S.D. Farm to School Update- Sept. 2025
The S.D. Farm to School Network Core Team, consisting of S.D. Department of Education, SDSU Extension, Dakota Rural Action, and the S.D. Specialty Producers Association, are taking a moment to understand what the biggest barriers are to farm to school in South Dakota, and how South Dakotans think we should address them.
In April, we organized a discussion among farm to school stakeholders to talk about why it’s so hard… why farm to school isn’t “the norm” here in South Dakota. Then, we held listening sessions this summer in Sioux Falls and Rapid City to understand what needs to be done to address the challenges we’re facing. Attendees brainstormed solutions and then prioritized them by importance.
We want to hear from you if we’re on the right track! Here are the large scale, state-level solutions that folks brainstormed and prioritized at the July listening sessions.
- REGIONAL SUPPLY CHAIN SOLUTIONS – Regional food hubs that gather, process and distribute local food for schools (food hubs) and regional school buying cooperatives that aggregate purchasing of local food in bulk.
- PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN – A campaign targeting school leaders (administrators, school board members) and parents focusing on storytelling about successful programs designed to help folks understand, value, and appreciate farm to school.
- IN PERSON EDUCATION & TRAINING – Statewide or Regional gatherings designed to provide tailored, specific training to school food service professionals and producers, share best practices and success stories, and connect South Dakota farm to school stakeholders.
- POLICY CHANGE – Policy can create structural support to make farm to school efforts sustainable long term, and is best accomplished through engagement by those doing the work on the ground.
- GO LOCAL WITH COMMODITIES – Redirect USDA Foods and DoD Fresh entitlement spending to support local procurement.
Go back through each one – what comes to mind when you hear these solutions? Which of these seems to be the most critical to you for making farm to school more widespread in South Dakota? Is anything missing? Is there anything else you’d like to add? Please email your thoughts and suggestions to sdspa.urbanag@gmail.com We would love to hear from you.