The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will invest in farm to school programs nationwide to help eligible schools improve the health and well-being of their students and connect with local agricultural producers. The new program will promote opportunities for nutrition and agriculture education while providing new economic opportunities for food producers nationwide.
"School cafeterias are great places to champion U.S. agriculture and to teach students where their food comes from," said Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan. "More and more, schools are connecting with their local farmers, ranchers and food businesses each day and these programs are a great way to bring more local offerings into school cafeterias and support U.S. producers as well. As we struggle with obesity and associated diet related diseases, farm to school programs give us one important tool to help our kids make lifelong healthy eating choices."
The Farm to School Grant Program is part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA), which authorized and funded USDA to assist eligible entities, through grants and technical assistance, in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. The new investments will assist schools in procuring food from local producers. Farm to school initiatives can also include agriculture and nutrition education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms and cooking classes.
These grants, administered by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), will help schools respond to the growing demand for locally sourced foods and increase market opportunities for producers and food businesses, including food processors, manufacturers, distributors and other value-added operations.
To fulfill the farm to school mandate in the HHFKA, effective October 1, 2012, $5 million will be provided to USDA on an annual basis to support grants, technical assistance, and the Federal administrative costs related to USDA's farm to school program. In this first funding cycle, FNS anticipates awarding up to $3.5 million in grants, while the remaining $1.5 million will support a combination of training and technical assistance, administrative costs, and/or additional farm to school grants.
Letters of Intent are suggested (but not required) by May 18, 2012, while proposals are due June 15, 2012. To assist eligible entities in preparing proposals, USDA will host a webinar related to Implementation grants on May 15th at 1:00 pm EST and a webinar related to Planning grants on May 17th at 1:00 pm EST. For more information on webinars, the farm to school grant program, or USDA's farm to school efforts in general, visit the USDA Farm to School website.