What is the NY Farm to School Institute: Farmer Track?
The Strengthening Food & Farm Foundations: Farmer Track for the NY Farm to School Institute offers a learning opportunity for farmers and producers in New York State to develop and refine their Farm to School market and help bring more New York grown food into the school food system. Farm to School offers a way for New York farmers and producers to build diverse and resilient farming operations now and into the future through reliable school markets. This training and educational program will assist participating farm businesses in creating successful Farm to School programs and connecting with farmers. For the duration of the eight-month program, FINYS and Terrapin Consulting will provide tailored support to up to 10 small to mid-sized farms in creating their Farm to School plans.
What is the Focus & Goal of the Program?
Strengthening Food & Farm Foundations will provide a foundation for farmers to sell their products in Farm to Institution and/or Farm to School programs. Farmers will receive current, farmer-focused information and practical tools to support their participation in farm to institution sales, whether that’s a new revenue, or an area participants would like to expand in their current operations. The focus of the curriculum is to empower farmers to make strategic and sustainable adjustments in their business operations that would provide new wholesale and institutional sales which will ultimately help farmers increase their sales.
What sort of time commitment should I expect?
This depends on your farm business’ specific goals and understanding of farm to school. If your action plan outlines many large and complex goals, you may have to put in more time to complete these goals. If you are not familiar with farm to school, you may need to spend additional time getting up to speed. Since this is an inaugural program, we estimate participants can expect to spend an average of 2-4 hours per month on the Institute for participation in 1:1 meetings, cohort networking sessions, homework, and seasonal workshops. Please keep in mind that there are required events for this program such as the in-person August 2025 Meet and Greet, Spring and Fall virtual workshops, and potentially a Fall field trip. Participating in storytelling efforts are optional. We understand that schedules can be uncertain, and many farmers have limited free time, so if you find yourself overwhelmed with the program at any point, we encourage you to communicate this to us!
Will there be compensation for participating in the Farmer Track?
Upon completion of the program in November 2025, participants will receive a $1000 stipend to jump start their farm to school business plan. Up to four participants will receive a storytelling stipend of $200 to contribute to success stories and producer training materials. All stipends are contingent on available USDA funding.
Which types of farms are we looking for or how do we plan to evaluate applications?
We accept farms from all regions of New York State that have an interest in or are currently supplying a school with food (directly or indirectly). While we won’t rule anyone out before looking at their application, we prefer small to mid-sized farm businesses that have been in business for at least 3-5 years. The application is used to gain an understanding of each applicant farm business, local schools and community, and existing farm to school efforts with the goal of forming a cohort of farmers that have both similarities and opportunities to share lessons learned with others. In this inaugural class (2025-26) we are looking for farmers to demonstrate either existing efforts, a plan, or a goal of playing an active role in their local farm to school program through food, agricultural products and education.
For more information about the farmer track, please visit http://www.finys.org/farmer or email us at [email protected] with any questions.
For more information about the NY Farm to School Institute, please visit www.finys.org/institute or email us at [email protected] with any questions.