Farm to School Fundraisers

What is a F2S fundraiser?

Farm to School (F2S) fundraisers provide schools and early childhood education programs with an opportunity to raise funds through the sale of fresh, healthy and local vegetables and/or fruit. Fundraisers typically take place in the fall, which coincides with the start of the school year when there is an abundant local fall harvest in most regions.

Why F2S fundraisers?

The sale of food has long been used to raise funds to support school and early childhood education programs. By offering fresh, local vegetables and fruits for purchase, these fundraisers take a Farm to School Approach in order to provide a healthier, more environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to other food fundraising activities.

• Students win – Their schools gain money for supplies, healthy-living programs, and other educational initiatives  
• Farmers win – Thanks to new market opportunities these initiatives can introduce
• Communities win – As a result of stronger connections between families and local farmers, and better food literacy among students and their families

How do F2S fundraisers work? 

While every region is different, all F2S fundraisers include  the sale of a selection of fresh, healthy, local produce. From each sale:

• Farmers receive a fair market price for their product 
• Schools receive a generous portion to invest into programming 
• The coordinating organization receives a nominal portion to support logistics

Baskets or bundles of produce can typically be purchased for $15-$30, depending on their size and contents. For example, a $30 bundle may contain up to 25 lbs of produce and include a variety of 8-10 items such as those in the below sample from Quebec’s Schools Take Root initiative:

Who coordinates F2S fundraisers?

F2S fundraising campaigns may be coordinated by organizations or departments in the non-profit, public or private sectors (or sometimes partnerships between them). No matter who coordinates the campaigns there’s no question they play an important role in connecting farmers to schools and early childhood education centres. 

The responsibilities that coordinators take on may include generating campaign promotional materials, logistics for ordering and delivery of produce, or developing resources, such as fact sheets about local, organic agriculture or recipes that feature the bounty of their local food basket or bundle.  

Below is a list of F2S fundraising campaigns in Canada. Visit their webpages to learn more about the individual initiatives, access resources, and learn how you can get involved or participate!

Campaigns in Canada