As parents prepare to send students back to school, the Texas Department of Agriculture is focusing on how to feed them with locally grown food.
Dig deeper
The department, led by Commissioner Sid Miller, established the Farm Fresh Network in 2010 to bring ingredients from local producers to school cafeterias across the state. The network is a digital database of Texas farmers, ranchers, distributors and producers who are interested in selling to schools, child and adult care facilities and summer feeding programs.
Schools and other facilities can use the database to connect with farmers and purchase Texas-grown produce and more, according to the department of agriculture. The network contains 198 producers across the state, with 24 of them residing in the Austin area, according to Kelli Wise, director for program advancement at the Texas Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Division.
Zooming in
From the Panhandle to the Texas coast, farms and wholesalers are selling beef, nuts, beans, berries and more. In the Austin area, local companies like Round Rock Honey Company partner with schools and other facilities statewide, according to the network’s interactive map.
The honey business, led by founder Konrad Bouffard, sources honey from approximately 5,000 hives across Texas, including ones in Round Rock, San Antonio, East Texas and near Houston, Bouffard previously told Community Impact.
Other local providers and distributors include Hill Country Dairies, Hudson Meats and Oatmeal and Company.
Who it’s for
Austin ISD is one of the school systems that utilizes the Farm Fresh Network as a resource, Lindsey Bradley, marketing manager at Austin ISD Food Service, said.
One of the district’s food service initiatives includes the Nacho Average Food Truck, which stops at AISD high schools each spring. Through support from a Farm Fresh Student Engagement Grant, the district was able to provide students with meals crafted from Texas produce and meat, including pork from Taylor Stevenson Ranch Meat Co. in Houston.
“With our buying power, we like to be able to support the Texas economy and to support Texas farmers, but we know, in turn, that it really is a big benefit to our students,” Bradley said. “A lot of our students may not have that opportunity at home to really taste the difference between, you know, a tomato or a pepper that's grown right here in Texas versus one that's shipped across the country to get to us.”
Why it matters
During the 2022-2023 school year, Texas schools spent $257.8 million on local foods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, which is more than a 70% increase from the 2019 Farm to School Census. Additionally, 59% of the state’s schools reported an increase in student fruit and vegetable consumption.
Data from the network shows the program's influence on student eating habits, as well as investment in the local agricultural industry.
“We want Texans to know that we are trying to grow a Farm Fresh generation by serving local food in the cafeteria and child care centers and make sure those kids are healthy,” Wise said.
Stay tuned
Now, the department of agriculture is looking ahead to the Farm Fresh Network Challenge, an annual program that began in 2013 and returns each October. The network challenges schools to serve a certain number of local foods, host educational activities and share social media posts throughout the month.
In October 2025, schools spent $23.5 million on local products, according to the data from the Texas Department of Agriculture.
AISD is one of the school systems that participates in the challenge program each year, according to the district’s food service team. Last year, the district highlighted seasonal produce like apples and sweet potatoes, challenging high school culinary students to create dishes with local ingredients. This year, the district’s executive chef is planning to work with culinary classes again to make cheese with local milk.
