In November, more than 500 stakeholders gathered at the OnCenter in Syracuse for the 2024 , where they exchanged innovative ideas, explored best practices and formed new partnerships.
Cohosted by the New York State Department of Education and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Harvest New York team, the summit brought together educators, farmers, food producers, food service professionals, government officials, and community leaders, all united by a shared mission to strengthen local food systems and cultivate healthy, sustainable connections for students.
“The New York Farm to School Summit marked a critical step in advancing farm to school initiatives across New York, strengthening the ties between our state’s dynamic food and farm sector and the K-12 educational ecosystem,” said Cheryl Bilinski, Harvest New York’s Farm to School program lead. “Our objectives were to provide high-quality educational workshops, foster meaningful business-to-business partnerships, and deepen the connection between the classroom and the cafeteria.”
New York State Department of Education and CCE Harvest New York staff unite at the New York Farm to School Summit.
The three-day event featured 52 workshops and pre-conference field trips to a school cafeteria, a local grain farm, and a food packing and distribution facility. The tours gave attendees a unique opportunity to witness firsthand how local food moves from farms to schools. A local food trade show with 57 exhibitors further connected farms and schools, while meals throughout the summit highlighted locally sourced foods, adhering to the Child Nutrition Meal Pattern.
On the second day, Dr. Jennifer Gaddis, author of and delivered a keynote on the often-overlooked history of school food in the U.S., highlighting how early 20th-century visionaries viewed school lunch as a means of communal care, a path to good jobs, and a form of experiential learning.
“The wide array of communities coming together – from municipal, state and federal agencies, schools near and far, local farmers and food distributors, was a true illustration of the power of fierce collaboration to make the food system – and our children’s future – a bit better through local, healthy, nutritional foods,” said Julie Suarez, associate dean for land-grant affairs for Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, who spoke at the conference.
Bilinski said event organizers are already working on a second summit in 2026.
