EAST LANSING (AP) -- Michigan State University scientists say schools that buy produce from local farmers can save money while giving students healthy food they enjoy.

Mike Hamm heads the C.S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems at Michigan State.

He and other researchers looked at seven school districts in the upper Midwest and Northeast for a study published in the March/April issue of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.

Michigan State says farm-to-school programs let students and farmers build relationships. They can include field trips to farms, cafeteria signs linking farmers and their products, and farmer visits to cafeterias.

The National Farm-to-School Network says there are about 1,990 such programs in the U.S.