CN farm to school grant

The Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service awarded Healthy Communities Of The Capital Area $465,270 on May 1, 2026, through the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program (CFDA 10.575) to implement comprehensive farm-to-school initiatives in Gardiner, Maine. The recipient will deliver local food procurement for school meals, school garden development, agricultural education integration, producer training on food safety and procurement regulations, and student experiential learning. The award runs through June 30, 2028, as a 24-month implementation grant.

Healthy Communities Of The Capital Area, a Maine-based nonprofit public health organization doing business as HCCA, receives this Project Grant as a prime grantee. The recipient received an earlier $100,000 USDA Farm to School Grant under the same program from July 2023 to June 2025. The Farm to School program awards implementation grants to eligible entities including schools, school districts, agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers, and nonprofit entities to scale or further develop existing farm to school initiatives and improve access to local foods in schools participating in the USDA Child Nutrition Program.