Farm to Early Care and Education can sound fairly simple on paper: connect young children with local foods, gardening experiences, and opportunities to learn about food and where it comes from.
But anyone doing this work knows that building a sustainable Farm to ECE model is much more complicated. It requires collaboration across early childhood, public health, food systems, policy, and philanthropy. It also requires communities to think beyond single programs and activities toward the policies and partnerships needed to sustain the work.
To support that process, the Policy Equity Group developed A Roadmap for Growing the Farm to Early Care and Education Movement, along with four accompanying briefs.
Drawing lessons from our Farm to ECE partners working across the country, these resources are designed to help states and communities identify where they are, where they hope to go, and the best tools to help them reach their goals and priorities.
Where Should You Begin?
Start with the Roadmap
The Roadmap provides an overview of six elements that can support the growth of Farm to ECE:
- Setting an agenda
- Engaging stakeholders
- Establishing a proof-of-concept
- Building procurement infrastructure
- Leveraging policy opportunities
- Developing an evidence base
The Roadmap is not intended to be a step-by-step checklist as Farm to ECE work is rarely linear. Communities may be building partnerships, testing programs, improving local food purchasing, and collecting data at the same time.
Instead, the Roadmap can be used to understand how these different pieces fit together and identify areas that may need more focused attention.
Choose the Resource That’s Right for You
Each of the four policy briefs explores one key component of the Roadmap in greater depth, allowing readers to focus on the topics most relevant to their work.
Not sure where to begin? Here’s a quick guide:
- If you’re just getting started with Farm to ECE, begin with the Roadmap to understand how the different components fit together.
- If you’re building partnerships or organizing stakeholders, start with Setting an Agenda and Engaging Farm to ECE Stakeholders.
- If you’re planning or expanding a pilot initiative, read Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Farm to ECE.
- If you’re working to increase local food purchasing in early care and education settings, explore Local Food to Little Forks.
- If you’re focused on evaluation, sustainability, or measuring impact, begin with Developing an Evidence Base to Sustain and Grow a Farm to ECE Movement.
You don’t need to read every brief from beginning to end. Start with the Roadmap, then turn to the brief that best matches your current goals.
Whether you’re building a coalition, planning a pilot, strengthening local procurement, or developing an evaluation strategy, these resources are designed to help communities take the next step.
Farm to ECE brings together systems that were not necessarily designed to work together. We hope these resources make that work a little easier and help communities build on the lessons and shared wisdom from others engaging in this important work.
Explore the complete Farm to ECE Roadmap and policy brief collection.