Sourcing Locally Grown Food
Local food procurement is different for each school based on the amounts of food needed, the location of the school and the seasonal availability of fresh, local foods. Sourcing locally can involve direct relationships with local farmers and producers, shopping at farmer’s markets or produce auctions, drawing from local DOD selections, working with regional produce distributors and aggregators, or working with primary or secondary distributors to locate regional or local items. The Illinois Farm to School Network has created a Mighty Mini training video, Local Sourcing, which provides information and insite for school districts considering, or expanding local or regional sourcing. Our videos are located under the Mighty Mini Video tab. You can also find a full list of local sourcing resources on our cafeteria programs page.
Use the tabs at the left to view resources for procuring local food.
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