Farm to SAUSD FAQs
What is Farm to SAUSD?
Farm to SAUSD represents the Santa Ana Unified School District’s commitment to creating sustainable food solutions. Central to this vision is a direct connection with farms to provide fresh, local fruits and vegetables to our students.
What are the benefits of Farm to SAUSD?
Several positive outcomes are attributed to buying fresh produce directly from local farms. Students are served more nutritious foods, fresh produce travels shorter distances, thereby reducing the carbon footprint, small farmers have access to more business opportunities, and the District’s true food supply chain is strengthened by gaining direct access to food producers and growers.
What is required of my farm to sell fresh produce directly to SAUSD?
In addition to the requirements outlined in the “Prospective Vendor (Farm) Procurement Requirements” section, farmers must be Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) certified, or meet SAUSD’s minimum GAPs standards (outlined in the Farm to SAUSD GAPs checklist). Additionally, a farm’s crop output will determine its ability to provide for SAUSD’s more than 40,000 students.
What is the purpose of the Farm to SAUSD resource page?
The Farm to SAUSD resource hub is a place where farmers can learn more about SAUSD’s purchasing, food safety, and meal pattern requirements, and a place where students, parents, and community members can learn about the Farm to SAUSD program.
What is a GAPs Certification?
GAPs is a voluntary program that verifies the safe growing, handling, packing, and/or holding of produce. Source: Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) | Institute for Food Safety at Cornell University. https://instituteforfoodsafety.cornell.edu/resources/nys-grown-certified/good-agricultural-practices-gaps/
Where can I get a GAPs Certification?
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/groupgap
https://www.nsf.org/testing/food/food-safety-audits-certifications/agriculture-farming/globalgap
What if I Cannot Get a GAPs Certification for my Farm?
SAUSD’s GAPs Checklist and Resource hub was created by SAUSD to ensure farm-direct foods are safe for consumption. The checklist is a set of good agricultural practices SAUSD staff will look for on a farm before considering purchasing its fresh produce. For farms that do not have a GAPs certification, SAUSD’s GAPs Checklist enumerates the practices a farm must have in place or adopt prior to selling fresh produce to the District. Each component described on the checklist is paired with a resource (sometimes multiple resources) to inform farmers on the associated practice and provide examples of the practice in the field. Once a farm is ready to receive a Farm to SAUSD inspection, SAUSD staff will visit the farm to confirm the GAPs checklist practices are in place on the farm.
How Often Will SAUSD Inspect my Farm?
SAUSD is committed to ensuring all foods served to its students and staff are the safest, highest quality foods available. In addition to the resources SAUSD is providing to help farmers enhance and maintain good agricultural practices on theirs farms, SAUSD will perform annual inspections of farms to verify such practices are adopted into practice.