them to expand into other wholesale markets and boost the local economy. Community dinners, service learning projects, and harvest festivals involve parents, families, and the whole community in building a food culture committed to nutritious and sustainable food choices.