Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How can my school participate in the NH Farm to School Program?
There are many ways for your school to become involved in the NH Farm to School Program:
- Serve locally grown fruits and vegetables in your cafeteria
- Buy fresh fruit or vegetables directly from local farms
- Order locally grown foods through a distributor
- Use FFVP funds to purchase local produce
- Set up a salad bar featuring local vegetables
- Grow vegetables in a school garden
- Organize a harvest meal featuring local ingredients
- Incorporate food, farming or nutrition into classroom activities and curriculum
- Take a field trip to a local farm
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 Flavor and Freshness: Foods grown locally are fresher, and taste better than food shipped long distances.
- Vibrant local agriculture: When you buy locally grown food, you help ensure that NH farms continue to thrive, helping to preserve NH's open spaces and rural, working landscape.
- Enhanced school curriculum: Local food connections create opportunities to incorporate food, nutrition and farming themes into curriculum, and explore experiential learning opportunities such as cooking, school gardening, and visits to local farms.
- Long-term health & nutrition: The more a child is involved with food, 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.
Which New Hampshire schools are currently participating in the NH Farm to School program?
Over 290 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, Brentwood, NH, 778-8881
- Applecest Farm Orchards, Hampton Falls, NH, 926-3721
- Brookdale Fruit Farm, Hollis, NH, 465-2241
- Carter Hill Orchard, Concord, NH, 225-2625
- Duane Family Farm, Barnstead, NH, 435-6867
- French Pond Orchards, Henniker, 428-3000
- Gould Hill Farm, Hopkinton/Contoocook, NH, 746-3811
- High Hopes Orchard, Westmoreland, NH, 399-4305
- Mack's Apples, Londonderry, NH, 432-3456
- McLeod Brothers Orchards, Milford, NH, 673-3544
- Norway Hill Orchard, Hancock, NH, 525-4912
- Nottingham Orchard, Nottingham, NH, 679-5524
- Saxtons River Orchard, Saxtons River, VT, 802-869-3150
- Surowiec Farm, Sanbornton, NH, 286-4069
- Windy Ridge Orchard, North Haverhill , NH, 787-6377
What is the Get Smart Eat Local 10 District Project?
In 2006, NHFTS initiated a new, one-year pilot program -- the Get Smart Eat Local 10-District project -- to work with school districts and farms in the seacoast region of the state to work help build and strenghten direct farm-to-cafeteria relationships and introduce new local foods in the schools. In contrast to the statewide model established by NHFTS to bring NH apples and cider to as many NH schools as possible, the Get Smart Eat Local 10-District project focused on making a connection between a wholesale grower 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. 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. This program continues today through direct sales of farm products to schools in the 10-District area.
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.