Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How can my school participate in the NH Farm to School Program?
There are two ways for your school to become involved in the NH Farm to School Program:
1. Purchase NH apples, cider or other foods for use in the cafeteria or classroom.
and/or
2. Conduct educational programming at your school (in the classroom or cafeteria) about the ecological, social and health benefits
of eating locally.
How can my school purchase apples and/or cider?
It's easy! Just follow our six steps to success!
How can my school purchase other NH-grown foods?
Contact our Program Coordinator, Stacey Purslow, 862-2542.
Do fruits and vegetables purchased from local farms need to be inspected?
Neither the USDA nor the FDA requires that domestically produced fresh fruits and vegetables be inspected. Rather, growers are advised to voluntarily adopt and follow Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) as defined in the FDA's "Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables." The USDA's grade standards are also voluntary and optional. These standards cover quality issues (size, blemishes, etc.).
What are some of the benefits of participating in the NH Farm to School Program?
Exceptional Taste and Freshness: Local apples are fresher than those shipped long distances, and fresher tastes better.
Supports Healthy Kids Initatives: Research on nutrition education methods increasingly suggests that there is a link between long term healthy eating behaviors and experiential learning that begins early in life. The more a child is involved with food, either through gardening, farming, cooking or other "real life" food experiences, the more likely he or she will adopt healthy eating behaviors as a life long practice. The ‘Get Smart, Eat Local’ materials support on-going efforts to educate students about healthy eating food sources, wise choices, local agriculture, sustainability and more.
Strengthens Family Farms: When you buy local, you help ensure that New Hampshire orchards continue to thrive. Buying local food helps to make farming more profitable thereby helping to preserve NH's open spaces and rural, working landscape.
Enhances Curriculum: Local food connections afford schools a unique opportunity to generate and reinforce classroom learning. If, for example, the food served in the cafeteria is part of the daily lesson — learning how and where that food is produced, meeting the farmer either in the classroom or on the farm, integrating food and agriculture knowledge with standard science, math, and social studies curricula — then local farms, because of their proximity, variety, and accessibility, extend the teaching impact of the school.
Which New Hampshire schools are currently participating in the NH Farm to School program?
Over 250 schools are currently participating in the NH Farm to School program!
Which New Hampshire orchards are currently participating in the NH Farm to School Program?
A number of orchards across the state supply apples and cider for NH FTS:
Apple Annie grows a variety of low-spray apples in Brentwood. The farm also sells cider, fall vegetables, jams and jelliies, and baked goods. Contact the farm at 603-778-8881.
Applecrest Farm Orchard in Hampton Falls grows more than 40 different varieties of apples. The farm offers school tours. Contact the farm at 603-926-3721.
Brookdale Fruit Farm in Hollis grows apples, berries, pumpkins and more. You can visit the farm's store and pick-your-own when fruit is in season! Contact the farm at 603-465-2240 or e-mail.
Carter Hill Orchard grows a number of different varities of apples, and presses the apples for their preservative-free cider right on the farm in Concord. They also host school field trips and tours for "kids of all ages." Contact the farm at 603-225-2625.
Mack's Apples in grows a variety of apples in Londonderry. Contact the farm at 603-434-7619.
Windy Ridge Orchard and Christmas Tree Farm in North Haverhill is a NH Farm of Distinction. The farm offers school tours and posts lesson plans on their website. Contact the farm at 603-787-6377.
What is the Get Smart Eat Local 10 District Project?
In contrast to the statewide model established by NH FTS to bring NH apples and cider to as many NH schools as possible, the Get Smart Eat Local 10 District project is making direct connections between farms and ten school districts — 27 schools with over 15,000 students — in Rockingham and Strafford counties to add fresh New Hampshire-grown products to school menus. This pilot project offers a different model for procuring local foods. Funding for this project of the NH Farm to School program was provided by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Josephine A. Lamprey, Otto, and Thanksgiving funds and is a collaboration of the University of New Hampshire’s Office of Sustainability and UNH Cooperative Extension. The project is working with Heron Pond Farm to supply the schools with fresh products.
Why buy local?
When we choose to buy local foods, we support New Hampshire farms and we keep our dollars circulating in the community, thereby helping to preserve our state's open spaces and rural, working landscapes. Buying local foods can also increase access to fresh, high quality products available in schools. This benefits students and staff by providing nutritious snack and meal options - not to mention the educational opportunities doing so creates: What better way to teach kids to eat their fruits and vegetables than by serving foods from local farms in their schools? Making the connections from farm to fork to nutrition helps foster a more complete understanding of how to make healthy food choices and what those choices mean in the larger context of their community. For more information on the benefits of buying local foods, visit FoodRoutes.
Why apples?
Apples have long been a staple item on school breakfast, lunch, and snack menus. They are a nutritious snack option that requires little to no processing. In addition, apples have a strong cultural association with education and are a traditional part of New Hampshire agriculture. Apples represent the first step of a vision to introduce more locally grown foods into our school cafeterias.