Deadline: 1/10/22
Amount: $50,000-$500,000.
Website: https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/farm-school-grant-program
Description:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is giving grants to schools, government agencies, tribal organizations, nonprofit organizations, and agricultural producers that are implementing programs to increase access to local foods for eligible schools. Applicants are advised that required registrations may take several weeks to complete.
Designed to increase the availability of local foods in schools, these grants can help new farm to school programs get started or expand existing efforts. These grants are intended as one-time infusions of funds to help grantees accomplish farm to school objectives that will be sustained over the long term. Funds support a wide range of activities from training, planning, and developing partnerships, to creating new menu items, establishing supply chains, offering taste tests to children, purchasing equipment, planting school gardens, and organizing field trips to agricultural operations.
Turnkey Grant
- The Turnkey grant is intended to streamline the application process by providing a pre-designed project work plan with a specific set of activities to complete common farm to school projects. Foos & Nutrition Service has identified model program designs that organizations can replicate, with flexibility in determining the steps taken to accomplish each prescribed activity. This simplifies the grant process while honoring the flexibilities required for each unique community to implement farm to school programs the way they best see fit.
- Applicants interested in the Turnkey track may choose from one of four projects: (1) Farm to School Action Plan Development; (2) Agricultural Education Curriculum development and delivery; (3) Edible Garden projects; or (4) USDA Farm to School Producer Training.
Implementation and State Agency Grants
- The Implementation and State Agency tracks provide an opportunity for applicants to propose projects that support innovative, original ideas, and/or encompass a broader scope than the discrete projects and activities prescribed under the Turnkey track.
- Required Objective: Improve access to local foods in eligible schools through comprehensive farm to school programming that includes local procurement and agricultural education efforts.
In addition to the general program purpose and priorities outlined above, USDA emphasizes the following priorities for FY 2022:
- Applications that serve a high proportion of children (at least 40% or more) who are eligible for free or reduced price meals.
- Applications from Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) and eligible entities where the leader, and/or 80% of the board, and/or 50% of the staff are Native Americans and the proposed projects are serving Native American communities.
- Applications from eligible entities where the leader, and/or 80% of the board, and/or 50% of the staff are Black/African American, and the proposed projects are serving Black/African American communities.
- Applications from eligible entities where the leader, and/or 80% of the board, and/or 50% of the staff are 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).
Eligible applicants:
- City or township governments
- County governments
- State governments
- Small businesses
- Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
- Institutions, including schools, school districts, and non-school based sites, 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 & Adult Care Food Program and/or Summer Food Service Program; and
- Agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers.
PROGRAM CONTACT
Anna Arrowsmith