Farmers must grow the food, organically or in mass; truckers haul it. Budget-conscious food-service directors choose menus; superintendents approve them. Legislators set broader budgetary priorities.
Over the past five decades, a system has evolved that favors mass purchasing, faceless ordering and the kind of preservative-laden, fat-rich foods many say have helped make American children obese.
"These problems have been developing for a long time," said Tegan Hagy of the Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit group that tracks farm-to-school movements across America. "You're not going to fix them overnight."
Creative thinkers, though, have made an impact, one that has grown since the modern movement began in about 1995 and that seems to be blossoming now. Davis' Vermont has emerged as a model in the field since he became the state's top food-services director in 2003.
That year, the school district in Burlington, Davis' hometown, spent $300 on locally grown food. Less nutritious and less tasty items (white bread, iceberg lettuce, mass-produced yogurt) dominated the menu, and half the students were signed up for the voluntary meals program.
Last year, the city spent $50,000 on locally grown foods, students were enjoying artisan breads, romaine lettuce and rich, locally made yogurt, and more than 70 percent were having school meals.
His secret?
"Start small, and watch the growth," he said during an hourlong address.
Davis encouraged his audience to respect those already working in the industry but to inspire change in subtle ways.
He told of bringing local restaurant chefs into schools so his staff - accustomed to ladling food onto plates, assembly-line style - could see them chop and dice. Children saw the servers learning, he said, and grew curious, and when teachers and administrators bought into the idea, the subject of food became an organic part of the school day.
Meanwhile, he kept an eye out for local bargains. Upon learning that a local chicken farmer was throwing away drumsticks, he haggled a good price: $1.20 per pound, the same amount he'd been paying for processed chicken.
"The kids are still going nuts over those," he said. "It doesn't have to be expensive."
Eating locally made zucchini muffins and downing fresh juices, the participants spent the day swapping insights and brainstorming ways in which Maryland might build on a promising beginning.
