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Harvest Public Media is a reporting collaboration focused on issues of food, fuel and field. Based at KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, Harvest covers agriculture-related topics through a network of reporters and partner stations throughout the Midwest.

Farm-To-School Program Tries To Support Small Farms

Rachel Andrew
/
flickr Creative Commons

Schools in Kansas spent nearly $2 million on local food during the 2013-14 school year. Harvest Public Media’s KristoforHusted reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to make sure small farmers are getting their slice.

The USDA’s Kevin Concannon says historically, the agency has been focused on commodities like corn and soybeans. But increasingly it’s putting millions in grants toward school programs that buy fruits and vegetables the kinds you’d see at small farmers markets.

"Those farmers that typically come into farmers markets are the very same smaller growers who are providing products to schools," Concannon says. "So we’re trying to support them in several ways."

The Agriculture Department predicts growth in local food spending to increase as more schools establish grant-funded farm to school programs.

Kristofor Husted is a senior reporter at KBIA in Columbia, Mo. Previously Husted reported for NPR’s Science Desk in Washington and Harvest Public Media. Husted was a 2013 fellow with the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources and a 2015 fellow for the Institute for Journalism and Justice. He’s won regional and national Edward R. Murrow, PRNDI and Sigma Delta Chi awards. Husted also is an instructor at the Missouri School of Journalism. He received a B.S. in cell biology from UC Davis and an M.S. in journalism from Northwestern University.