About the Program

Local Food for Schools (LFS), funded by USDA-FNS via CT Dept. of Education, provides school food authorities (SFAs) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) opportunities to include more local foods into school meals.

The goal of the LFS is to increase the purchase of local and regional foods for distribution to schools, and build partnerships with local and regional producers, small businesses, socially disadvantaged farmers/producers, and schools, thereby strengthening local food systems.

This action is significant because many small and/or socially disadvantaged producers in the state rely solely on direct-to-consumer markets largely because of difficulties in creating relationships with institutional clients and lack of production volume.

The benefits of incorporating local foods into school nutrition programs outweighs the challenges of the local procurement process. This is opportunity for buyers and sellers to build mutually beneficial relationships, resilient to challenges like supply chain disruptions, etc. It is easier than you think and there is help!