About the Data

2023 Farm to School Census: About the Data

What is the Farm to School Census?

The Farm to School Census (Census) is an online survey that collects information every four years about farm to school activities nationwide. This information is vital to help schools, partners, advocates, and producers understand the role of farm to school in supporting resilient local food systems and contributing to student experiences at school. The Census also provides important information to help USDA, policymakers, and advocates learn about the benefits and challenges of doing farm to school activities so that they can secure and direct resources to support farm to school initiation and expansion.

The 2023 Census focuses on school year 2022-2023, and data collection took place in fall 2023. Previous Census surveys were conducted in 2019, 2015, and 2013.

Who is included in the 2023 Census?

The Census surveys all public, private, and charter school food authorities (SFAs), including residential child-care institutions (RCCIs), that participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) in all 50 states and American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C. SFAs were asked to complete the survey regardless of farm to school participation. The survey asked SFAs whether they had ever participated in or planned to participate in any of 32 farm to school activities.

SFAs that acknowledged participation in any of these activities in school year 2022-2023 received further questions about their farm to school participation that year. SFAs that began farm to school activities in school year 2023-2024 received a limited set of questions about outcomes of their farm to school participation; challenges of procuring local foods; and what would facilitate greater farm to school engagement. SFAs that did not participate in any of the defined activities received a limited set of questions about whether and when they planned to engage in farm to school activities in the future, challenges of procuring local foods, and what would encourage them to participate in the future.

How many SFAs responded to the 2023 Census?

Invitations to participate in the Census were sent to 18,833 SFAs, and 12,559 SFAs (67%) submitted a response. Some responses did not provide enough information to be included in our analysis. The National and State-level findings presented on this website and in the 2023 Farm to School Census Report are based on responses from 11,803 SFAs.

Where can I find national information based on the 2023 Census?

A national overview of farm to school in the U.S., based on responses to the 2023 Census, is available in the 2023 Farm to School Census Report. This report includes aggregated findings from all SFAs about farm to school activities, the environments in which they take place, and the road ahead for farm to school. Please note that there may be slight differences in statistics presented on this website and in the 2023 Farm to School Census Report due to minor variations in analysis techniques.

You can also download the 2023 Farm to School Census National and State Data Workbook for key numbers and statistics for the U.S. overall (and for each State and territory).

Where can I find how a specific SFA responded to the 2023 Census?

Responses to select Census questions from individual SFAs that submitted a survey can be found through the Data Explorer page of this website. You can find an SFA by typing its name in the search bar. If it does not autofill, then it is likely that the SFA did not respond to the Census.

Users can also download the full 2023 Census dataset, which includes responses to all Census questions from all responding SFAs. Datasets from the 2019, 2015, and 2013 Censuses are also available below.

Where can I find how a specific State responded to the 2023 Census?

You can also download the 2023 Farm to School Census National and State Data Workbook for key numbers and statistics for each State and territory (and the U.S. overall).

Where can I find past Census data and comparisons to past Census findings?

The 2023 Farm to School Census Report includes comparisons between the 2023 and 2019 Farm to School Census findings. Between the 2015 and 2019 Census, FNS made substantial changes to the Farm to School Census survey instrument and how the survey was conducted. As a result, it is not recommended to compare responses from the 2023 or 2019 Census to responses from 2013 and 2015.

See the bottom of this page for links to datasets from the 2019, 2015, and 2013 Farm to School Census.

What types of activities are considered "farm to school"?

The Census groups farm to school activities into four main categories: serving local food items as part of the school meals; providing educational activities involving food, nutrition, and agriculture, including edible school gardens, promoting local foods at school, and other activities to source and procure local foods. The full list of activities can be found in the Census survey questionnaire.

Are Census findings representative of the U.S. and of the States?

The national and State numbers and percentages presented on this website are weighted to be representatives of the U.S. or the relevant State. "Weighting" is a statistical technique used to adjust for the fact that not all SFAs completed the survey. Using what is known about the respondents and their answers, we estimate the values we would have gotten if every SFA in the country or the State had responded to the Census. More details on how this weighting was done can be found in Appendix A of the 2023 Farm to School Census Report.

Note that the percentages shown in the Data Explorer are simple calculations based on the SFAs listed on the website and are NOT weighted to be representative of the broader population.

Where can I find more about the 2023 Census methodology?

Please see Appendix A of the 2023 Farm to School Census Report for a detailed explanation of the methods used to collect and analyze 2023 Census data.

Does the Census include pre-K and afterschool programs?

Only SFAs participating in the NSLP may respond to the Census. Some, but not all, SFAs participate in both the NSLP and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and the Census reports the percentage of those SFAs serving local foods in CACFP and CACFP At-Risk Afterschool. The Census also asks all SFAs whether they offer farm to school activities for pre-K students as well as whether they host local food events as part of CACFP.

What is considered "local"?

Federal regulations give SFAs the flexibility to establish their own definition of local when buying food for school meal programs. SFAs may set their definition of local based on the kind of food they are buying, the season, the number of vendors producing the food in an area, and other factors. Some SFAs use a specific geographic range (such as within 200 miles of the school) or a defined locality (such as a city or county, within the state, or within a defined region of the country). For the Census, SFAs are asked to use their own definition of local to answer questions.