The Blaine County School District is undertaking a comprehensive exploration of farm-to-school opportunities, partnering with Future Roots, a Hailey-based nonprofit, to chart a path toward sourcing more local food for student meals. As first reported by Capital Press, the district’s action planning process is expected to reach key decision points ahead of the 2027-28 academic year.
The initiative emerged from community demand. Future Roots surveyed more than 130 parents and guardians about school meals, finding concern among respondents about the level of processing in school food and the amount students actually consume. Those conversations prompted the district and Future Roots to formalize a partnership through a memorandum of understanding for a two-year planning timeline.
Survey Findings Drive Planning Focus
Hannah Harris, program coordinator at Future Roots, described the scope of the work: “Our intention is to do a place-based, in-depth strategic planning process that really addresses the needs of our students, our families and our community.” The organization has been hosting community workshops since September 2025 to involve stakeholders in the process, as first reported by the Capital Press.
The district and Future Roots jointly applied for a Farm to School planning grant from the USDA in January 2025. The federal program paused operations two months after their application, halting immediate grant funding. Despite that setback, the pair continued their collaborative planning using funding from community donations and in-kind matches.
Current efforts include practical steps toward waste reduction and student engagement. Future Roots is incorporating composting programs into school cafeterias, and students are scheduled to participate in taste tests this fall. The district is also conducting a cost analysis comparing current ingredient prices with potential local replacement options—a critical step in determining whether farm-to-school sourcing is economically feasible.
What Comes Next
The Blaine County School Board of Trustees is likely to receive options and recommendations from the planning process next June. That presentation will shape the district’s next steps, whether moving forward with a pilot program, scaling efforts, or adjusting the scope based on cost and supply realities.
The district currently contracts with a food service company that supplies meals to school districts across the region. Any transition to local sourcing would involve coordinating with or transitioning from that existing relationship.
Farm-to-school initiatives have been explored in Blaine County before, but this effort represents a more structured, community-driven approach. Harris emphasized the potential benefits: “A positive of planning farm-to-school is that we can decrease the amount of food waste, meaning students actually are consuming more.” Reducing waste while increasing student consumption addresses two concerns raised in the parent survey—nutritional value and responsible resource use, as first reported by the Capital Press.
The timeline gives the district and Future Roots roughly a year and a half to finalize their strategic plan and present viable options to school leadership. The June 2027 board presentation will be a critical checkpoint in determining whether Blaine County Schools moves toward a working farm-to-school model for the 2027-28 school year and beyond.
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