CPS Farm to School

The Farm to School program connects Chicago Public Schools with fresh, healthy food and local producers. Our goal is to enrich children’s bodies and minds while supporting local farmers and food producers by bringing local food into the dining center. The program influences food purchasing to allow students to gain access to healthy, local foods. The program also creates hands-on learning activities through school gardens, farm visits, cooking lessons, and integration of food related education into the classroom.

Local Food in CPS Dining Centers

CPS regularly serves produce and protein procured within 350 miles in all CPS dining centers. Local fresh and frozen produce and protein is available every week.

Local ingredients are used

Spent on local food

20M

Spent on local food since Sept 2020

School year 2021-2022

Pounds of local food procured

35M

Pounds of local food procured since Sept 2020

School year 2021-2022

Eat What You Grow

The Eat What You Grow program provides students in more than 400 CPS schools the opportunity to grow and harvest their own food and learn about agricultural engineering and food safety. Upon certification from the CPS Eat What You Grow program, food produced in school gardens may be served in the classroom. Eat What You Grow training will be available online, starting School Year 2021-22.

Interested in having your school participate in the Eat What You Grow Program? Email gardenteam@cps.edu.

Farm to School Visits

Farmers and food producers visit Pre-K through 12th grade classrooms to discuss local foods served in the dining center, school garden activities, and food system education. Students sample local foods while producers share their story and role within the local food system for a farm to school approach to nutrition education. There will also be opportunities for schools to visit hyper-local farm locations within the city to see first hand how production farms in an urban context are run.