Farm to School Action Plan 2020-2021 - Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc. Made Possible by a Grant of the USDA - CAPSLO
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Farm to School Action Plan
2020-2021
Developed by
Community Action Partnership of
San Luis Obispo County, Inc.
Made Possible by a Grant of the USDA
Table of Contents SMJUHSD Farm to School Introduction 2 Community Background & Student Demographics 2 Vision & Goals 3 Progress to Date 4 Notable Key Stakeholders 5 School Food Program/Local Procurement 7 Background 7 Sourcing & Procurement 8 Next Steps 9 Key Stakeholders 9 School Gardens 9 Background 9 Next Steps 10 Key Stakeholders 10 Agriculture Education & Curriculum Integration 11 Background 11 Next Steps 11 Key Stakeholders 11 Environmental Impact 12 Background 12 Next Steps 12 Evaluation 12 Demonstrated Readiness & Interest in F2S Program from Stakeholders 12 Partner & Community Agencies 14 Increasing Stakeholder Engagement 16 Program Sustainability 16 Background 16 Next Steps 16 Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 1
SMJUHSD Farm to School Introduction Community Background & Student Demographics Located on the Central Coast of California, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc., (CAPSLO) is part of the nationwide network of over 1,100 community action agencies. Now in its 56th year, it serves over 32,000 low-income individuals in 11 California counties. CAPSLO achieves outcomes by engaging multiple sectors through seven divisions: Adult Day Center; Child, Youth and Family Services; Energy Services; Family & Community Support Services; Homeless Services; Supportive Services for Veteran Families; and Health and Prevention, which houses the Teen Wellness program. Operating in both San Luis Obispo County and Northern Santa Barbara County, the Teen Wellness program provides high schools with school-based obesity prevention programs that strive to instill lifelong healthy habits, encourages students to take personal responsibility for their health, and empowers students to positively affect community health. Teen Wellness services include health coaching, health fairs, classroom presentations, Teen Wellness Clubs, and after-school fitness programs. It also provides the Harvest of the Month Project with the means to create recipes, share fresh produce from local farms, and engage school staff with students in promoting a healthier eating culture at school. Additionally, Teen Wellness engages parents through education and support for healthier meals at home. In Santa Barbara County, agriculture is the largest industry, providing a production value of nearly $1.5 billion in 2018.1 The City of Santa Maria is one of two major agricultural centers in the county, yet Santa Maria suffers from the highest rates of poverty in the county along with a lack of access to healthy foods and nutrition education, leading to the consumption of inexpensive, heavily-processed foods containing high amounts of sugar, salt and fat.2 Access to local healthy fresh foods is a challenge for families that receive CalFresh SNAP-ED EBT funds to purchase groceries. In the development of this project, CAPSLO connected to the food access work group collaborative, North County Food Resilience Equity Sustainability Action (FRESA), which found that 40% of EBT-eligible families in Santa Barbara County could 1 Agricultural Commissioner's Office. (2018). 2018 Agricultural Production Report County of Santa Barbara.” Retrieved from https://countyofsb.org/uploadedFiles/agcomm/Content/Other/crops/2018.pdf 2 Santa Barbara Food Action Network. (2016). Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan. Retrieved from https://www.sbcfoodaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/SBC-Food-Action-Plan-2016-Full-website.pdf Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 2
be found in Santa Maria, CA.3 The Santa Maria farmers markets that are open to the public do
not accept EBT as payment, thus reducing equitable access to local produce by forcing families
that receive EBT to shop at supply chain grocery stores.
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District (SMJUHSD) in Northern Santa Barbara County
was at its highest enrollment in 25 years with 7,949 children in the last completed school year.
Nearly one-half of SMJUHSD students are overweight and/or obese and three-fourths of the
students are eligible for free or reduced school meals.4,5 The racial and ethnic breakdown of
SMJUHSD is 65% Hispanic/Latino, with 28% White, 5% Asian, and the remaining numbers of
Black, Native American, Pacific Islander students at close to or less than 1% each.6
Vision & Goals
The Farm to School (F2S) Planning Project was made possible through a grant from the USDA
to CAPSLO’s Teen Wellness Department to facilitate the development of a F2S action plan.
CAPSLO worked collaboratively with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
(SMJUHSD) and key stakeholders, including students, parents, teachers, community members,
local food suppliers, and/or those interested in supporting F2S efforts.
The SMJUHSD F2S Action Plan is designed to be used by school sites and community partners
to support student access to healthy foods. The plan addresses three major focus areas:
1. School Meals;
2. School Gardens; and
3. Agriculture Education.
In meeting with stakeholders to develop the plan, CAPSLO used the human-centered design
framework as a tool to creatively develop solutions to complex problems while engaging the
people it will serve throughout all stages of the process. Human-centered design framework
begins with observing the current experience, generating ideas, prototyping, testing solutions,
and implementing the solution.7
Long-Term Vision for the Three Focus Areas
3
DSS 169C ad hoc. Of a total NA/PC CalFresh population of 22,083 households, 8,862 households are in North
County - in or around Santa Maria
4
Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. (2019). Santa Maria Joint Unified High School District.
Retrieved from www.kidsdata.org
5
Ibid.
6
National Center for Education Statistics. (2019). Santa Maria Joint Unified High School District. Retrieved from
https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&details=1&ID2=0635670&DistrictID=0635670
7
What is Human-Centered Design? (2019) Design Kit. Retrieved from https://www.designkit.org/human-centered-
design
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 3SMJUHSD aims to increase local healthy foods in schools in order to improve student well-
being and food equity. Utilizing the human-centered design method for exploring solutions,
goals were created utilizing “How Might We...” statements as follows:8
How might we….
● Increase access to a variety of foods that meet nutrition guidelines as well as student
dietary needs, preferences, and culture?
● Ensure adequate support to develop, increase access, and sustain school gardens?
● Connect more students to agriculture education and resources such as school gardens and
the Career Technical Education Center (CTE)/Ag Farm?
Short-Term Goals & Objectives
Short-term goals for the Farm to School program are those that can be accomplished in the next
one to two years (2021-22 and 2022-23):
● Stakeholders attend local F2S community meetings and events
○ Annual Santa Barbara School Wellness Summit
○ Isla Vista Food Cooperative (Co-op) meetings
○ Food Action Network work group meetings
● Seek and support F2S funding opportunities and partnerships
○ Establish relationships and common goals with partners
○ CAPSLO, SMJUHSD, and partners seek funding independently and
collaboratively
○ Apply for funding from California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA),
USDA, school district, private grants, youth grants, etc.
● Hire a F2S staff member to perform some and/or all of the following duties:
○ Provide nutrition education and cooking demonstrations
○ Support school garden development and maintenance
○ Assist in developing relationships to support local procurement
○ Organize student-led clubs to assist with F2S goals
● Stipend youth involvement and participation in F2S activities
Progress to Date
In partnership with the SMJUHSD, CAPSLO’s Teen Wellness Department developed a Farm to
School Action Plan with the USDA Farm to School Planning Grant. The plan's purpose is to
increase access to local healthy foods for students in all four district school sites including Santa
Maria High School (SMHS), Ernest Righetti High School (ERHS), Pioneer Valley High School
8
Catalyst Method: “How Might We...” Statement (October 30, 2017). Retrieved from
https://www.careinnovations.org/resources/catalyst-method-ways-statements
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 4(PVHS) and Delta High School (DHS) in Santa Maria. The following members made up the
initial F2S stakeholder team who wrote the USDA Planning Grant proposal:
Brook Stephenson, SMJUHSD Food Service Director
Peter Flores, SMJUHSD Student Services Director
Jenna Miller, CAPSLO Teen Wellness
Kimberly Umaña, CAPSLO Teen Wellness
Matt Hilter, Babé Farms
Kristen Criswell, Santa Barbara School Wellness Summit
Key Accomplishments
From August 2020 to July 2021, the following has been accomplished:
● Identified and developed key stakeholders and community partnerships, see
below, page 5
● Visited model programs, see pages 6-7
● Increased local procurements, see page 9
● Demonstrated readiness and interest in farm to school programs, see pages 12-13
Identified and Developed Community Partnerships & Stakeholders
CAPSLO hosted seven Stakeholder Meetings throughout the 2020-2021 USDA F2S Planning
Project. On May 21, 2021, CAPSLO held the final F2S “Round Table Discussion” in which
seven panelists discussed the needs, challenges, and opportunities for bringing F2S programming
in the district. Over 30 stakeholders attended, including parents, teachers, students, and
community organizations. Visit www.capslo.org/farm-to-school to watch a video recording of
the “Round Table Discussion”.
Notable Key Stakeholders
Alexandrea Guerra, Ag Hector Jimenez, PVHS Ag Melissa Flory, SMHS Ag
Teacher & FFA Advisor Teacher & FFA Advisor Teacher & FFA Advisor
Alejandra Mahoney, Blosser Jacqueline Valencia, Food Michelle Sevilla, State
Urban Gardens Bank SBC Assembly member Field Rep
Alhan Diaz-Correa, Jody Dowell, Michael Guerra, Ag Teacher
Community Environmental PVHS Special Education & FFA Advisor
Council Teacher Dr. Paul Robinson,
Amanda Rodriguez, SMHS Kathi King, CEC Director SMJUHSD CTE Center
Ag Teacher & FFA Advisor Climate Leadership & Educ. Director
Amy Garfinkel, CDFA
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 5Amy Guerra, Ag Teacher & Kristin Hammond, SMHS Shannon Powell, SMHS Ag
FFA Advisor Consumer Science Teacher Teacher & FFA Advisor
Corrie Garner, Ernest Kimura Yamamoto, SMHS Tyler Dickinson, PVHS
Righetti High School Ag Teacher & FFA Advisor Agriculture Teacher
Denny McKee, PVHS Kylin Costa, FFA Advisor Tami Contreras, Delta School
Special Education Teachers ERHS Counselor
Emily Dimond, UCCE Luis Guerra, SMHS Ag Victor Hernandez, USDA
Natural Resources
Esmeralda Estrada, First Teacher & FFA Advisor
Conservation Service
District Representative at Mayra Moreno, Student Zulema Aleman, CAUSE
County of Santa Barbara Mark Powell, Ag Teacher & Youth & Farmworker
Guillermo Guerra, Ag FFA Advisor Coordinator
Teacher & FFA Advisor Maribel Vargas-Meza,
Multilingual and Migrant
Education Programs
Visited Model Programs
F2S Stakeholders explored four model programs including:
● SMJUHSD Career Technical Education Center (CTE)/Ag Farm, a 25-acre property
of dedicated space for students of SMJUHSD to participate in career technical education
learning opportunities such as agriculture, information technology, construction, and
culinary arts. The center, which can accommodate 500 students and staff, has animal
pens, livestock corrals, a barn and farming land, state of the art workshops, classrooms, a
commercial kitchen, and a pavilion.
● City Farm San Luis Obispo, dedicated one of their 19 acres to educational programs to
connect youth to food and where it comes from. Educational programs such as field trips,
paid farm work, and farm classes are geared toward both children and teens.
● YouthWorks - Paso Robles Housing Authority, YouthWorks of the Paso Robles
Housing Authority teaches youth leadership and job skills in farming, cooking,
computers, tutoring, computers, and more. With the help of a dedicated parent and small
grants, YouthWorks began a farm which provided 1,500 pounds of fresh produce to
community members.
● Students for Eco-Education & Agriculture (SEEAG), SEEAG seeks to bolster
connections between students and the local food system. SEEAG offers a STEM
curriculum to high school students and organizes an annual Farm Day event in Santa
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 6Maria, where the public has the opportunity to visit local farms and receive a free
agricultural tour.
Other model programs of interest include the Lompoc Unified School District food service
program that offers scratch cooking, employs student workers, and creates restaurant storefronts
with made-to-order menu items for students.
School Food Program/Local Procurement
Increase access to a variety of foods that meet nutrition guidelines as well as student dietary
needs, preferences, and culture.
Background
According to the Farm to School Census, in 2013-2014 SMJUHSD reported zero participation in
Farm to School activities with no plans to participate in the future. Local procurement was
reported challenging because it was difficult to coordinate shipments of local produce with
regular supplies.9 Since then, SMJUHSD hired Food Service Director, Brook Stephenson, who
brought new energy to the School Food Program. She is a Registered Dietitian who believes that
good nutrition is important for the students’ well-being. Despite the COVID-19 school closures
and being new to SMJUHSD, Brook has been able to increase local procurement by partnering
with local farms to offer students and their families fresh Community Supported Agriculture
(CSA) boxes.
Child Nutrition Program
SMJUHSD participates in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast
Program which provides breakfast and lunch at no cost to eligible students. The SMJUHSD does
not charge for reduced-price meals. Applications are available from each school's cafeteria and
the community liaison. Households are automatically eligible for free meals if they are recipients
of services through CalWorks, Food Stamps, or Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservation (FDPIR). Migrant education and foster students are also automatically eligible.
Students that are registered at school as homeless (including temporarily/permanently doubled-
up families) are also eligible.10
9
USDA Farm to School Census. (2015). Santa Maria Joint Unified High School District. Retrieved from
https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov
10
Food Service | Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, 2021. Santa Maria Joint Unified High School
District. Retrieved from
http://www.smjuhsd.k12.ca.us/?DivisionID=16589&DepartmentID=17591&ToggleSideNav=DivisionOnly
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 7The Foods Services Department maintains strict compliance with the policy of the SB 19 Bill that mandates nutritional standards for our students' meals. The District's Wellness Policy is available on the District website under Food Service, Wellness Policy - Board Policies, BP 5030. Definition of “Local” or “Regional” SMJUHSD defines “local” as within California and “regional” as within the Central Coast of California. SMJUHSD is part of the Isla Vista Food Cooperative (CO-OP) that coordinates local procurements. Although SMJUHSD considers the entire state of California as local, the District put emphasis on sourcing from Santa Maria local farmers, and Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties whenever possible. According to the 2018 Santa Barbara County Agricultural Production Report, the following agricultural products are predominant in Santa Barbara County 11 Broccoli Strawberries Escarole Winter squash Cauliflower Lemons Fennel Tomatillo and tomato Lettuce head Artichoke Green beans Cattle Lettuce leaf Arugula Herbs Emerging Crops Bell Peppers Baby vegetables Kale Coffee Cabbage Basil Kohlrabi Finger limes Celery Beet Leeks Agave Spinach Brussels sprout Maize Collard greens Summer squash Carrot Mustard greens Cress Avocado Celery root Dry onion Cucumber Tomato Chard Green onion Dandelion Cucumber Chervil Parsley Eggplant Blackberries Chinese cabbage Peas (edible pod) Endive Blueberries Cilantro Pepper Pumpkin Raspberries Sweet corn Potato Radicchio Radish Sourcing & Procurement SMJUHSD currently participates in the Isla Vista Food Cooperative (CO-OP) to coordinate local procurement. Local vendors deliver pre-packaged foods directly to the four school site kitchens. Local fresh food deliveries to schools are limited due to challenges with transporting food from producer to school; i.e. lack of transportation, food processing, and space/time for scratch cooking. 11 “2018 Agricultural Production Report County of Santa Barbara.” Agricultural Commissioner's Office, 2018. Retrieved from https://countyofsb.org/uploadedFiles/agcomm/Content/Other/crops/2018.pdf Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 8
Progress to Date The COVID-19 Health & Safety Regulations required the food service program to deliver food to students and families creatively with drive-thru pick ups and community distribution sites where students received their daily lunch and/or a produce box. In 2020-2021, two new local food suppliers were incorporated into the food program: ● Blosser Urban Gardens ● Talley Farms CSA boxes Next Steps The Food Service Director supports hiring a paid staff person who would work on increasing nutrition education and local procurement. Ideally, this staff person would provide nutrition education, incorporate harvest of the month projects, post healthy food signage in the cafeteria, do taste-testing, and support local procurement challenges such as transportation, food processing, and menu planning. Key Stakeholders ● SMJUHSD Business Services, Yolanda Ortiz ● Food Service Director, Brook Stephenson ● Cafeteria Lead for all school sites, and ● Community Liaison for all school sites Menu Planning and Food Safety are future topics of interest to explore as part of the F2S Action Plan. School Gardens Ensure adequate support to develop, increase access, and sustain school gardens. Background School gardens allow students to connect to their origins of food. All school sites including Delta, Pioneer Valley, Santa Maria and Ernest Righetti High Schools have started small school gardens. Each school garden is supported by an interested teacher who donates time to maintain the school garden and who is responsible for seeking funding to support his or her school garden. Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 9
Teachers request more institutional support to foster robust school garden activities. Some of the
school garden production includes tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and flowers.
For example, one Special Education teacher at Pioneer Valley High School started a school
garden with 40 plants in small containers in the corner of the agriculture department as an extra
learning activity for special education students on a certificate track. It has since grown to
include five 4’ x 8’ garden beds, a 10’ x 15’ cover, compost bins, and masonry flower planters to
resemble a park-like setting. One year, the garden produced about 400 tomatoes. Challenges that
many school gardens encounter are dedicated staffing, space, and funding support.
Next Steps
In order to develop, increase access, and sustain school gardens, the F2S plan proposes to
● Increase funding to support school gardens
● Hire a staff person to guide developing and maintaining the gardens
● Engage student-led clubs to support and maintain the school gardens
● Conduct food demonstrations in the gardens for students to taste test
● Utilize school gardens for harvest of the month projects
● Utilize gardens for fundraising
● Participate in the UCCE San Luis Obispo Master Gardener Training in April
Possible Funding Sources
● CTE Center
● Teaching Gardens Network grant
● Whole Kid Garden grant
● USDA, CDFA grants
Key Stakeholders
● School Principals
● School Garden Teachers
● Culinary Teachers
● Agriculture Teachers
● Associated Student Body (ASB) Activities Director
● Retired Special Education Teacher, Denny Mckee
● Jeff Cooper-Social Science Teacher
● Marc DeBernardi- Ag Teacher SMHS
● Student Clubs
● UCCE Santa Barbara and/or San Luis Obispo
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 10Agriculture Education & Curriculum Integration
Connect more students to agriculture education and resources such as school gardens and the
Career Technical Education Center (CTE)/Ag Farm.
Background
In 2019, the SMJUHSD initiated construction of the Career Technical Education Center
(CTE)/Agricultural Farm, which is set to accommodate 500 students and staff in Fall 2021. As
described above, the 25-acre property has four main classrooms, a commercial kitchen, and
pavilion. The CTE center will connect SMHS, ERHS, PVHS, and DHS to industries in
Information & Communication Technologies, Energy, Environment & Utilities, Architecture &
Engineering, Business & Finance, Manufacturing & Product Development, Agriculture &
Natural Resources, and Hospitality, Recreation & Tourism. SMJUHSD has a robust agricultural
education course program and Future Farmers of America (FFA) Program that is supported by
the CTE Center. The CTE Center/Ag Farm inspires and educates students about the more
lucrative job opportunities in agriculture and/or “green jobs.”
Next Steps
Increasing agricultural education by utilizing school gardens and the CTE/AG farm can help
ensure all students have the opportunity to learn about agriculture and to make connections with
the origins of their food. Ideas for increasing agriculture education for all students include:
● Connecting student-led clubs to school gardens
● Utilizing school gardens/Ag Farm for cooking demonstrations and/or Harvest of the
Month projects
● Conducting field trips to CTE Center, local farms and/or industry partners
● Promoting education tracks provided by the CTE Center
Key Stakeholders
● CTE Director, Paul Robinson
● School Principals
● School Garden Teachers
● Culinary Teachers
● Agriculture Teachers
● Associated Student Body Activities Director
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 11Environmental Impact Background The F2S Project scratched the surface on the subject of environmental impact. Further topics to explore on the subject include food waste and plastic reduction, and composting. Baseline survey results revealed that food waste occurs daily during the school meal program due to students not eating the foods they are required to take. Hydration stations are being added to school reconstruction plans, but location and access needs to be more thoroughly explored. Pioneer Valley and Delta High Schools may already have composting programs on campus, but this also needs further exploration. Next Steps Key organizations such as the Community Environmental Council (CEC) and Veggie Rescue are potential organizations to serve as partners in addressing the environmental impact of the F2S Action Plan. Other ideas include engaging student-led clubs and/or students with opportunities to learn more about the environment and “green jobs” that are available. Evaluation Demonstrated Readiness & Interest in F2S Program from Stakeholders CAPSLO conducted nearly one hundred surveys and dozens of interviews with key stakeholders to glean key insights and information that demonstrated a readiness and interest in F2S programs at SMJUHSD. Key stakeholders included students, food service workers, local farmers, teachers, administrative staff, parents, and farmers. Pre- and post-surveys were distributed to stakeholders during F2S meetings, in email announcements and newsletters, and during classroom presentations, club meetings, and community events. Through a human-centered design method, called “Personas,” anonymous characters were created to share the common themes heard from students, food service, teachers, and farmers.12 12 Catalyst Method: Concept Sheets (October 30, 2017) Retrieved from https://www.careinnovations.org/resources/catalyst-method-concept-sheets Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 12
Here is what most groups of individuals had to say about the current farm to school needs and
opportunities for growth:
● Meet Taylor, a student from SMHS on the free reduced lunch plan like most of Taylor’s
peers. Taylor wants to take on a leadership role and serve as the president of the
CAPSLO Project Teen Health Club, but is unable to because Taylor doesn’t have enough
time to buy lunch and make the club meeting on time. Taylor likes it when the cafeteria
serves pozole because it feels like home. Taylor wishes the cafeteria served a variety of
more healthy and fresh food options to choose from.
● Meet Lynn, a Food Service worker who helps serve over 1,000 meals a day. It can be
stressful balancing USDA food guidelines with student food preferences. Lynn values the
student workers who help with food preparation. If Lynn had more time, she would love
to incorporate more fresh foods into the menu and offer students nutrition lessons and
food tastings.
● Meet Alex, an Agriculture Teacher who wants more students involved with school
gardens on district campuses. Alex loves seeing students learn skills such as building
planter boxes for their school garden. Alex dreams of a robust farm-to-school program
with school gardens on each campus, but he can’t seem to find funding, individuals, or a
collection of individuals to begin and maintain such projects.
● Meet Toni, a Farmer in the Santa Maria Valley. Toni wants to bring produce onto the
school campus, but lacks the food processing and transportation capacity to do so.
Working with schools would help Toni secure consistent buyers. Additionally, Toni is
passionate about serving his community!
In addition to responding to surveys and interviews; key stakeholders participated in a human-
centered design activity called “Concept Sheets” to illustrate creative solutions for increasing
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 13school gardens.13 The illustration below was created by a student who wanted to start a school
garden club where all students would be invited to support the school garden, fundraise, and
learn more about agriculture.
Partner & Community Agencies
In addition to interviewing the key stakeholders mentioned above; CAPSLO conducted
interviews with key partner agencies, including:
● Sierra Harvest;
● California Department of Food & Agriculture;
● Slow Money San Luis Obispo;
● Community Environmental Council (CEC);
● Central Coast Alliance for a United Sustainable Economy (CAUSE);
● City Farms San Luis Obispo;
● Blosser Urban Garden;
● Students for Eco-Education Agriculture (SEE AG); and
● Veggie Rescue.
Some of these agencies have expressed interest in partnering in future grant applications.
13
Catalyst Method: Concept Sheets (October 30, 2017) Retrieved from
https://www.careinnovations.org/resources/catalyst-method-concept-sheets
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 14F2S “Round Table” Discussion
Thirty stakeholders participated in the Farm to School “Round Table” meeting on Friday, May
21 2021. Guest panelists included the SMJUHSD Food Service Director, USDA Beginning
Farmer Coordinator, CA Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Representative, UCCE
School Garden Coordinator, School Garden Teacher, and a student from Ernest Righetti High
School.
We learned that CDFA will release Farm to Fork funding next fall 2021. In addition, many
community organizations offered to partner in an effort to continue F2S efforts.
F2S Post-survey Results
Post survey results revealed stakeholders being in favor of SMJUHSD engaging in Farm to
School activities with a belief in F2S providing positive outcomes for students.
100% of respondents reported agreeing and/or strongly agreeing with the following:
● Since participating in the F2S Planning meeting(s), I have a greater understanding of
what “Farm to School” means.
● Farm to School activities are important for creating equitable food access.
● Farm to School activities can improve student wellbeing and academic performance
outcomes.
● I support SMJUHSD engaging in Farm to School activities.
CAUSE Community Outcomes
The F2S team participated in the CAUSE Youth Townhall event. At the Youth Townhall
meeting, CAUSE shared student feedback regarding the school food program:
● 7 out of 10 students reported having issues with access to food due to long wait times.
● 9 out of 10 students reported having issues with food quality.
● 10 out of 10 students were interested in trying multicultural and inclusive foods.
CAUSE recommended some key policy changes to improve students’ ability to eat food timely
and to increase the quality of food served:
● Provide additional lunch times or periods for students to obtain and eat lunch.
● Reorganize cafeteria lines and offer multiple entrance points.
● Increase warm food carts.
● Improve quality of nutrition with increased local produce.
● Increase quick scratch cooking to reduce pre-packaged meals that often suffer from
quality issues.
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 15Increasing Stakeholder Engagement
Participation in stakeholder feedback across Santa Maria, Pioneer Valley, and Ernest Righetti
high schools was well represented; efforts to increase F2S engagement and feedback from Delta
Valley High School and Santa Maria-Bonita School District will help to ensure adequate
feedback is heard throughout all stakeholder groups. Additionally, farmers and parents were
underrepresented in feedback responses. Efforts to increase parent feedback and involvement
may include participating in Santa Maria High School’s Cafecito’s meetings and Promotoras
meetings, as well as partnering with the school Community Liaison, SMJUHSD Migrant
program, and other parent groups.
Program Sustainability
Background
SMJUHSD is poised to increase F2S efforts through its rich agriculture community, newly
developed CTE Center/Ag Farm, demonstrated need and readiness, supportive Food Service
Director, and partnership and grant opportunities which lie ahead.
Increasing Awareness
F2S increased awareness is being achieved through social media, quarterly newsletter, flyers,
community and school events, surveys and interviews, websites, and through F2S Stakeholder
meetings. Visit www.capslo.org/farm-to-school to view F2S information on CAPSLO’s website.
CAPSLO will share the F2S Action Plan on the school district’s website.
Next Steps
CAPSLO, in partnership with the SMJUHSD, will continue to seek funding and partnerships to
support farm to school efforts. Such funding and partnership opportunities include:
● The development of youth leaders by applying for Santa Maria’s Youth Making Change
Grant (example projects might include the development/maintenance of school gardens
and/or learning how to develop and distribute CSA boxes);
● USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant;
● CDFA Farm to Fork Funding;
● Partnering with student-led clubs to support F2S activities;
● Partnering with Food Service; and
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 16● Partnering with local organizations to support grant applications (ex: CAUSE,
SLOWMoneySLO, CEC).
CAPSLO will continue to utilize human-centered design principles of engaging clients
throughout all stages of understanding, developing, implementing, and revising F2S programs.
Santa Maria Joint Union High School District
Farm to School Action Plan, 2020 - 2021 17You can also read
