Community Food Systems

The Community Food Systems Program consists of three primary projects: Farm-to-School (F2S), which provides nutrition education in the cafeteria and classroom; the Growers Collaborative, a social venture business and California Department of Food and Agriculture licensed distributor of produce that sells produce on behalf of small family-owned farms to public schools and hospitals, and Buy Fresh, Buy Local (BFBL), a local food branding campaign that is active in the Central Coast, Sacramento and Bay Area. To date, CAFF has mobilized and supported more Farm-to-School projects than any other group in California, with current and recent activities in over 100 schools including schools in two school districts in Yolo, three in Santa Cruz, one in Monterey, two in Fresno, one in Sonoma, thirteen in Humboldt, one in Merced, two in Ventura and one in Los Angeles. In the past two years through activities in its F2S and BFBL programs CAFF has conducted over 480 hours of nutrition education in public schools; executed over 40 farm field trips for public schoolchildren; delivered 40,000 pounds of fresh produce to schools; founded the Esparto Farmers Market in a rural, disadvantaged area of Yolo County; cosponsored the Farm-to-School bill in the California legislature; developed a local food sourcing policy for 19 Kaiser Permanente hospitals; launched the BFBL brand in the Greater Bay Area; and assisted three school districts on Wellness Policy development and implementation.