Farm to School Grant Program
Program Funding
Annual program obligations reported to SAM.gov.
Funded Projects
Examples of what this program has supported.
Program Objective
The Farm to School program exists in order to assist eligible entities, through grants and technical assistance, in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) Child Nutrition Programs.
The program objectives for the implementation and State agency track grants include improve access to local foods in eligible Child Nutrition Program sites through comprehensive farm to school programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts. Objectives for the turnkey track grants include: development of an action plan to facilitate launching or scaling farm to school activities; plan, implement, and evaluate a food production operation (e.g., school garden) that produces food for Child Nutrition operator activities; plan, implement, and evaluate the integration of farm to school topics into Child Nutrition program sites' curriculum.
Eligibility
Eligible Applicants
- Department/Agency of U.S. State
- Department/Agency of U.S. Territorial Gov
- Federally Recognized Tribal Government
- School District
- Nonprofit Organization
State Agencies, local agencies, Indian Tribal Organizations, small- and medium-sized agricultural/groups of agricultural producers, schools/school districts, Institutions participating in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and/or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and non-profit entities (excluding institutions of higher education and hospitals) may apply for the Farm to School Grant.
How to Apply
Award Procedure
All applications that are submitted by the published deadline will be screened for completeness and conformity to the requirements as announced in the RFA package. Grants are awarded by a competitive process via a review panel composed of trained external, FNS, and other Federal staff that will determine the technical merit of each grant application, provide a numerical score, and make recommendations to the selecting official.
Decision Timeline
- Approval: From 120 to 180 days
- Renewal interval: From 120 to 180 days
- Appeal: From 30 to 60 days
Program details & compliance
Description
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program has three requests for applications: Implementation, State Agency, and Turnkey. Implementation grants are intended to help schools or school districts, local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers, and non-profit entities scale or further develop existing farm to school initiatives. State Agency grants are intended for State agencies 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. Turnkey grants include multiple project choices and simplified application requirements, so eligible entities may more easily access funding for popular or FNS-priority activities.
Mission Categories
Primary: Food and Nutrition for Children
Use of Funds
Allowed Uses
Assistance in improving access to local foods in eligible schools can take the form of: (i) Training; (ii) Supporting operations; (iii) Planning; (iv) Purchasing equipment; (v) Developing school gardens; (vi) Developing partnerships; and (vii) Implementing farm to school programs.
Restrictions
Food is an unallowable cost unless used in taste testing. All costs must be reasonable, necessary and allocable.
Required Documentation
For the Farm to School Grant, non profit organizations will be required to submit proof of 501(c) 3 non profit status and an AD 3030. SF-424, SF-424A, SF 424B, SF-LLL, and the Grant Program Accounting System & Financial Capability Questionnaire and the farm to school grant application coversheet.
Matching Requirements
The applicant must provide at least 25 percent of the costs of the grant project as the federal share of costs for this grant cannot exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the project.
Reporting & Compliance
Applicable 2 CFR 200 Subparts
- Subpart B — General Provisions
- Subpart C — Pre-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart D — Post-Federal Award Requirements
- Subpart E — Cost Principles
- Subpart F — Audit Requirements