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.

Grants will be made under 3 tracks:

1. Implementation grants are to help schools or school districts expand or further develop existing farm to school initiatives.
2. Turnkey grants are for schools or districts just getting started on farm to school activities. May include action planning, agricultural education, and edible gardening.
3. State agency grants are intended to increase the amount of local food served in eligible schools by funding state agencies to support and grow farm to school efforts in their states.

Additional funding priorities for the current grant cycle include applications and projects:

• Operating in and serving eligible schools and sites located in rural areas
• From tribal organizations and entities serving native communities
• From eligible organizations led or staffed by people of color and the proposed projects are serving communities of color (defined as Black/African American, American Indian,Alaskan native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and/or Pacific Islander)
• From small to medium sized agricultural producers or groups of producers
• That serve a high proportion of children (at least 40% or more) who are eligible for free or reduced price meals

Farm to School Grant Program applicant resource website

Eligible applicants include:

• Institutions, including schools, school districts that operate the National School Lunch and/or Breakfast Program(s), and non-school based institutions that have an agreement with the state agency to operate the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and/or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP)
• State agencies
• Local agencies
• Tribal organizations
• Agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers
• Nonprofit entities

Turnkey Grants

• Award ceiling: $50,000

Implementation Grant ($100,000 or less):

• Award ceiling: $100,000
• Award floor: $50,000

Implementation Grant (Over $100,000):

• Award ceiling: $500,000
• Award floor: $100,001

State Agency Grant:

• Award ceiling: $500,000
• Award floor: $50,000

Project period: 24 months
Estimated number of awards: 150
Estimated total program funding: $12,000,000

Applicants must provide at least a 25% non-federal match in the form of cash or in-kind contributions.

Links to the full announcement, application instructions, and the online application process are available through grants.gov.

Application templates