Elizabeth Vaughan is the Food Systems Manager for Community Health Improvement Partners, or CHIP. Elizabeth is a leader in San Diego’s pioneering efforts in the national Farm To School movement, helping schools and other institutions work with local farmers and agriculture producers to purchase fresh foods.
Schools, hospitals and other institutions have significant buying power, and in recent years they’ve been aggressive in working with local food producers (farmers, fisherman and the like). This Farm To School movement helps in a number of ways, including:
- Bringing fresher foods into schools.
- Lessening the environmental impact of shipping food. And
- Supporting local economies.
On top of that, it’s also addressing the issue of equity in our food systems. When schools can partner with local farms, students are getting some of the best quality food around. And that flies in the face of the traditional narrative that school food is the worst, cheapest food around.
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