National Farm to School Network

What National Farm to School Network does

National Farm to School Network (NFSN) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, founded in 2007 and operating as a project of Tides Center, that functions as the national information, advocacy, and networking hub for the farm to school movement in the United States. Its mission is to enrich the connection communities have with fresh, healthy food and local food producers by changing food purchasing and education practices at schools and early care and education settings. NFSN serves K-12 schools and school districts, early care and education providers, farmers and agricultural producers, state and local government agencies, and individual community advocates, with a documented reach of 20,000+ members, 74,433+ participating schools, 45.6 million students engaged, and $1.8 billion in local food purchases by School Food Authorities during SY 2022-2023.

The organization's core products and resources include a searchable Resource Database, the State Partner Network spanning all 50 states plus DC and US Territories, dedicated programs for Early Care and Education, Native Communities, and Producer Support, structured training cohorts, advocacy campaigns (School Meals Campaign, Local Food Purchasing Incentives, Values-Aligned Universal Meals), and publications such as the State Farm to School Policy Handbook and accompanying interactive State Policy Database. The technology footprint is primarily web-based: farmtoschool.org serves as the central distribution channel, supplemented by an interactive policy database and a USDA grant impact dashboard, with no proprietary software platform disclosed. Annual events include the National Farm to School Month (October), Movement Meeting, Partner Meeting, and the biennial National Farm to Cafeteria Conference (10th edition held December 2025 in Albuquerque).

NFSN's business model is a non-trade, grant-and-donation-funded nonprofit. Revenue streams include foundation grants (e.g., $50K from Whole Foods Market Foundation in October 2025, with major multi-year support from W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Whole Kids Foundation, Builders Vision, CoBank, Organic Valley, Newman's Own Foundation, NCG, Farm Credit, and JFF), federal cooperative agreements (notably a $1.8M three-year USDA award via NCAT partnership in 2019), event registration fees (Partner Meeting $150; conference tickets $250-$809), and corporate partnerships/sponsorships. Membership is free, and the organization reaches its distributed audience through content marketing, email newsletters (monthly digest, weekly newsletter, action alerts), organic social media, events, webinars, and its Core Partner network.

Name

National Farm to School Network

Legal name

National Farm to School Network

Website

https://farmtoschool.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Farm to School Network is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving as the national information, advocacy, and networking hub for farm to school, connecting 20,000+ members, 74,433+ schools, farmers, and early care providers across all 50 states, DC, and US Territories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Systems Advocacy and Education

NAICS

Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating (115112)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

School Feeding & Child Nutrition Programs (BPADAJAD)

Keywords

• Farm to school
• Farm to cafeteria
• School nutrition programs
• Food systems advocacy
• Community food education

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership and Donations: NFSN operates as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization fiscally sponsored by Tides Center. Revenue comes from membership support, individual donations, and corporate partnerships. Membership is free for partner organizations.
2. Event Registration and Sponsorships: Revenue generated from conference and event registration fees (e.g., Partner Meeting $150/ticket, National Farm to Cafeteria Conference tickets ranging from $250-$809), as well as corporate sponsorships for events and programs.
3. Government Grants and Cooperative Agreements: NFSN receives federal funding through partnerships such as the USDA cooperative agreement with NCAT ($1.8 million, 3-year project) for developing farm to school trainings for agricultural producers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The National Farm to School Network is an information, advocacy and networking hub that empowers communities to strengthen their food systems through farm to school and farm to early care and education approaches. It connects children, farms, food and the broader community through training, policy advocacy, convenings, publications, and resource databases serving schools, early care providers, farms, state agencies, and partner organizations across the United States.

Product overview

National Farm to School Network is a non-profit organization serving as an information, advocacy and networking hub rather than a software product. The organization offers a portfolio of programs and resources including: a core network hub connecting farm to school practitioners; a searchable Resource Database; the State Partner Network spanning all 50 states; advocacy programs for School Meals Campaign and Policy; educational programs for Early Care and Education, Native Communities, and Producer Support; annual events including the National Farm to Cafeteria Conference, Partner Meeting, and Movement Meeting; and publications including the State Farm to School Policy Handbook, State Policy Database, and Patrick Leahy Grant Dashboard. These offerings work together to advance the farm to school movement through education, advocacy, networking, and resource-sharing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• National Farm to Cafeteria Conference A biennial in-person convening that brings together farm to school and farm to cafeteria practitioners, researchers, advocates, funders, and policy makers for workshops, keynotes, and networking across multiple days with paid registration.
• Partner Meeting An annual gathering of the Network's Core and Supporting Partner organizations held in a host city to align strategy and build collaboration across state and national farm to school partners.
• USDA Farm to School Training Curricula Training programs delivered through a USDA cooperative agreement that builds state-level capacity to plan, implement, and sustain farm to school programs, including the Farm to School Producer Training and Farm to School Institute.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.8 billion spent on local food by schools during SY 2022-2023
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and unclear.

• California Department of Food and AgriculturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnering with CDFA to host the 2026 Partner Meeting in Sacramento, CA in conjunction with the California Farm to School Summit. This joint programming provides additional value to NFSN Partners and demonstrates state-level collaboration.
• WANDAunclearStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 December 2025WANDA partnered with the National Farm to School Network. The partnership aims to support the farm to school movement, though specific details of the partnership were not specified in available sources.
• Center for Agriculture and Food Systems at Vermont Law and Graduate SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2025Co-authored the State Farm to School Policy Handbook: 2002-2023, a comprehensive resource summarizing and analyzing farm to school legislation across all 50 states, DC, and US territories. Also developed the accompanying State Policy Database.
• National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 June 2019NCAT and NFSN partnered with USDA Food and Nutrition Service's Office of Community Food Systems to develop farm to school trainings for agricultural producers. This 3-year, $1.8 million national project assists producers in building capacity to market to schools using a tiered, train-the-trainer approach. Independent evaluators from NYU assist with needs assessment and project evaluation.
• USDA Food and Nutrition Service - Office of Community Food SystemscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2019USDA OCFS partnered with NCAT and NFSN to develop farm to school training curricula for agricultural producers. The goal is to help producers launch or expand efforts to market to schools, leveraging the large market of 30+ million students in the National School Lunch Program.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Food Trust: National nonprofit that runs healthy food access, school nutrition, and farmers' market programs, including founding the nation's largest farmers' market EBT program. Closely aligned with NFSN's healthy-food-in-schools and local-food-system mission.
• Chef Ann Foundation: Nonprofit focused on transforming school food systems through scratch-cooked meals, with programs like the School Food Support Initiative. Overlaps directly with NFSN's local-procurement and school-meals advocacy work.
• Slow Food USA: National chapter of a global movement promoting good, clean, and fair food, with strong engagement in school gardens and local food systems. Comparable as a national nonprofit advocacy and education hub for food systems change.
• Healthy Schools Campaign: National nonprofit focused on healthy school meals and physical activity, including advocacy for universal school meals. Strongly aligned with NFSN's policy and advocacy work on Child Nutrition Reauthorization.
• FoodCorps: National nonprofit that places service members in schools to teach nutrition and garden-based education and to support farm to school programming. Highly comparable to NFSN in mission, K-12 focus, and federal-grant-driven model.
• Whole Kids Foundation: Whole Foods Market-affiliated nonprofit funding school gardens and salad bars and nutrition education. While also a NFSN funder, it operates similar grant programs for K-12 healthy food access, making it a direct programmatic peer.
• Real Food Challenge: Student-led movement shifting university dining procurement toward real, local, and sustainable food. Overlaps with NFSN's expanding farm to higher-education work (e.g., University of Texas partnerships).
• Center for Good Food Purchasing: National nonprofit that helps institutions (including schools) implement values-based procurement frameworks covering local economies, nutrition, and sustainability. Directly adjacent to NFSN's local procurement advocacy and policy work.

Emerging players

• Ecotrust: Regional nonprofit working on food, forestry, and climate across the Pacific Northwest, including farm to school initiatives. Comparable as a food-system advocacy nonprofit with related school-food programming.

Regional players

• Farm to Institution New England (FINE): Six-state regional network that helps institutions (including schools, colleges, and hospitals) increase their purchases of New England food. Operates the same farm-to-institution model NFSN is extending nationally.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/farmtoschool
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnM3CDocUuiNuVmx5dMhluA
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalFarmtoSchoolNetwork
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-farm-to-school-network
• Instagraminstagram.com/farmtoschool

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Farm to School Network