Each winter, MPS releases a Farm to School Request for Proposal (RFP) to identify partner farms for the next school year through a competitive bidding process. All interested farms, farm cooperatives, food hubs, and aggregators are invited to complete the RFP to share information about their farm and bid for the opportunity to grow specific crops for MPS. Farm to School partner farms and items are selected based on product quality, environmental sustainability, price, customer service, supplier diversity, and how grower values align with MPS nutrition goals.
The 2024-2025 school year F2S Request for Proposals will be published in late December of 2023. Watch this site for updates. Please review the background information and links at right to learn more about our process in previous years.
Farmers! If you are growing or raising fresh produce, proteins, grains or beans in our region, please join us to learn more about MPS's Farm to School and local buying process.
Information Meeting, Lunch and Central Kitchen tour
Tuesday December 12, 2023, 10:30am -1:00 pm
812 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis MN 55411
RSVP required by Weds 12/6
Questions? Please contact F2S Coordinator Kirsten Weigle at (612) 517-5522 or kirsten.weigle@mpls.k12.mn.us
MPS selects partner farms through an annual, competitive bidding process. All interested farms, farm cooperatives, food hubs, and aggregators are invited to complete our Farm to School Request for Proposal (RFP) to share information about their farm(s) and bid for the opportunity to grow specific crops for MPS. MPS seeks to purchase a wide variety of vegetables and fruits, free range chicken and turkey, grass fed beef, dried legumes, dairy products, local grains, and more.
Watch this page for the announcement of our School Year 2024-25 RFP, which will be issued in late December of 2023. In preparation, you may find it helpful to review information about last year's RFP, listed below.
To learn more about the Farm to School program and Request for Proposal (RFP), please contact Kirsten Weigle, Farm to School Coordinator.
Thanks to our partner farms, MPS students enjoy these fresh, local items in school cafeterias:
Apples Beets, red & gold Bison Black Turtle beans Cabbage, green & red Carrots, orange & rainbow mix Chicken Cucumbers Green Beans Kale Kohlrabi Melon Parsnips Peppers, red & green bell, lunchbox Pinto Beans Potatoes, red, yellow, & russet Radishes, red, beauty heart, & purple daikon Rolled Oats Romaine Rutabaga Squash, butternut, delicata, yellow, zucchini Sweet Corn Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Turkey Wheat Berries