Farmers

Selling your farm products to schools, colleges, senior centers, and hospitals can benefit the bottom line of your farm business, build ties with your community and demonstrate how agriculture is a valuable part of the local economy. 

What are Institutions?  

You might picture big residential brick buildings, but eating happens in a range of dining settings from family day care centers to school cafeterias, college buffets to “grab'n’go” cafés, group homes and senior meal providers. They all share a mission to serve healthy, good tasting meals to meet the nutritional needs of the eaters, and locally-grown and raised foods fit the bill!

Buyers for smaller venues may be interested in buying directly from you, visiting your farm and inviting you to their special events. Chefs and buyers for larger kitchens may also want to meet you to learn about your farm and what foods you offer, and order your products through their distributor or a food hub. Building relationships with individual buyers is key – it is the story of your farm and the quality of your farm product that will build customer loyalty.

Farm to Institution Market Readiness 

Beginning in 2016, workshops will be offered to farmers across New York to learn about the expectations and requirements of institutional markets and how to build relationships with buyers who want New York farm products. Sign up for FINYS updates to receive announcements of the workshops.

How can buyers find you?

  • Contact your local Cornell Cooperative Extension. Do they offer Farm to Institution Market Readiness workshops? Do they host grower-buyer meet-ups?
  • Join the New York State Grown & Certified Program 
  • Become an approved vendor for New York's Fresh Fruits & Vegetables pilot for schools. Contact Diane Green Office of General Services/Farm to School to learn more.
  • The State of New York launched Buy NY to encourage state and municipal buyers to source New York foods. Check Buy NY tips and resources for vendors and buyers at state institutions.

Farm Food Safety Plans

Food safety is a top priority when we are cooking and feeding children, students and adults in cafeterias, dining halls, or hospitals, and it starts on the farm. Most wholesale buyers will require a Farm Food Safety Plan, and sometimes third-party GAP certification. Find out how to create a Food Safety Plan or sign up for an online or in-person workshop training. To help pay for the costs of GAP certification, apply for a grant from NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets.

Resources

  • Cornell Farm to School

    Cornell Cooperative Extension's Farm to School website has tips and resources for food service, farmers, teachers, parents, community members, and extension educators.

  • The Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments and Choices

    The Local Food System Toolkit was developed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to help communities reliably evaluate the economic impact of investing in local and regional food systems. The Local Food System Toolkit provides detailed guidance in seven modules to measure and assess the expected economic impacts of local food investments. Using real-world projects, experiences, and applied research, it provides grounded, credible, and useable assessment methods. The Local Food System Toolkit can be used by policy makers, community leaders, private businesses or foundations to offer specific estimates that will help them decide whether to invest in initiatives that increase local food activity. 

  • Locally Grown: Farm to School Programs in New York State

    New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released a new report, "Locally Grown: Farm to School Programs in New York State," an overview of farm to school in New York State, the challenges facing farm to school programs and suggestions for improving their success. 

  • FUNDING for Farmers

    Grants, loans and crowd funding sources compiled by Cornell Small Farms Program - not just for "small" farms!

  • Food Safety - Create Your Farm Food Safety Plan

    From FamilyFarmed.org, the On-Farm Food Safety Project (OFFS) helps you learn about food safety, create an individualized on-farm food safety plan, and become food safety certified.

  • Food Safety - Cornell GAP Training

    Cornell offers on-line courses and workshops to create Farm Food Safety Plans.

  • Food Safety - A Step-by-Step Introduction

    A good overview of why and how you can develop a Farm Food Safety Plan, from FamilyFarmed.org

  • Farm to School USDA Census

    Look up School Districts who reported to the 2015 USDA Farm to School Census on their procurement and education activities in 2013-2014, and those who plan to start farm to school programs in the future. 

  • Farm to School Farmer Self-Assessment Guide

    This Farmer Self-Assessment Guide from Michigan Farm to School is a good place to organize information about your farm and consider what you need to have in place before marketing to school districts. It is applicable to many other institutional markets as well. 

  • Farm Food Safety Video Overview

    This video is an overview of Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) through on-farm risk assessment from Cornell Cooperative Extension. Learn more about GAPS Training offered by Extension and NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets, as well as updates on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and economic information on the implementation of GAPs collected from growers through extensive interviews.

  • Become New York State Grown & Certified

    New York State Grown & Certified is the first statewide, multi-faceted food certification program designed to strengthen consumer confidence in New York products, address food product labeling, and assist New York farmers so they can take advantage of the growing market demand for foods locally grown and produced to a higher standard.