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At Salish Coast Elementary School in Port Townsend, a group of fifth grade students is asked a math question: If a farmer wants to plant four seeds per foot in two 40-foot rows, how many seeds will the farmer need?

It鈥檚 the kind of math problem teachers often ask fifth graders. At Salish Coast, though, it鈥檚 not theoretical: 鈥淔armer Neil鈥� asks the question, and the students plant the seeds.

鈥淚f you know you helped make the food, it always tastes better,鈥� says 11-year-old Gus Griffin, who鈥檚 helping plant 320 bean seeds in one of Salish Coast鈥檚 three gardens. (That鈥檚 the answer to the math question, by the way.)

Salish Coast鈥檚 gardens are part of Port Townsend School District鈥檚 farm-to-school program, and 鈥淔armer Neil鈥� is what the kids call the school鈥檚 garden production manager, Neil Howe. Howe tries to teach kids math, science and research skills through gardening. He also tries to foster their curiosity.

鈥淓very time I find a grub out there, I try to link it back to science. 鈥榃hat is this? Does anybody know?鈥� I want them to pass it around. I want them to want to know what that is,鈥� Howe said.

The school also gets beef, pork and grain from local farmers, which means it participates in all three elements of farm-to-school: school gardens, food education and local food procurement. The specifics vary, but has some kind of farm-to-school program.

奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 , and since then, farm-to-school has exploded in popularity. Last fall, the Washington State Department of Agriculture received over $8 million in farm-to-school funding requests from schools, more than twice the amount of funds available.

The state expanded the program in 2021 using federal COVID-19 funds. Based on how the budget is written, the agriculture department expects that as federal funds run out, legislators will backfill the money with state dollars.

鈥淭he kids will eat [school meals] more when they own their own food,鈥� said Shannon Gray, the Port Townsend district鈥檚 food services director.

鈥淚鈥檒l put the picture of the garden above anything that鈥檚 from the garden,鈥� Gray said about the school鈥檚 cafeteria meals. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e not eating it, [I鈥檒l realize] 鈥極h, yeah, I forgot to put the picture up.鈥欌��

The rise of farm-to-school

At least half of 奥补蝉丑颈苍驳迟辞苍鈥檚 districts are participating in some type of farm-to-school food program, estimates Annette Slonim, WSDA鈥檚 farm-to-school lead.

A 2019 of schools from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found about 68% of Washington respondents were farm-to-school participants, representing over 1,300 of the state鈥檚 schools, which number around 3,000 total.

Over half of the survey鈥檚 Washington respondents had been participating in farm-to-school programs for less than three years.

This year, USDA nutrition guidelines are expected to limit added sugar in school meals for the first time. But with farm-to-school, it can be easier to control sugar, sodium and other nutritional content.

Slonim said the pandemic also showed districts that local businesses are less susceptible to disruptions in the global food supply chain.

鈥淸The pandemic] made visible how fragile some parts of the food supply chain are,鈥� Slonim said.

Small businesses and communities benefit, too: Port Townsend, for example, purchased over 1,000 pounds of pork over the last two school years from , a local farm owned by Charlotte Frederickson and her husband, Martin Frederickson. The pigs at One Straw Ranch also eat local feed and spend most of their time outside, unlike most factory farm pigs.

鈥淲e feel that having a connection to your food is important environmentally, socially, ethically 鈥� across the board,鈥� Charlotte Frederickson said. 鈥淭o be able to nurture that in the next generation of consumers who will soon be choosing where to buy their food鈥�it makes us feel really good.鈥�

Port Townsend鈥檚 program continues to expand. Howe and the students grew about 4,000 pounds of produce last year. This year, he鈥檚 hoping for 6,000 pounds 鈥� and the kids seem more than happy to help.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty groovy,鈥� said Griffin, the 11-year-old student, looking at the garden.

Nutritional and educational benefits

Cassandra Hayes, nutrition services director at Colville School District, said she鈥檚 been surprised with how little some kids know about where their food comes from.

When the district first implemented farm-to-school, Hayes did a carrot showcase, featuring Washington carrots that still had the tops on them. Some of the kids told her they thought carrots came like peeled baby carrots.

Colville School District鈥檚 farm-to-school program has only been going on for two years. Two high school sweethearts who graduated from the district now produce the beef for schools there.

Hayes said there鈥檚 some trial and error that goes into figuring out what the kids will eat. For example, the high school students help make the ranch dressing from scratch at Colville, and some kids love it 鈥� but others 鈥渁re like, I want my Hidden Valley back,鈥� Hayes said.

But she said it鈥檚 worth it and the kids often like the local food better. Last year, Colville bought out its local carrot producer and had to return to its old producer, and the kids came up to Hayes to complain.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e like, 鈥榃hat is this?鈥欌�� Hayes said. 鈥淎nd they held up a carrot. I鈥檓 like, 鈥楾hat鈥檚 a carrot,鈥� and they鈥檙e like, 鈥楴o, this is not those carrots that you gave us鈥�they鈥檙e not as sweet.鈥欌��

鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥業鈥檓 sorry, I don鈥檛 know what to tell you, you guys ate them all,鈥欌�� Hayes said. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e like, 鈥榃ell, tell them to go make some more!鈥欌��

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