Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program

Anna Arrowsmith
anna.arrowsmith@usda.gov

The Farm to School Grant Program provides funding to plan, establish, and/or sustain a Farm to School program that improves access to local foods and nutrition/agriculture resources in schools.

Project examples:

1. Launching a pilot program that creates opportunities for eligible entities to create farm to Child Nutrition Program (CNP) initiatives
2. Incorporating more unprocessed and value-added, minimally processed, locally or regionally sourced meal components into the CNP meals
3. Readying producers to participate in the CNP food marketplace by providing training on procurement regulations, good agricultural practices, and other food safety-related topics
4. Improving infrastructure to accommodate new local ingredients or local menu items in CNP meals
5. Solving distribution bottlenecks that limit the feasibility of sourcing more locally or regionally produced items by working closely with intermediaries
6. Integrating agricultural education with career and technical preparation programs to encourage the next generation of agricultural producers
7. Expanding experiential learning opportunities at CNP sites, such as creating school gardens, developing school-based farmers markets, providing support to agriculture/food clubs, and/or increasing exposure to local farms and on-farm activities
8. Encouraging increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in CNP sites through promotional activities, taste tests, and other activities featuring local products
9. Adopting agricultural education curricula that encourage the sharing of indigenous traditional knowledge between generations, such as native plant varieties and planting practices
10. Developing and implementing integrated curriculum to reinforce food and nutrition-based learning throughout the school environment or on a local farm(s)

Eligible applicants include:

• State agencies
• Tribal organizations

Applicants that must be a part of a partnership to apply:

• Local agencies
• Agricultural producers
• Groups of agricultural producers
• Nonprofit organizations
• Child nutrition program operators

Award ceiling: $500,000
Award floor: $100,000
Project period: 2 years
Estimated number of awards: 50
Estimated total program funding: $18,000,000

Matching funds of at least 25% of the total budget in the form of cash or in-kind contributions must be demonstrated.

Links to the full announcement and online application process are available through grants.gov. The application instructions will be found on the related documents tab.