The USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Farm to School Program is very excited to continue our Farm to School Month celebrations by announcing the official release of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 Farm to School Grant Program Request for Applications (RFA).

USDA will award up to $12 million in competitive grants to eligible entities through the Farm to School Grant Program in FY 2023. Each grant helps implement farm to school programs that increase access to local food in eligible schools, 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 $75 million through Farm to School Grants, funding 1,019 projects across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico, and reached over 25 million students in more than 59,000 schools.

The RFA includes three tracks - Implementation, State Agency, and Turnkey - to support a variety of projects and implementation stages. Each track provides funding for a specific range of activities:

• Turnkey grants offer the choice between three project types in amounts up to $50,000: (1) farm to school action plan development, for entities who have never received a Farm to School grant before; (2) agricultural education curriculum development and delivery; and (3) edible gardening. 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. Eligible entities proposing projects of national or multi-State scope may apply for Implementation grants that exceed $100,000, up to $500,000.
• State Agency grant awards range from $50,000-$500,000 to help State agencies seeking to improve access to local food served in eligible child nutrition programs (CNP) 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. Schools and other institutions operating the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and/or Summer Food Service Program (SFSP); State agencies; 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.

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 is available on the Farm to School Grant Applicant Resources Page.

Join the USDA Farm to School Program for two webinars in November to review important details of the FY 2023 Farm to School Grant RFA and key characteristics of competitive Farm to School Grant applications.

To register, click each hyperlinked webinar below. After clicking the link, you will be required to provide your name and email address. Click “Register” and once your registration is approved a new window with the registration information will appear and you will be able to add the webinar to your calendar by clicking on the red calendar icon (select from Google, Outlook or Yahoo Calendar). To join the webinar click on the link provided at the bottom of the registration window or on the calendar event you added to your calendar. 

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