How to Use this Toolkit

This toolkit is designed to be used in many different ways to meet the diverse needs of school districts in Minnesota.

You might use parts of the toolkit right away, parts of it later on, and parts of it never. That's fine.

If you are new to Farm to School programs, start by browsing through the "Overview" pages that are linked in the left-hand sidebar on this page. These Overview pages sketch out the things that you need to consider in developing a Farm to School program.

Don't let the Overview pages overwhelm you, though. You can get through these things a step at a time. The "Getting Started" page offers a list of steps in a suggested order that you should follow.

You can start out thinking about offering just one or maybe two local food items during the school year. Look at our list of food items -- farther down in the left-hand sidebar -- and click around through the pages within those food item sections. Check the sample menus and recipes to see which ones look like they would work for your food service. Then check the "Finding Farmers" pages to see if there's a potential supplier close to your school.

When you have followed the Overview steps and found a source for some local food, and you are ready to actually serve it up in the cafeteria -- then you need a way to get your students' attention. Within the Food Item pages, check out the Promotional Materials: announcements, newsletter pieces, posters, "fun facts,' home recipes, and photos. These things will help you get the word out to students, parents, and teachers about the great local food you will be serving.

The Tasting Event pages within each food item section will give you some ideas for engaging students in an educational and fun way, so that they are willing to try the foods.

I Want To . . .	Where To Look
Find out as much as I can about starting a Farm to School program in my school.	Check out the Overview links on the left-hand sidebar of this page. Those nine pages cover a lot of ground.
Find a checklist of steps to follow.	Look at the Getting Started page in the Overview section.
Find a source of local food.	Check out the Finding Farmers page within each food item section; also look at Finding Local Food in the Overview section.
Communicate with students, parents and teachers	Look at the Promotional Materials under each Food Item section: Announcements, Newsletter articles, "Fun Facts" that can be used to create additional materials; Posters; Home Recipes featuring the food item; and Photos.
Make sure that kids try the food that we are serving.	Check out the Tasting Event pages under each food item. Willmar school district had good success with offering the food at tasting events a few days in advance of serving the food in the cafeteria.