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Here are the states that serve the most local food at school

Libby Nelson is Vox's policy editor, leading coverage of how government action and inaction shape American life. Libby has more than a decade of policy journalism experience, including at Inside Higher Ed and Politico. She joined Vox in 2014.

In the Northeast, almost all school districts are on board with the farm-to-table movement — but the rest of the country is still pretty far behind, according to this map from the US Department of Agriculture's Farm-to-School census:

Farm to table map

(US Department of Agriculture)

In New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Delaware, Maryland, and Rhode Island, at least 90 percent of school districts have some kind of farm-to-school program in place, meaning either they buy local produce or they have school gardens.

At the other end of the scale, fewer than 25 percent of school districts in South Dakota, Nebraska, Mississippi, Texas, Nevada, Wyoming, and Arkansas have farm-to-school programs.

But even in states that have embraced the farm-to-table movement, local foods are a small share of the budget. Only 2 percent of Maine schools' food budget is spent locally.

The locavore leader is arguably — no surprise — Oregon. True, just 66 percent of its school districts have some kind of farm-to-school program, less than leading states like Vermont. But in those districts, 24 percent of the food budget is spent on local foods, a greater percentage than anyone else.

(h/t NPR's The Salt)

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