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How the collaborative work of farm to school can disrupt neoliberalism in public schools

Author

Listed:
  • Andrea Bisceglia

    (University of Georgia)

  • Jennifer Hauver

    (Randolph-Macon College)

  • David Berle

    (University of Georgia)

  • Jennifer Jo Thompson

    (University of Georgia)

Abstract

Farm to school (FTS) is a popular approach to food systems education in K-12 schools across the United States. FTS programs are highly heterogeneous, but generally include serving locally grown fruits and vegetables in school nutrition programs, planting and maintaining school gardens, and engaging students in garden and food-based learning across the school curriculum. While FTS has been promoted as a “win–win–win” for children, farmers, and communities, it has also been critiqued for reinscribing neoliberal trends (i.e., individualism, private funding, and volunteerism) that exacerbate social inequalities. Through a year-long, ethnographic study of FTS within one public middle school in the Southeast US, this paper contributes to these debates. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks of materiality and affective labor, we investigate how engagement with FTS activities can transform the social practice of everyday life in school for students, staff, and teachers. We find that FTS can reframe success in collaborative terms, engage the school around collective responsibility, and foster relationships across socioeconomic and racial difference. Although there is continued need to expand policies to ensure equitable funding for FTS, our research demonstrates that the hands-on work and collective subjectivities produced through FTS can mitigate the harms of neoliberalism and be a force for positive social change within a school.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Bisceglia & Jennifer Hauver & David Berle & Jennifer Jo Thompson, 2021. "How the collaborative work of farm to school can disrupt neoliberalism in public schools," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(1), pages 59-71, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:agrhuv:v:38:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1007_s10460-020-10128-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10460-020-10128-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alison Alkon & Teresa Mares, 2012. "Food sovereignty in US food movements: radical visions and neoliberal constraints," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 29(3), pages 347-359, September.
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    5. Jennifer Jo Thompson & A. June Brawner & Usha Kaila, 2017. "“You can’t manage with your heart”: risk and responsibility in farm to school food safety," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 34(3), pages 683-699, September.
    6. Ralston, Katherine & Beaulieu, Elizabeth & Hyman, Jeffrey & Benson, Matthew & Smith, Michael, 2017. "Daily Access to Local Foods for School Meals: Key Drivers," Economic Information Bulletin 256713, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
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    Cited by:

    1. Mercado, Geovana & Nico Hjortsø, Carsten, 2023. "Explaining the development policy implementation gap: A case of a failed food sovereignty policy in Bolivia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    2. William Lacy, 2023. "Local food systems, citizen and public science, empowered communities, and democracy: hopes deserving to live," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 1-17, March.

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