The Office of Community Food Systems (OCFS) is very excited to join Farm to School Month celebrations by announcing the official release of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Farm to School Grant Program Request for Applications (RFA).

USDA expects to award approximately $12 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the Farm to School Grant Program in FY 2022. Each grant helps implement farm to school programs that increase access to local food in Child Nutrition Program (CNP) meals, connect children with agriculture for better health, and inspire youth to consider careers in agriculture. Since the program’s inception in 2013, USDA has awarded nearly $64 million through Farm to School Grants, funding 896 projects across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico, reaching over 22 million students in more than 54,000 schools.

The RFA includes three tracks—Implementation, State Agency, and Turnkey. Each track provides funding for a specific range of activities:

• There are four Turnkey grant project types, with up to $50,000 in funding available for all Turnkey projects: (1) farm to school action plan development; (2) agricultural education curriculum development and delivery; (3) edible gardening; and (4) the USDA farm to school producer training project. To streamline the application process, required activities are fully specified within the RFA and Turnkey applicants submit a simplified proposal narrative.
• Implementation grant awards range from $50,000-$500,000. An Implementation grant works well for eligible entities with prior farm to school experience, helping scale up or further develop existing farm to school initiatives. Some examples of activities in Implementation grants include (but are not limited to) training and technical assistance, supply-chain development, evaluation activities, conducting a regional farm to school institute, creation of promotional materials or campaigns, and formation of networks or coalitions.
• State Agency grant awards range from $50,000-$500,000 to help State agencies seeking to improve access to local food served in eligible CNPs by incorporating local procurement and agricultural education activities. Eligible State agencies include any State-level agency working to promote farm to CNP activities, such as State Departments of Education, Health, or Agriculture.

A wide variety of entities are eligible to compete for funding through this grant opportunity. Eligible schools, State and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, small- to medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- to medium-sized agricultural producers, and non-profit organizations are eligible for Farm to School Grants. Institutions operating the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) at non-school based sites may also apply for funding.

Please note that eligibility varies by grant track.  Please see sections 3.0 through 3.4 of the RFA for specific eligibility requirements. A Frequently Asked Questions document will be available soon on the Farm to School Grant Applicant Resources Page (https://www.fns.usda.gov/cfs/resources-farm-school-grant-program-applicants).

The Grant RFA can be found online HERE.  Complete applications must be submitted on www.Grants.gov by 11:59pm ET on Monday January 10, 2022. In order to apply, applicants must obtain a DUNS number, register in the System for Award Management (SAM), and register in www.Grants.gov. Applicants are encouraged to begin this process early. For more information, please see Section 4.7 of the RFA.

Check out the OCFS resources for grant applicants and see a list of prior grantees’ project descriptions for proposal inspiration!

Register Now! FY 2022 Farm to School RFA Webinars

Join OCFS for two webinars in November to review the important details of the FY 2022 Farm to School Grant RFA and review key characteristics of competitive Farm to School Grant applications. 

To register, click each hyperlinked webinar. After clicking the link, select “register” next to the event status. You will be required to provide your name and email address. You should receive a calendar invite for the webinar with the WebEx link, once you have registered.

If you are unable to attend, both webinars will be recorded and made available on the Resources for Grant Applicants page.

Monday, November 8^th, 2021 | 2:30pm ET – Getting Familiar with the FY 2022 Farm to School RFA

This webinar will provide an overview of the FY 2022 Farm to School Grant Program RFA. Get familiar with the requirements of the RFA and how to submit your completed application on grants.gov.

Tuesday, November 9^th, 2021 | 2:30pm ET – Getting Your Grant Package Together

During this webinar, we will explore the key characteristics of a competitive Farm to School Grant application. We will review the required components and provide technical assistance on how to submit a complete application. Attendees will learn tips and tricks for writing a succinct application that clearly outlines your farm to school project.  

The USDA has announced a Request for Applications (RFA) for the new Pandemic Response and Safety (PRS) Grant program, and is encouraging eligible entities to apply for funds. The PRS Grant program will assist small businesses in certain commodity areas, including specialty crop producers, shellfish farming, finfish farming, aquaculture, and apiculture; specialty crop, meat, and other processors; distributors; and farmers markets.

For more information, you can also reach out to the PRS help desk, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. ET at (301) 238-5550 or usda.ams.prs@grantsolutions.gov.

Students are invited to go on a journey through school gardens across the country -- from the Big Island of Hawai’i to Washington, DC -- with Growing School Gardens! Through this virtual tour students will be meeting with other students in diverse communities to engage in hands-on learning, growing healthy food for themselves and their communities, and becoming caretakers of their local environments.

View the videos & activities at www.growingschoolgardens.org/viewer-guide/

The SGSO Network is thrilled to be a part of the Growing School Gardens Summit, a national gathering hosted by Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation, in partnership with Life Lab.

The national gathering is for school gardening professionals is designed to unite educators and leaders to share innovations and promising practices, and to harness our collective power to strengthen and sustain the school garden movement. The Summit will bring together a diverse group of educators, program directors, school food and district leaders, researchers, and youth advocates.

SSGO is seeking Workshop Session Proposals for interactive, inclusive, and highly engaging 75-minute workshops, and speakers for informative 5-Minute Lightning Talk Proposals providing presenters with the opportunity to take the stage and share an idea or story with a large audience.