Farm to school programs: Evaluating the development, perceptions, and benefits

Introduction: The Centers for Disease Control identified increasing children's fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption through Farm to School (F2S) programs among strategies to ameliorate the high national prevalences of childhood overweight and obesity. We assessed associations between F2S and students' dietary knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors.

Methods: In the 2010-2011 school year, nine Wisconsin AmeriCorps F2S schools (with 0-3 prior years of F2S) participated in an evaluation of F2S programs; 1117 3rd- to 5th-graders participated. Students completed pre/post (fall/spring) FV Knowledge and Attitudes (KA) surveys, Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ), and four-day Lunch Tray Photo Observations (LTPO). Five schools submitted heights and weights. Outcomes were analyzed at baseline by prior years of F2S, and for school-year change.

Results: KA scores indicated increases in children's willingness to try new FV and in knowledge, both with increasing prior program exposure and across the year. Although there was no effect in overall dietary patterns (FFQ), lunch FV availability was favorably influenced by prior program years and increased across the year (LTPO). Additionally, there were increases in the percent of trays with at least one FV item and some consumption. BMI z-scores did not change overall from baseline to follow-up, but students with the most prior F2S had lower BMI z-scores.

Discussion: F2S programming improved mediators hypothesized to impact long-term FV consumption, and decreased the proportion of children lacking favorable FV behaviors at school lunch. Longer-term data are needed to further assess F2S programs' long-term impacts on children's total dietary behaviors and health.