title: Stakeholders' interest in and challenges to implementing farm-to-school programs, Douglas County, Nebraska, 2010-2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Schools are uniquely positioned to influence the dietary habits of children, and farm-to-school programs can increase fruit and vegetable consumption among school-aged children. We assessed the feasibility of, interest in, and barriers to implementing farm-to-school activities in 7 school districts in Douglas County, Nebraska.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used a preassessment and postassessment survey to obtain data from 3 stakeholder groups: school food service directors, local food producers, and food distributors. We had a full-time farm-to-school coordinator who was able to engage multiple stakeholders and oversee the development and dissemination of a toolkit. We used descriptive statistics to make comparisons.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven food service directors, 5 distributors identified by the food service directors, and 57 local producers (9 completed only the preassessment survey, 16 completed only the postassessment survey, and 32 completed both) completed various components of the assessment. Interest in pursuing farm-to-school activities to incorporate more local foods in the school lunch program increased during the 2-year project; mean interest in purchasing local foods by food service directors for their districts increased from 4.4 to 4.7 (on a scale of 1 to 5).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Implementing farm-to-school programming in Douglas County, Nebraska, is feasible, although food safety and distribution is a main concern among food service directors. Additional research on feasibility, infrastructure, and education is recommended.
authors.affiliation: 8401 West Dodge Rd, Ste 100, Omaha, NE 68114. E-mail: cpinard@centerfornutrition.org.
authors.forename: Courtney A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Pinard
authors.affiliation: Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Teresa M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Leah R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.affiliation: Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.affiliation: Douglas County Health Department, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Balluff
authors.affiliation: Gretchen Swanson Center for Nutrition and University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.
authors.forename: Amy L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Yaroch
mesh_terms: D000288:Administrative Personnel / Q000523:psychology; D000383:Agriculture; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005522:Food Services; D005523:Food Supply / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D062409:Lunch; D009329:Nebraska; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012574:Schools