Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Read the passage and select ALL correct options. Wrong selections lose points.

Farm-to-school programs, which supply cafeterias with produce grown by nearby farmers, have expanded steadily over the past decade. Advocates argue the arrangement benefits everyone involved: students eat fresher vegetables than the frozen or canned alternatives typically used in mass catering, and small farms gain a stable, predictable buyer instead of relying solely on unpredictable wholesale markets. Critics counter that the logistics are harder than they appear; a single farm rarely grows enough of any one crop to supply a district for a full school year, forcing administrators to juggle multiple suppliers and inconsistent delivery schedules. Some districts have addressed this by forming purchasing cooperatives that pool orders from several farms, smoothing out supply gaps. Even so, budget-conscious districts sometimes revert to cheaper processed food when produce prices spike.