Category: Arkansas Farm to School History

In 2013, Fayetteville School District became the first school district in Arkansas to receive a Farm to School grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since 2013, a total of $617,430 has been provided to nine Arkansas entities through the program. The other awardees have been Lawrence County School District, Mansfield School District, […]

In 2012, a Community Advisory Board for the Arkansas Grow Healthy Study that was led by Arkansas Children’s Research Institute (ACRI) was formed to advise on pilot farm to school projects around the state. In 2013, ACRI was chosen as the state’s Core Partner by the National Farm to School Network (NFSN) and assumed the […]

Towards the end of 2009, Heifer International hosted an Arkansas Farm to School Conference in Little Rock. This event brought together more than 200 stakeholders from around the state and nation. This event marks the first time the term “Arkansas Farm to School” was used. An Arkansas Farm to School Steering Committee was convened following […]

In January 2009, two meetings were scheduled by the Arkansas Department of Education Child Nutrition Unit to look at the expansion of farm to school in the state. The first was a meeting to gather initial interest in farm to school and to talk about working with farmers in the southern region of the nation. […]

In 2007, Apple Seeds, Inc. was formed to inspire healthy living through garden based education. The nonprofit established and supported school gardens at Fayetteville School District initially and expanded its programming over the years to include cooking classes, garden clubs, and field trips to farms and farmers markets.

From 1996 to 2004, the term “farm to school” gained momentum. Early farm to school leadership took root by the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group, Inc. (Southern SAWG). Southern SAWG was in operation from 1991-2020 with a mission of promoting sustainable agriculture in the South.

In 1995, several Arkansas producers participated with the New North Florida Cooperative Association, Inc. (NNFC) that worked with 60-100 Black farmers in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas to provide fresh produce for school meals. NNFC served more than a million students in 72 school districts across the region.

In 1992, Dunbar Garden started next to Gibbs Magnet Elementary School and Dunbar Middle School in Little Rock as a nonprofit to provide educational resources and interactive opportunities for youth, families, and the community through sustainable urban agriculture.

One early example was at Yellville-Summit High School from the 1940s when Earnestine Camp, teacher and food service director, led the school’s efforts to grow and maintain a school garden, raise chickens, and prepare scratch-made meals that included their butchered chickens and homemade bread. The school was recognized as a national pioneer for school food […]