What is this "Farm to School thing" all about? That is the
question the Independence Community School District, and its
many partners, have enthusiastically set out to answer. On May
4–5, 2010, the USDA Farm to School Team visited with school
administrators, farmers, teachers, and community partners at
Independence Community School District in Independence, Iowa.
Independence was the first stop on the Team’s tour of fifteen
school districts across the country to learn more about Farm to
School initiatives. The Independence Community School District
is located in rural, north east Iowa and enrolls approximately
1,400 K-12 students in six schools. On average, the district
serves just over 1,000 meals per day using four kitchens with a
head cook at each site. In the 2009–10 school year, 35 percent
of the students received free and reduced-priced meals. In 2007,
the Independence Farmer’s Market Manager approached the
District’s Food Service Director about this "Farm to School
thing," and that was how it all start