The 12 institutions of the Big Ten conference are making a significant impact on the world each and every day. Watch the newest Big Ten Network program, "Impact the World," which premieres at 9:30 p.m. EST January 10.

More Information »

Mike Hamm holds the C.S. Mott Chair for Sustainable Agriculture at MSU. He is co-author of a paper in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior that finds that school districts that buy produce grown by local farmers can cut costs and provide students with nutritious foods they want to eat.

Click on an image to view a larger or high-resolution version.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — School districts that buy produce grown by local farmers can cut costs and provide students with nutritious food they want to eat, according to Michigan State University scientists in the first-ever study of its kind.

"School food service professionals said they were paying lower prices for fruits and vegetables because the supply chain is shorter," said Mike Hamm, who holds the C.S. Mott Chair for Sustainable Agriculture and leads the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at MSU. "They also were able to buy food that isn't commonly offered in school cafeterias, such as asparagus, Asian pears and blue potatoes."

The pioneering study examined why seven school districts in the upper Midwest and northeast United States participated in farm-to-school programs. The research is published in the March/April issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

"In many cases, the relationship between the children and the farmers changed the symbolic meaning of locally grown, fresh fruits and vegetables to 'cool food,'" said Betty Izumi, study co-author who received her doctoral degree from MSU and is now at Portland State University.

The farm-to-school programs allowed students and farmers to build relationships through field trips to the farms, cafeteria signs identifying the farmer alongside the fruits and vegetables, and farmer visits to the cafeteria during meals and produce delivery. One farmer told the scientists it was important for him to walk through school hallways to help children understand that the food they eat is grown on a farm.

"Ultimately, school food service professionals want to serve food that promotes health and that children enjoy eating," Izumi said. "This study found that school food service professionals felt that food from local farmers met these goals."

About 1,990 farm-to-school programs exist in the country, according to the National Farm-to-School Network, an information and technical resource organization. Michigan is home to 60 such programs. The MSU Mott Group hosts a farm-to-school Web site to offer assistance to food service professionals, farmers and community members who want to be involved in a program.

In addition to Hamm and Izumi, Katherine Alaimo, MSU associate professor of food science and human nutrition, also is a study author.

The research of Hamm and Alaimo is supported by the Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station.

###

The Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, www.maes.msu.edu, is one of the largest research organizations at Michigan State University. Founded in 1888, the MAES funds the work of nearly 400 scientists in six colleges at MSU to enhance agriculture, natural resources and families and communities in Michigan.

###

Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.