The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) establishes a Farm to School Program 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 (FNS) Child Nutrition Programs, including the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP).
Donor Name: Food and Nutrition Service
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/06/2023
Grant Size: $500,000
Grant Duration: 24 months
Details:
Authorizing language in Section 18(g) of the NSLA (42 U.S.C 1769(g)) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to award competitive grants, designed to improve access to local foods in eligible schools, for activities such as:
- Training;
- Supporting operations;
- Planning;
- Purchasing equipment;
- Developing school gardens;
- Developing partnerships; and
- Implementing farm to school programs.
Funding Priorities
- Applications that serve a high proportion of children (at least 40 percent or more) who are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
- Applications from Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs) and eligible entities where the leader, and/or 80 percent of the board, and/or 50 percent of the staff are Native Americans, and the proposed projects are serving Native American communities.
- Applications from eligible entities where the leader, and/or 80 percent of the board, and/or 50 percent of the staff are Black/African American, and the proposed projects are serving Black/African American communities.
- Applications from eligible entities where the leader, and/or 80 percent of the board, and/or 50 percent of the staff are people of color and the proposed projects are serving communities of color (defined as Black/African American, American Indian, Alaskan native, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and/or Pacific Islander).
- Applications from small- to medium-sized agricultural producers or groups of small- to medium-sized agricultural producers. Please refer to the specific eligibility criteria in Section 3.0 for the definition of an eligible small- to medium-sized agricultural producer.
- Projects operating in and serving eligible schools/sites located in rural areas. For the purposes of Farm to School Grants, rural is defined as an area where the school participating in the project, or the location of the site participating in the project is located in the attendance boundary of a school with a locality code of 41, 42, or 43 using the National Center for Education Statistics online tool to determine urban/rural classification
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $12,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $500,000
- Award Floor: $10,000
- Applicants may not choose any grant period other than 12 months or 24 months
Eligibility Criteria
- Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
- Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
- Independent school districts
- County governments
- City or township governments
- State governments
For more information, visit Grants.gov.