• Who is eligible to participate?

Participation is open to all school districts, individual schools, childcare centers, and home-based childcare providers in Nebraska who operate a Child Nutrition Program. Child Nutrition Programs include, but are not limited to, the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Child and Adult care Care Food Program (CACFP).

• How do I sign up?

There is no signup, submitting your first purchase or donation automatically enrolls you in the Challenge.

• What is the time period of the challenge?

Any purchases made or donations received during the 2025-26 academic year from August 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026 count towards your achievement level. Purchases/donations already completed during this period can be submitted as well.

• How do you define “local”?

For this Challenge, the product must originate from within Nebraska or within 400 miles of your school or ECE. More specifically, Local Food means food that is raised, produced, aggregated, stored, processed, and distributed in the locality or region where the final product is marketed to consumers, so that the total distance that the product travels between the farm or ranch where the product originates and the point of sale to the end customer is at most 400 miles, or both the final market and the origin of the product are within the same state or territory. 

Note that this is based on the product origin, not the vendor. For example, purchasing produce from a local grocery store does not count if the produce originated outside of Nebraska or more than 400 miles away.

• What are the achievement levels?

The total number of purchases and donations submitted during the 2025-2026 academic year count toward these achievement levels:

• First local purchase/donation - Beginner Level

• 10 purchases/donations - Bronze Level

• 20 purchases/donations - Silver Level

• 30 purchases/donations - Gold Level

• Are there prizes?

If your school or ECE reaches one of the achievement levels described above, you will receive:

• Certificate recognizing your achievement level

• Listing of your organization in NDE communications, such as the monthly newsletter, social media, etc.

• Additional incentives may be awarded for higher levels of achievement

• What counts as one purchase?

An invoice, sales receipt, or purchase order constitutes one purchase. You do not need to submit the actual document for this challenge.  However, as you participate in a CNP, such as the NSLP or the CACFP, be sure to keep documentation on file to meet CNP requirements.

• What counts as one donation?

All items brought in a single drop-off by a person or organization (see below) counts as one donation. Furthermore, if you participate in a CNP, donations must also meet their requirements in order to count for this challenge. You do not need to submit the actual document for this challenge but be sure to keep documentation on file to meet CNP requirements. 

Donations can be from farms, ranches, processors, community organizations, churches, family gardens, or school gardens, as long as the items are "local" as defined above and meet CNP requirements.

• Should I submit for my district or my individual school? 

You can choose to represent your district, individual school, childcare center, or home-based childcare.  The achievement levels are the same regardless of the type of entity.  You will specify the type of organization on the submission form.

• How often should I submit my purchases/donations?

You can submit purchases/donations at any frequency convenient to you.  You can submit multiple transactions on the same form, so weekly or monthly submissions might work best while details are still relatively fresh in your mind.

• What if I have purchases/donations that have already occurred?

Any purchase/donation that occurred from August 1, 2025 through May 31, 2026 are eligible to be submitted.

• Who can I contact with questions?

Questions can be emailed to Gary Fehr (fehrgary@gmail.com), Nebraska Department of Education Farm to School Consultant.