Grants / Department of Agriculture / Food and Nutrition Service

USDA-FNS-2022-F2S: Farm to School Grant

Closed Closed January 10, 2022 Opportunity USDA-FNS-2022-F2S ☆ Save

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of Food and Nutrition Service notices from 2021.

• Award ceiling$500,000
• Total funding$12.0 million
• Expected awards200
• Cost sharingRequired
• Funding typeGrant

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, state and local governments and tribes.

The following are eligible entities, which are described in more detail in the Request for Applications:• 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 CACFP and/or SFSP;• State agencies;• Local agencies;• Indian tribal organizations;• Agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers; and• Non-profit entities. Entity type must be clearly indicated and unambiguous in all application materials. If USDA cannot determine the applicant to be an eligible entity based on information contained within the application, the applicant may be subject to removal from consideration.

More grants for nonprofits, state and local governments, tribes.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Farm to School Grant Program awards averaged $91,096; this notice allows up to $500,000 per award.
• Most of the program's money (66% over five years) went to nonprofits.
• The notice requires cost sharing or matching funds, so you must contribute part of the project cost.

What the grant funds

The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) establishes a Farm to School Program in order to assist eligible entities, through grants and technical assistance, in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in USDA Food and Nutrition (FNS) Child Nutrition Programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Each year $5 million is provided to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to support grants, technical assistance, and other activities related to USDA’s Farm to School Program. Additional funding for the Farm to School Program was made available from the FY 2018 through FY 2021 agriculture appropriations acts and, as a result, USDA expects to award approximately $12 million under this solicitation. The USDA Farm to School Grant Program is administered by the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Office of Community Food Systems (OCFS). Authorizing language in Section 18(g) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C 1769(g)) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to award competitive grants, designed to improve access to local foods in eligible schools, for activities such as: • Training; • Supporting operations; • Planning; • Purchasing equipment; • Developing school gardens; • Developing partnerships; and, • Implementing farm to school programs. The NSLA also directs the Secretary to ensure geographical diversity and equitable treatment of urban, rural, and tribal communities in the distribution of grant awards, as well as give the highest priority to funding projects that, as determined by the Secretary: • Make local food products available on the menu of the eligible school; • Serve a high proportion of children who are eligible for free or reduced price lunches; • Incorporate experiential nutrition education activities in curriculum planning that encourage the participation of school children in farm and garden-based agricultural education activities; • Demonstrate collaboration between eligible schools, nongovernmental and community- based organizations, agricultural producer groups, and other community partners; • Include adequate and participatory evaluation plans; • Demonstrate the potential for long-term program sustainability; and, • Meet any other criteria that the Secretary determines appropriate.

Category: Agriculture, Food and Nutrition.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.