How does the Oklahoma Farm-to-school pilot project work?
For the pilot program, the four participating school districts placed their orders for seedless watermelons though the Department of Human Services Commodity Distribution and School Nutrition Unit. The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture and the Dept. of Defense Fresh Produce/Farm to School Program helped source Oklahoma growers to fill the order. Purchasing was done by the Dept. of Defense, which contracts with growers through their extensive network and assures buyers of a quality product. Schools did not receive extra funds to buy the watermelons, but used commodity funds that each district receives.
