School districts invested $789 million in locally sourced foods during the 2013-14 school year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm to School census.
The amount of food they purchased locally also increased 105 percent from the 2011-2012 school year, the census found, with nearly half of responding schools saying they planned to purchase local foods even more often in the coming years.
In addition, 42 percent of U.S. school districts are operating farm-to-school programs, and more than 2,000 districts, or 16 percent, have plans to start one in the future.
USDA officials say the results show a “deepening commitment” of schools at all levels to bring locally sourced food into the cafeteria.
“An investment in the health of America’s students through farm-to-school programming is also an investment in the health of local economies,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a release. “Nearly half of schools report that they intend to buy even more local foods in future school years, indicating that farm-to-school programs will continue helping our children and our communities flourish.”