Why it matters
- In school year 2022-23, 74.1% of school food authorities took part in farm-to-school activities. USDA Farm to School Census, 2023 The ones that took part estimated they spent about $1.8 billion on local food, about 16% of their food spending. USDA Farm to School Census, 2023 results
- About 25% of school food authorities bought local food directly from individual producers. USDA Economic Research Service, EIB-305
- USDA's Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant awarded nearly $20 million to 68 projects in fiscal 2026, according to the Farmers Hotline, which cites USDA. Farmers Hotline, July 2026
- In Minnesota, 114 schools and districts finished their USDA Local Food for Schools purchases in January 2025. They bought $3.37 million of local food from 501 Minnesota producers, and 63% of purchases were made directly from Minnesota producers. Minnesota Department of Agriculture, 2025 Farm to Kids annual report
- USDA told states in 2025 that funding for the pandemic-era Local Food for Schools agreements, about $660 million, was no longer available, and that the agreements would be terminated. CBS News, March 2025 In the sources we checked, we found no USDA announcement reviving the program as of October 10, 2026.
Our viewWe believe money spent on school meals should stay close to home, where it supports farm businesses in the same communities. That is our view, not a measured result.
Schools and districts that buy local
Each example is listed because a cited source reports local purchasing by that school or district, using the source's own definition of local. A listing is not a rating or an endorsement. Section 6 lists the spend shares we could not verify. We do not estimate them.
Minnesota
Minneapolis Public Schools
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture named the district its 2025 School District of the Year. The district said it has "sourced farm-direct items from hundreds of producers since our program began in 2013." It expected to spend more than $500,000 on Minnesota-grown produce, grains, beans and proteins in the next school year. The state's 2025 annual report describes the district buying from over 20 small- and mid-sized producers.
MDA, Cream of the Crop awards, May 21, 2025 MDA, 2025 Farm to Kids annual report
Hutchinson Public Schools
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture named the district its 2026 School District of the Year. Child nutrition director Lesli Mueller said the district buys local foods from 31 farms and businesses, "everything from fresh produce to grains and meats."
Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools
The food service director said the district works with about 12 local suppliers. Staff mostly found them by researching farms and food hubs in the area, and typically call a supplier directly. In her words: "We just pick up the phone and call them."
Litchfield, Hutchinson and Dassel-Cokato
FOX 9 reported that the three districts together buy local food from more than a dozen farms and ranches, mostly within a 20-mile radius of the schools. The article gives no spend figure for each district.
White Bear Lake Area Schools
The district's own page says "Local partnerships include food sourced by" eight partners, including The Good Acre food hub in Falcon Heights. It lists local menu items such as cherry tomatoes, summer squash, mini bell peppers, purple sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, maple syrup and edamame.
Elsewhere in the United States
Cape Girardeau Public Schools
During the 2025-26 school year the district used a Local Food for Schools grant to buy food directly from 11 southeast Missouri farms, according to KFVS.
Windham Northeast Supervisory Union
In 2021-22 the supervisory union reported a 27% Vermont-grown food share, about $137,000 spent at Vermont farms. The article reports this as the top Vermont-grown share in the state that year.
Barren County Schools
A September 2025 news report says the district works with 15 local farms. It says about 14% of the district's food budget went to local food the prior year, against a Kentucky average of 3% to 5%.
Los Angeles Unified School District
The district's fifth Good Food Purchasing Program assessment reports that 17.2% of its roughly $163 million food spend, about $28 million, qualified as local in 2021-22. The program counts goods that are locally grown, processed or manufactured as local, so this figure is not limited to produce bought directly from farms.
Center for Good Food Purchasing, April 2025 newsletter (posted May 5, 2025)
Portland Public Schools
In a March 2023 letter, the district's nutrition services director wrote that local purchases are over 40% of total purchases. The letter counts locally grown and made foods as local. It says the district has been able to invest an estimated $2.2 million or more a year in them for almost a decade. This is the district's own statement, submitted as public testimony.
Minnesota grants
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) runs the AGRI Farm to Kids programs. They reimburse schools, early childhood centers and family child care providers for buying Minnesota-grown or raised foods used in federally funded meal programs. MDA, FY2027 First Bite request for proposals
- Approximately $1.47 million is available for fiscal 2027 through the AGRI Farm to Kids programs, according to MDA. MDA, August 11, 2026 Up to $1.22 million of that is for K-12 schools and early childhood centers on MDA's grants page. The FY2027 request for proposals gives a lower approximate figure of $1.2 million for the same programs. MDA, Farm to Kids grants MDA, FY2027 First Bite request for proposals
- First Bite: $2,500 to $5,000 with no match, for districts with little or no local buying experience. Each applicant may receive it only once. MDA, FY2027 First Bite request for proposals
- Full Tray: up to $25,000, formula-based on meals served, for districts with some local buying experience. MDA, Farm to Kids grants
- Equipment: up to $20,000 in fiscal 2027, with a 1:1 cash match. Equipment requests are made with a First Bite or Full Tray application. MDA, FY2027 First Bite request for proposals
- Minnesota's Farm to Kids grants were $377,000 in 2019. As of April 2026, the programs had awarded $5.62 million in grants and cost shares to more than 600 schools, school districts, early care centers and family daycares. MDA, August 11, 2026
- As of the 2019 Farm to School census, Minnesota schools spent 16% of their food budgets on local products, FOX 9 reported in 2023. We found no newer statewide figure. FOX 9, November 17, 2023
Awards announced June 2026
MDA is awarding more than $1.3 million through its AGRI Farm to School program to 59 school districts and 11 early childhood centers in 40 of Minnesota's 87 counties. KTTC, June 9, 2026 KTTC lists these southeast Minnesota recipients:
| School, district or program | Award |
|---|---|
| Cannon Falls Schools | $30,000 |
| NRHEG Public Schools (New Richland) | $21,559 |
| Rochester Central Lutheran School | $15,500 |
| Lake City Public Schools | $14,785 |
| Nisse Treehouse LLC (Mabel) | $13,974 |
| Pine Island Public Schools | $10,000 |
| Lyle Public Schools | $5,000 |
| Lanesboro Public Schools | $5,000 |
| Grand Meadow Public Schools | $3,000 |
| Riverway Learning Community (Winona) | $2,700 |
A grant is funding to buy local food. Receiving one does not show what share of the school's food budget went to local farms.
Rules, guidance and model language
- Geographic preference. Federal rules, as reproduced by the Cornell Legal Information Institute for the National School Lunch Program, let a school food authority apply a geographic preference when it buys unprocessed locally grown or locally raised agricultural products, as long as an appropriate number of qualified firms can compete. We did not read the official eCFR text or its most recent amendment. 7 CFR 210.21(g), Cornell Legal Information Institute Washington's state guide says USDA expanded this option beginning July 1, 2024. Washington State Department of Agriculture, procurement guide
- Small purchases. Effective October 1, 2025, the federal micro-purchase threshold rose from $10,000 to $15,000, and the simplified acquisition threshold rose from $250,000 to $350,000. Micro-purchases do not require ordinary competitive procedures. To the extent practicable, they must be spread equitably among qualified suppliers. Purchases from $15,001 to $349,999 require three quotes. Massachusetts DESE, school nutrition programs, February 2026
- State rules can be stricter. Check your state's contract rules before relying on any federal threshold. Massachusetts' school nutrition office says a sponsor restricted by Massachusetts' procurement law (M.G.L. c. 30B) must follow the most restrictive requirement, whether federal, state or local. Massachusetts DESE
- Forward contracts. A 2014 USDA webinar said forward contracts for local food must still be competitively procured, by formal or informal methods. It said a district, a group of districts, a distributor or a management company can set one up with farmers or producer groups. USDA Farm to School webinar slides, April 2014
- A purchase agreement. Missouri's sample agreement, adapted from Wisconsin Farm to School, leaves blank the month in which the district and farmer agree a purchase request. The farmer sends available items, quantities and prices. Produce is stored at or below 41°F, and invoices show weight, quantity and unit price. It is a blank template, not a signed contract. Missouri sample purchase agreement (undated)
- Bid language for local produce. Alabama's suggested formal-bid language gives preference to vendors that offer locally grown fruits, vegetables and poultry. It defines locally grown as grown in Alabama or within 75 miles of the state border. It also suggests a clause that lets a district buy comparable products directly from local farmers, outside the bid. Alabama formal-bid language (undated; file path shows 2022)
- State programs. Kentucky's Senate Bill 5 (2026), according to a March 2026 news report, will make it more flexible for child nutrition programs to buy food directly from local farmers. We did not review the bill text. WKYT, March 31, 2026 Vermont's Local Foods Incentive Grant pays districts 15 to 25 cents per school meal, based on their local food share. In its first year, 23 districts shared about $490,000. Seven Days, June 15, 2023 In August 2024 Iowa announced $2,000 grants for 137 public school districts or private schools to buy meat, eggs, produce, dairy and other foods from area farmers. Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, August 26, 2024
For family farms and farmers markets
- Kansas City Food Hub is a farmer-owned cooperative, established in 2016, with about eight or nine district partners and talks with around 12 more. According to the article, the Lee's Summit R-7 district partners with the hub, and the DeSoto Unified and Blue Springs districts feature its produce. Food Service Director, November 8, 2023
- Lake Country Services Cooperative (Fergus Falls) had a 12-week pilot described in an April 2015 column. It delivered about 36,000 pounds of fresh produce to 11 school districts, health care and day care facilities. AURI, April 2015 We found no current operating information for it.
- Verification form. MDA's Local Food Source Verification Form is aimed at food processors, manufacturers and entities that gather products from several farms. MDA, Farm to Kids grants
- Farmers markets. Minnesota Market Bucks match SNAP and SUN Bucks EBT spending dollar for dollar at participating farmers markets, up to $10 per market visit. Minnesota Department of Health, Market Bucks
What we did not verify
- Spend shares. For most districts on this page, the share of food spending that goes to local farms is Withheld: no cited source yet.
- Federal awardees. USDA's FY2026 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant awardee list could not be fetched, so Minnesota recipients of that grant are not listed.
- Cape Girardeau's grant. The KFVS report describes a Local Food for Schools grant in 2025-26. USDA told states in 2025 that the agreements would be terminated. We did not verify how that grant was funded.
- Current statewide figures. We found no current figure for the share of Minnesota school food that is local. The 16% figure above is from 2019.
- Dates. Some sources are old, the oldest from 2014. Most cards show a date. The White Bear Lake card does not, because its source does not show one. The Missouri and Alabama documents are undated.
If a listing is wrong, or you have a source we should review, see Corrections & Disputes.