Selling to Schools and Other Institutions

In this episode we're joined by CNG Farmer Sam Otto, of The Woven Trifecta, and Passion Rutledge and Tomas Delgado, from the National Farm to School Network. Head to our website for the full list of resources mentioned in this episodes.

Thank you to ⁠Local Line⁠ for making this episode possible! In 2016, they launched the first version of our platform, empowering farmers to move their businesses online and accept orders from customers. Today, their suite of sales, inventory, and distribution tools is trusted by food producers across North America and beyond.

Timestamps:

• 2:00 - Origin Stories
• 9:06 - Meat and Potatoes Questions
  • 9:20 - Can you describe different ways schools source food and who are the different players for sourcing food and menu planning - where would you suggest is a good place for a farm to start seeking out these connections?
  • 14:00 - Sam talks about how she got her farm connected with a food service director.
  • 16:17 - As a direct-to-market grower - what are the best places to start seeking out these relationships?
  • 21:05 - How federal mandates around nutrition come into play when schools are sourcing food?
  • 23:03 - Truth or myth? Do you need food safety certifications or specific requirements to sell to an institution?
  • 25:30 - Do you remember some changes you had to make at your farm to meet those requirements?
  • 28:08 - If you are a small-scale farmer and you’re looking for other ways to provide food to these institutions beyond the school lunch?
  • 30:24 - Sam holds farm field trips - asked about the logistics of that, how could a farmer present that to a school - what are the liabilities?
  • 33:07 - There’s been a lot of wariness this year with funding freezes and funding loss - Can you give an overview of the impact and if there are other places to look for funding help?
• 36:15 - Questions from Field
  • 37:05 - Is there a place where a farmer can get a better understanding of the portion size requirements that schools require?
  • 41:30 - Thoughts on selling meat versus selling vegetables?
  • 43:33 - Are there solutions for selling to schools that don’t have well equipped kitchens? Or are there examples of farms who are working with co-packers or other innovators to provide ingredients to be sold as value added products, like pickles or cole slaw?
  • 46:00 - If a farm is a scale to sell directly to a school, are there examples of forward contracts or other agreements?
• 49:54 The lowdown on the ⁠10th National Farm to Cafeteria Conference⁠ coming up in December 1-4, 2025 in Albuquerque, New Mexico