top of page

Policy Initiatives

Policy Action Team Goal Statement

In order for CT ECE Centers and K-12 schools to have access to tangible, sustainable processes that connect education, agriculture and nutrition, where food served is sourced locally, and all students have access to meaningful, empowering experiences with the local food system in their classrooms, cafeterias and outdoor learning spaces, we will:

 

Advocate for statewide policies that are driven by the needs of local communities that promote the growth for farm to school in CT

Legislative Priorities

1. ​Provide “School Meals for All” so that all students in Connecticut receive access to no-cost nutritious meals in order to learn and thrive
​

​​​​​2. Invest in efforts that promote food local foods being served in school meals and food literacy and  education for students

​

  • Incentivize local procurement in schools meals by providing additional funding to support the purchase and preparation of locally grown foods in school meal programs​

  • Permanently establish a Farm to School Grants Program to fund food education and local food activities in schools, districts, and early childhood centers. Codify CT Grown for CT Kids Grants program in state statute and provide permanent funding at $500,000 per fiscal year.​

  • Establish state farm to school coordinator position(s) to support increased growth of farm to school programming at a state level and the necessary capacity and technical expertise to manage farm to school projects​

​​​​​3. Integrate farm to school into CT’s educational school system, making food education a part of every students’ experience at school.​

​

  • Examples include: adding food literacy to education curriculum; including food education in science or health standards; providing teacher professional development opportunities for food education; and funding food educators positions in schools or districts​.

How to Get Involved

Add yourself to the CT Farm to School Collaborative Calendar to Get All Meeting Updates!

bottom of page