Approach and Accomplishments of Farm to Plate Programming in Florida's SNAP-Ed Program

The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences’ (UF/IFAS) Farm to School, Farm to Community (F2SC) team was established in 2012, and since October 2014 has been funded by the UF/IFAS Extension Family Nutrition Program [Florida’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program—Education (SNAP-Ed)]. The team is tasked with increasing access to nutritious and fresh food and encouraging healthy eating behaviors among children and adults eligible for SNAP-Ed. The team includes five district F2SC coordinators, a statewide food systems coordinator, and a professional chef, who are all supported by state specialists and interact with several hundred staff and county agents throughout Florida. The F2SC team perceives several major challenges to a healthier population in Florida: 1) the number of citizens qualifying for SNAP-Ed is far greater than UF’s resources to educate them; 2) even at a local level, food systems are culturally complex involving many individuals, companies, and partners, thus requiring significant investment to change practices including increasing the access to healthy foods and promoting healthy food choices; and 3) the state’s increasingly urban population has limited opportunity to become aware of the science and culture of food. To address these challenges, the team facilitates conversations and meetings with school food service authorities, extension agents, farmers and ranchers, and market managers, to expand local food access in schools and communities. The F2SC team also interacts with school garden teachers, food service personnel, chefs, and other community partners to provide the environmental exposure needed to adopt healthy eating behaviors. The team provides support through school and community garden implementation and trainings that focus on experiential learning, curricula integration, and food production.  In 2014, the F2SC team established or enhanced 78 school gardens, engaged 259 farmers, trained approximately 1200 participants, developed 300 recipes featuring fresh from Florida fruits and vegetables, conducted 30 taste tests, designed and debuted Florida Food Connect, an online platform that links farms to schools, conducted three statewide surveys and one statewide census of school gardens, and published one full-color 74-page Guide to School Gardens for teachers. The F2SC team relies on evaluation and monitoring activities led by three social scientists with expertise in program evaluation. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are used to keep track of progress and assess the advancement towards project goals. Participants in F2SC activities have reported positive changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors related to healthy eating and access to specialty crops.