Schools that serve locally grown food and that offer hands-on activities such as school gardens or cooking classes are likely to report higher participation in the school lunch program and less wasted food, says the USDA. A survey says schools purchased $600 million of food from local sources during the 2013-14 academic year, up 55 percent in two years. The USDA runs a Farm to School grant program to help schools establish or expand programs that buy local food. The grants also help schools create recipes that use local food, offer taste tests to children, buy equipment, plant school gardens and organize field trips to farms.
Some 42,000 schools nationwide have farm-to-school programs. USDA says 75 percent of the schools that responded to its survey reported benefits from the program: 39 percent said there was increased support from parents and community members for school meals; 28 percent reported improved acceptance of school meals; 21 said school food costs decreased; 17 percent said less food was discarded after meals; and 17 percent said more students participated in the school food program.