Nebraska Farm To School Institute

Heartland Farm to School and Early Care and Education Institute

The Heartland Farm to School & Early Care and Education (ECE) Institute is offered in collaboration with Farm to School and Early Care and Education partners from Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. This initiative is formally led by the Kansas Department of Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and the Nebraska Department of Education.

Modeled after Vermont FEED’s ‘3 C’s’ approach (Classroom, Cafeteria, and Community), the Heartland Farm to School and ECE Institute is a unique year-long opportunity focused on growing farm to school efforts while providing professional development and networking with peers. The first cohort launched in November 2024 with 5 Nebraska Early Care and Education sites, followed by a second cohort in May 2025 with 3 Nebraska schools. These teams were competitively selected based off of several key factors. Those selected will improve Farm to School and Early Care and Education efforts at their sites for one calendar year with the help of an assigned coach.

Applications now open for Heartland Institute 2026!

With a program kickoff retreat in June 2026, your team will work for the following school year with an appointed coach on an action plan to elevate Farm to School programming at your site in the Classroom, the Cafeteria, and the Community. Evidence shows that participation in the Institute empowers teams to make significant strides towards achieving their Farm to School goals. Teams applying to the Heartland Institute 2026 must represent a School or School District from Kansas, Missouri, or Nebraska and participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

Selected Nebraska sites will be awarded $3000 to cover project expenses and implementation in the 2026-2027 school year.

Applications are due January 30, 2026, at 10:59 PM MT / 11:59 PM CT. Notification of team selection will be made by February 27, 2026.

Nebraska Farm to School Institute

The Nebraska Farm to School Institute was established for school year 2021-2022 to strengthen local food purchasing and education practices within Nebraska school-community teams. Eight school teams were competitively selected to participate in the Institute to engage in training, and to receive technical assistance and coaching support. The Nebraska F2S Institute is modeled after the “3 C’s” Approach, pioneered by Vermont FEED, which integrates the Classroom, Cafeteria, and Community into the development of goals and farm to school action plans.

The inaugural Nebraska Farm to School Institute was hosted by the Nebraska Department of Education and Nebraska Extension and was supported by USDA Farm to School grant funds.

These teams were competitively selected based off of several factors, including strength in their team diversity. Team members at the schools included a school administrator, school nutrition director, and an Extension educator. Other team members ranged from Ag Educators, parents, school board members, farmers and ranchers, Family and Consumer Science teachers, community business owners, and other interest groups.

The Institute launched with a week-long intensive virtual training in June 2021. Evaluation from the week-long intensive identified the impact from the Institute content and trainings on the readiness for teams to implement their project plans. In the pre-Institute survey, participants were asked to rate their readiness to implement a farm to school action plan. Less than one-third (29%) said they were “very ready” to implement, with 68% indicating they were “somewhat ready” (50%) or “a little ready” (18%). In the post-week of the Institute survey, there was a big jump in participants indicating they were “very ready”, nearly doubling from 29% to 56%. See the 2021 Nebraska Farm to School Institute Report for more data, results, and summaries of the Institute training content.