The readings this week informed me of the benefits of farm to school programs that are implemented in some areas of the country. These programs created a link between the schools and the local farms. In turn, fresh food was made available for the students at these schools. The school's are not the only beneficiary in these programs, the farms benefit as well. The program increases demand for fresh, local food products, which financially supports the local farms.
The programs also educate both the children and adults at the school about the true origins of our nations food. Also, health and nutrition are promoted by always having fruits and vegetables available for consumption. It teaches kids to live a more healthy, active lifestyle.
Since there is so much benefit to these programs, one may wonder why they are not implemented nationwide. Well, there are some difficulties in running one of these programs successfully. For one, it is difficult to keep the cost down at an acceptable rate because food from small local farms is generally more expensive than food from a huge national conglomerate. Healthy food doesn't do anyone good if it is too expensive for most kids to buy.
The incident between the Atlanta city planners and Kroger was unfortunate, but it was reality. There are certain neighborhoods where grocery stores simply aren't successful, and there is available data to back this up. Since Kroger is a profit driven entity, it would be a mistake on there part to invest in a neighborhood that would cause them to lose profit. It is an unfortunate flaw in our capitalistic society.
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