Participating farmers will contract 6-12 months in advance for the delivery of specific amounts of freshly harvested produce for meals and snacks paid for by the National School Lunch Program. Farmers may secure additional income by teaching their “climate smart” farming strategies to students in the school site edible gardens. 

PEAS will focus on supporting new, small farms owned and managed by women, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, veterans, and immigrants. Dozens of such farms have been created throughout Yolo County in the past 5 years. 

While many new small farms can’t yet afford to be certified organic, the program will have a special emphasis on “climate smart” agricultural practices. “’Climate Smart” essentially means sustainable and regenerative farming practices,” explains Yolo Farm to Fork Executive Director Anya Perron-Burdick. “’Climate Smart” agriculture helps mitigate climate change effects through practices like soil carbon sequestration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Finally, the program will offer support for school kitchen staffs transitioning from pre-packaged foods to culturally relevant meals, many cooked from scratch. Karri Pina, Director of Food Services for Washington Unified School District, observes, “The sudden changes in food delivery from meals served at school sites to “grab and go” pick-ups forced us to provide “heat and serve” meals not in line with our nutritional values. It also presented serious barriers to scratch cooking.” Pina hopes that by supplying the school cafeterias with fresh, local produce, PEAS will get students nutritionally back on track when they return to campus.

 “PEAS is our way of combining community partners' efforts to address community needs and turn them into community resources - much as our Growing Lunch program has done in the past four years,” says Yolo Farm to Fork President Suzanne Falzone.