Mass. Schools, Farms Link Up

Districts buying food fresh from growers.

Frank B. Maher Jr., the director of school food services for the 6,400-student Westfield, Mass., school district, knows exactly where his shiny apples, crisp pears, and vine-ripened tomatoes are coming from.

About 25 percent of the produce used in the district’s school lunch program comes from local growers. There’s a benefit to keeping money in the community, but there’s another obvious plus, Mr. Maher says: The locally grown...