Mississippi small farm product amounts, seasonality, and proximity to K-12 public schools

Authors: Thomson, Jessica; LANDRY, ALICIA - University Of Central Arkansas; Walls, Tameka; MCMILLEN, RANDALL - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/15/2023
Publication Date: 2/17/2023
Citation: Thomson, J.L., Landry, A.S., Walls, T.I., Mcmillen, R. 2023. Mississippi small farm product amounts, seasonality, and proximity to K-12 public schools. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 20:3572. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043572.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043572

Interpretive Summary: Limited availability of local foods and difficulty finding local producers are often top farm to school (F2S) challenges reported by school food authorities. Similarly, lack of relationships with school staff and mismatch between produce availability and the academic school year are common F2S challenges reported by farmers in Mississippi. To guide efforts in promoting and ensuring locally grown foods are served in Mississippi school children’s lunches, updated knowledge about small farm product amounts and seasonality is needed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine amounts and harvest months for products grown or raised by small farmers in Mississippi, and to examine proximity between small farms and K-12 public schools in Mississippi. Data were collected via online surveys sent to farmers and K-12 public school food service directors in Mississippi from October 2021 to January 2022. Median amounts for both fresh fruits and fresh vegetables ranged from 1-50 pounds to 201-500 pounds while median amounts for other products (e.g., meat, eggs, honey) ranged from 1-50 pounds to >1,000 pounds. Farm products with the largest median amounts included blueberries, muscadine grapes, leeks, beef, and pork. Availability of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and other products ranged from 1 to 6 months, 1 to 12 months, and 3 to 12 months, respectively. Eight of 12 fresh fruits, 24 of 25 fresh vegetables, and all other products were available during the academic school year. Fifty percent (61 of 122) of participating schools were within a 20-mile radius of at least one small farm (n=29) while 98% were within a 50-mile radius. In conclusion, the majority of small farm product amounts were relatively small (1-50 pounds), although most products were available during the academic school year and in relatively close proximity to at least one K-12 public school. Thus, contracting directly with local farmers may be more attractive to school food authorities given current and possibly continuing supply chain disruptions and decreasing availability of products for school meal programs.

Technical Abstract: The study’s purpose was to determine small farm product amounts and seasonality and examine spatial relationships between small farms and K-12 public schools in Mississippi. Online survey participation invitations were sent via email to farmers and school food service directors from October 2021 to January 2022. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics and proximities between farms (n = 29) and schools (n = 122) determined using spatial analysis. Median yearly amounts for both fresh fruits and vegetables ranged from 1–50 to 201–500 pounds while other product amounts ranged from 1–50 to >1000 pounds. Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, and other product seasonality ranged from 1 to 6 months, 1 to 12 months, and 3 to 12 months, respectively. In total, 8 out of 12 fresh fruits, 24 out of 25 fresh vegetables, and all other products were harvested during the academic school year. Fifty percent of the schools were within a 20-mile radius of at least one small farm, while 98% were within a 50-mile radius. While many product amounts were small (1–50 pounds), most were harvested during the school year and in close proximity to at least one school. Contracting directly with farmers may be more attractive to school food authorities given current supply chain disruptions and decreasing product availability for school meal programs.