Farm to School Grant Program CDFA #: 10.575
Fiscal year (FY) 2014 Farm to School Grant awards were announced on November 19, 2013. For information about FY 2014 awardees, click here .
Information and materials from the FY 2014 application period are below.
USDA Announces Request for Applications for FY 2014 Farm to School Grants
Program description
The purpose of the USDA Farm to School Grant Program is to assist eligible entities in implementing farm to school programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. On an annual basis, USDA awards up to $5 million in competitive grants for training, supporting operations, planning, purchasing equipment, developing school gardens, developing partnerships, and implementing farm to school programs. In this funding round, USDA is soliciting applications for three types of grants:
- Planning grants are intended for school districts or schools just starting to incorporate farm to school program elements into their operations.
- Implementation grants are intended for school districts or schools to help scale or further develop existing farm to school initiatives.
- Support Service grants are intended for state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers, and non-profit entities working with school districts or schools to further develop existing farm to school initiatives and to provide broad reaching support services to farm to school initiatives.
Proposals are due at midnight EST, April 24, 2013. In all cases, a 25% cash or in-kind match of the total project cost is required.
Important Dates and Deadlines
- February 6, 2013: Request for Applications Released
- April 24, 2013: Proposals Due (Midnight EST)
- October 2013: Awards Announced and Funds Available (Pending the Availability of Federal Funds)
Webinars to Learn More
Grants.gov: February 27, 2013
- Review the archived presentation slides here.
Implementation Grants, March 6, 2013
- Review the archived presentation slides here
Planning Grants, March 5, 2013
- Review the archived presentation slides here.
Sample Proposals
To assist applicants in preparing their grant submissions, USDA has shared winning proposals from the FY2013 round of funding. Each grant application will be unique to the applicant and the community it is intended to serve; the samples below should not be considered as templates or guides. They are illustrative only.
- Sample proposal: Planning Grant
- Sample proposal: Implementation Grant
- Example proposal: Support Service Grant
- Example budget narrative
Contact Us
For all questions pertaining to the USDA Farm to School Grant Program, please contact us via email at farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov. And to receive information and updates about USDA’s Farm to School Program, please sign up for our Farm to School E-letter.