• October is Farm to School Month in Oregon!

• NCRG Monthly Open Office Hours: Wednesday, October 14th, 2-3pm

Noncompetitive Reimbursement Grant (NCRG)

Monthly Open Office Hours: The Farm to CNP team is hosting monthly virtual monthly office hours on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. Drop in on Wednesday, October 14th, 2-3pm to ask questions and get answers to all things NCRG!

The office hours can be joined on Zoom via this link: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1618818788

Farm to CNP Fresh Facts: Using the NCRG to purchase school garden- and school farm-grown produce

You can use the NCRG award to be reimbursed for purchases of produce grown in a school garden or school farm! To claim it for reimbursement you will need to receive and retain an itemized receipt (like you would for any other purchase) and include the item on your NCRG claim form.

Make sure that all items procured from a school farm or garden were done so following Oregon food production safety standards. The ODE Farm to CNP webpage has a School Garden Food Safety section that can guide you through school garden food safety!

Questions about what can be claimed? Ask the ODE Farm to CNP team! Email FarmtoCNP@ode.oregon.gov

Competitive Reimbursement Grant

The Competitive Reimbursement Grant (CRG) provides eligible grantees with additional funding beyond their Noncompetitive Reimbursement Grant awards. To be eligible, applicants must have received a Farm to CNP Noncompetitive Reimbursement Grant award and fully expended those funds.

The Competitive Reimbursement Grant (CRG) RFA was released, and the third application period is now open. The 2025-2027 CRG RFA can be located here. A CRG Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is available on the Farm to CNP CRG webpage.

Education Grant

Education grant activities are underway! From school gardens to farm field trips to garden-based education activities, grantees are making the most of their Farm to CNP Education Grant awards! Learn more about the 76 grantees of the 25-27 Farm to CNP Education Grant on the Farm to CNP Ed grant webpage.

General Information about this grant program can be found on the Education Grant webpage.

- Take part in the Oregon Crunch at Once! Thursday, October 22. A joyful, synchronized moment when tens of thousands of Oregon students across the state bite into locally grown produce at the same time. In 2025 over 40,000 students, teachers, and others participated. Learn more and register here.

- Second Annual Movement meeting: Come help write Oregon's Farm to School story. This live virtual gathering connects educators, growers, child nutrition staff, agency folks, and advocates across the state in learning about how Oregon is championing farm to school work, and where the future of farm to school is going. Join on Tuesday October 27th from 3:30-5:00 pm PST. Register here.

- Explore the Oregon 2035 Farm to School goals on Farm2SchoolCounts to see where farm to school is headed in Oregon!

- Check out the National Farm to School Network's 2026 Farm to School Month Toolkit

Are you using your NCRG or Ed award for farm to school month celebrations? Let the ODE Farm to CNP team know! Send your photos and stories to FarmtoCNP@ode.oregon.gov

Happy Farm to School Month!

FARM TO SCHOOL PODCAST

New Episodes: There are new episodes of the Farm to School Podcast! Check out the latest Farm to School Podcast episodes below!

What does it take to turn a family recipe into an award-winning cheese company? In this episode, sit down with Francisco Ochoa of Don Froylan Creamery to trace a remarkable journey that began with homemade queso fresco sold door-to-door in Oregon's small towns. Today, Don Froylan's cheeses are winning international awards, reaching schools across the West Coast, and helping students experience authentic local foods. It's a story of family, culture, perseverance, and one very unforgettable string cheese.

You can listen to the episode here.

What do geoducks, school gardens, and social-emotional learning have in common? More than you'd think. In this episode, Farm to School veteran Erica Curry of Row by Row joins Rick and Michelle for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with the Pacific Northwest's most peculiar clam and blossoms into a thoughtful exploration of how gardens help students build confidence, empathy, resilience, and connection. From career pathways to SEL, this episode proves that some of the best learning happens with your hands in the soil.

You can listen to the episode here.

Tune into the Chef Ann Foundation's webinar on the school food workforce. School food professionals have some of the lowest wages and highest vacancy rates in their districts, yet they determine whether scratch cooking becomes reality. For too long, these jobs have been written off as unskilled work rather than recognized as the culinary careers they are. Explore what happens when we finally invest in the people, featuring professionals who are already proving what's possible.
This live discussion, hosted by Chef Ann Foundation's co-founder and CEO, Mara Fleishman, will feature expert guests from Azusa Unified School District (CA), Jobs for the Future, Chef Ann Foundation, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Wednesday, October 7th, 10am. Register here

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institutes of Health launched a new project called Defining Evidence for Programs to Ensure Nutrition for Development (DEPEND).

This funding opportunity is designed to help schools serve healthier food, address operational hurdles, and increase scratch cooking at scale.

Applicants should seek to remove a structural barrier, test a potentially sustainable solution, or generate knowledge needed for serving healthier meals to kids across four key areas: 

• Food purchasing & supply
• Workforce & food production
• Student demand & meal economics
• Transforming operations & infrastructure

Public schools, public charter schools, school districts, and School Food Authorities are eligible to apply. Up to 50 projects will be funded.

You can learn more about this grant and apply here. 

Dairy West is excited to introduce the NEW! Dairy West School Nutrition Promotion Calendar—a new resource designed to help you plan ahead and make the most of Dairy West partnership opportunities throughout the school year.

Each month, they’ll highlight upcoming promotions, grants, events, educational opportunities, and resources available to support your school nutrition program. Check the calendar regularly to see what’s coming up, identify opportunities that fit your goals, and plan ahead to participate. Consider it your go-to spot for what’s next from Dairy West!

Explore the Promotion Calendar & Plan Ahead

Give Your Cafeteria a Fresh Look! Sometimes a simple change can make a big difference. Dairy West Cafeteria Marketing Kits are designed to work together to create an inviting cafeteria environment and give students a nutritional nudge toward the healthy foods you already serve.

These ready-to-use resources are an easy way to refresh your space, highlight nutritious choices, and build excitement around school meals.

Request your free cafeteria marketing kit            

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Administration (FNA) is clarifying the geographic preference option—a tool designed to help child nutrition program (CNP) operators more easily purchase local foods for program meals. The update is part of the Harvest to Hallways Initiative and reflects Secretary Rollins’s commitment to clarify statutory, regulatory, and administrative requirements. It aims to support CNP operators in bringing more locally sourced food to students’ plates.

The new rule, “Simplified Geographic Preference Procurement in Child Nutrition Programs,” does not change the meaning of the geographic preference option or how it is implemented. Instead, it makes the regulatory language easier to understand, and it explains how CNP operators may use geographic preference option strategies when buying unprocessed agricultural products.

The rule takes effect starting on November 9, 2026. Learn more here.

Take action against hunger and food waste for the opportunity to win a trip to San Diego Comic-Con® 2027, a $750 college scholarship, $3,000 for your school, and $1,000 for a hunger relief and food rescue charity of your choice. Students can enter by choosing an action to take in their own community, which can include starting or expanding a school composting program, reducing cafeteria food waste, and/or launching a food rescue effort.

The challenge is open until March 12, 2027. Learn more and apply here.

The Chef Ann Foundation's Salad Bars to Schools (SB2S) grants K–12 schools everything needed to install a salad bar including salad bar equipment and all accessories, marketing materials, and comprehensive online training courses through the School Food Institute.
Open to K-12 school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program with an enrollment of at least 100 students per school site. Learn more here.

Application deadline: March 31, 2027.