Drawing data from comparative case studies of 10 California food policy councils (FPCs), this paper describes the nature of the relationships between local governments and FPCs and examines how these relationships support policy-related activities and food systems change. We focus our comparisons on distinct organizational structures, resource flows, and policy activities. All but one of the 10 councils is organized as a multisector community collaborative, rather than as an independent nonprofit organization or a government advisory body. Each includes local government personnel as members and most depend on government resources for their operations, including meeting

arm to school programs bring food from regional farms to school cafeterias, support school gardens and promote food literacy. These programs have grown exponentially since the late 1990s, with more than 42,500 schools participating nationwide in 2014. In California, 55% of all school districts surveyed in 2013-2014 participated, representing 5,400 schools with 3 million children. Participating schools invested $167 million in local food (as defined by their districts), with the average school district spending 15% of its food budget on local products (USDA FNS 2015). The goal of the project described here was to build the capacity of local growers in and around Yolo County to sell more products directly to school food service buyers. Such sales can have several benefits for growers, including diversifying and expanding their markets as well as potentially receiving higher prices than wholesale distributors offer. For school food service buyers, purchasing direct from growers helps RESEARCH BRIEF Getting the farm to the school: Increasing direct, local procurement in Yolo County schools Data on in-season produce purchases and a collection of "forager" services support direct and seasonal sales from farms to schools.