Running Title: Farm to Table

Farm to Table
Brooke D. Munson
Ball State University

Running Title: Farm to Table

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Executive Summary

Farm to School programs are an uprising trend that have proven benefits for the communities in
which they take place. However, there are some difficulties that arise for schools with these types of
programs, such as extra time, funding, and harvest season for most midwest communities is June August. These are issues in small town Tipton, Indiana, home to about 5,000 people. Though Tipton
Community Schools may have difficulty implementing such a program, the Tipton County Boys and
Girls Club could fill this need in the Tipton community.
A farm to table program, through the Tipton County Boys and Girls Club, will span eight weeks.
The program will use the Junior Master Gardeners materials to promote a love of gardening, develop an
appreciation for the environment, and cultivate the mind (Purdue Extension). The garden would provide
fresh, healthy, and free snacks for the students. Under staff supervision, the students will make salsa from
the crops harvested. Also, students will take a week to visit local farms to connect with farmers in the
community.
Marketing would include flyers introducing the program to the students and community; and
exhibiting a few healthy, garden-fresh snacks for the students to taste to gain their interest. Marketing
will not cost a lot since we are bringing the non-for-profit program to the students. The budget will
include:
40 flyers - $2.00
Homemade Salsa for the kids - $20.00
Carrots for the kids - $3.00
Total - $25.00
One of the resources that will be needed is a garden plot near the Boys and Girls Club. To create
a garden plot we will need space, a spade, rototiller, and laborers. Other needed items include a hose,
sprinkler, seeds, gardening tools, and gloves for the laborers. A farm to table program provides many
healthful benefits to its participants. Implementing such a program at the Tipton Boys and Girls Club will
surely benefit the students health and knowledge in a positive way.

Running Title: Farm to Table

Product, Program or Service Provided

Gardening has been shown to increase childrens fruit and vegetable consumption and also
increase their physical activity. McAleese et al was one of those who found that garden-based education
increased sixth graders fruit and vegetable consumption. The governments Farm to School Census
documented public health benefits such as increased fruit and vegetable intake from +0.99 to +1.3
servings/day; reduced screen time and increased physical activity; increased knowledge regarding:
gardening, agriculture, healthy food, local food, seasonality; increased food security; and positive diet
changes. They also saw benefits in overall academic improvement (k-12), improved life skills, selfesteem, and social skills. The purpose of this Farm to Table program is to increase the knowledge, love
for food, and health of our youth, so we can grow into more healthful and productive communities.
During the summer, the Tipton Boys and Girls Club is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. From
9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. is summer camp and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. is open play. The program can be
run during the open play time for 1 hour each week. The program will last eight weeks. The Purdue
Extension Junior Master Gardeners materials will be used for teaching the kids about gardening. The kids
will plant the seeds, weed, water, and harvest the garden. Free snacks are given to the kids four days per
week. The plants that are harvested will be used as fresh, healthy, and free snacks for the club members.
One of the weeks we will make fresh homemade salsa from the foods we picked from the garden.
Another week we will visit a local farm, B & B Berries. B & B Berries is a local organic berry farm
about 15 minutes from the club. The club has about 300 members who will benefit from the fresh
produce. The goal is to reach 75 of those members over three summers of this program, with 15-25
participating each week.
Week 1: Plant Seeds activity & plant garden
Week 2: Teach Garden Beneficiaries vs. Pests, make popsicle plant markers, tend garden
Week 3: Teach Plant Structure, Plant Parts we Eat, tend garden, snack

Running Title: Farm to Table

Week 4: Field Trip to Farm

Week 5: Teach: Soil and Soil Additives, Pies and Snack, Rattle and Roll activity, tend garden, snack
Week 6: Teach: Gardening Techniques, Protection by Diversity activity, tend garden, snack
Week 7: Teach Food Safety, Garden to Table activity, tend garden, snack
Week 8: Make homemade garden salsa
Market Analysis
The Tipton Boys and Girls Club serves a wide variety of ages, including K-8th grade. The
members are both male and female, with 97.1% of the City of Tipton being white and Tipton County
being 98% white/Caucasian. The Census of the United States Bureau states that mean household income
for the city (2009-2013) is $39,592 with 17% of persons below poverty level. The Boys and Girls Club
facility is located at 341 W. Jefferson St. Tipton, IN 46072. The facility is located in the Tipton
Community Center building. The community center owns a grassy lot across the street that they allow
the Boys and Girls Club to use for outside games. This would be the perfect spot to create a small garden
plot. Potential competitors for this type of program include other non for profits who have the same idea,
schools, and other programs. Purdue Extension has a position called Community Wellness Coordinator,
which works with these competitors in the community to make sure there is no program overlap.
Budget/Financial Analysis
There are several factors that go into the net cost of a farm to table program. Since it is a non
profit program, the funds will come through grants. There is a competitive grant program called Farm to
School managed by Purdue Extension. The estimated funds needed over the next three years are
$2,000.00. Here is a break down of the estimated costs:
Costs (General)

Compost: $10.00

Handouts: $8.00

Gas Money: $20.00

Snacks: $300.00

Ingredients for Cooking Day: $20.00

Gardening Tools: $250.00

Jumbo Craft Sticks for Garden Markers: $6.50

Gardening gloves: $150.00

Extra Staff: $400.00

Running Title: Farm to Table

Marketing: $25.00

Soil Testing Kit: $30.00

Extra Expenses: $500.00

In-Kind Donations

Costs to Make Garden Plot

Seeds: $40.00 (monetary amount)

Rototiller: $45.00 (rent)

Land for garden

Spade: $25.00

Total: 1,829.50

Running Title: Farm to Table

Operations Plan
The resources required for start up are the Junior Master Gardeners materials, provided by Purdue
Extension. Also we would need the land for the garden plot and seeds, which are both in-kind donations.
A spade will have to be purchased to mark the area and a rototiller will have to be rented to till the land
where the garden plot will be placed. The soil will have to be tested for adequacy and money for extra
teaching materials. Extra staff will have to be working during the designated hour to supervise the
children. All of the current trained staff are at least juniors in high school.
Risk Assessment
Some potential risks are food safety for the kids and the potential for the children to get hurt by
the tools. The weather is also a big factor. For example, the summer of 2015 was cooler so the tomato
crop suffered. If there is too much rain or not enough, or if it is raining on one of the program days, it
could affect the program. All of these have to be factored into the success and costs of the program.

Running Title: Farm to Table

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References

McAleese JD, Rankin LL. Garden-based nutrition education affects fruit and vegetable consumption in
sixth-grade adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007 Apr;107(4):662-5. PubMed PMID: 17383272.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2015, December 2). State & County Quickfacts. In U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved
February 8, 2016, from http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/18/1875986.html
United State Department of Agriculture. (2015). Early Results are In. In The Farm to School Census.
Retrieved January 26, 2016, from https://farmtoschoolcensus.fns.usda.gov/home