Food Safety for Farm to School
School nutrition directors are responsible for providing safe meals for children. Use the tools below to communicate with them about the practices you follow on your farm to keep products free from pathogens and safe for consumption.
Farm to School Food Safety FAQs, USDA Office of Community Food Systems
All your questions about food safety are answered here!
On Farm Food Safety, FamilyFarmed
This user-friendly website allows you to create a customized food safety plan for your operation.
Food Safety Resources, University of Illinois Extension
Use these resources from the Local Foods and Small Farms team at UI Extension to explore Good Agricultural Practices. Contact your local Extension Office for more support.
Buy Local, Buy Safely!, WI Department of Agriculture
This guide is intended for farmers and foodservice to use as an evaluation of readiness for selling to institutions. It covers water, soil amendments, field location, personnel, field sanitation, and packing shed sanitation issues.
Buy Local, Buy Safely Checklist, WI Department of Agriculture
Provides farmers with a comprehensive checklist on water, soil amendments, field location, personnel, field sanitation, and packing shed sanitation issues.
Good Agricultural Practices, USDA Ag Marketing Service
Learn more about the voluntary Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices (GAP & GHP) audits, which many distributors require from farmers. Some school districts may require GAP, though state and federal regulations DO NOT require school districts to use GAP certified farms.
GroupGAP, USDA Ag Marketing Service
GroupGAP makes food safety certification accessible for small and middle-sized producers by allowing farmers, food hubs, and other marketing organizations to work together to undergo GAP certification as a group. This allows group members to pool resources to implement food safety training programs and share the cost of certification.