Farm to School Grant Program

Closed Posted

Opportunity number
USDA-FNS-2026-F2S
Agency
Applications due
Award size
$100,000 to $500,000

Opportunity facts

Assistance listings
Funding instrument
Grant
Categories
  • Agriculture
  • Food and Nutrition
Eligible applicants
  • Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
  • State Governments
  • 501(c)(3) Nonprofits
  • City/Township Governments
  • Independent School Districts
  • County Governments
Full announcement

Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .

About this opportunity

Written by GovTribe AI ·

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service is seeking grant applications for the FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program, aimed at improving access to local foods in Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sites through comprehensive farm to school programming. The program supports activities such as launching pilot initiatives, incorporating locally sourced meal components, training agricultural producers on procurement regulations, improving infrastructure for local ingredients, and integrating agricultural education with career preparation programs. Eligible applicants include tribal governments, state governments, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, city/township governments, independent school districts, and county governments. Applications will be evaluated based on factors including the percentage of free and reduced meal enrollment, project need, readiness, alignment with farm to school goals, project design, sustainability, and budget appropriateness. The application deadline is December 5, 2025, with an anticipated award announcement in June 2026.

The grant program offers approximately 50 awards ranging from $100,000 to $500,000, with three distinct grant tracks: Implementation, State Agency, and Turnkey. Grantees must provide at least 25% matching funds and will have a performance period from July 2026 to June 2028. The total funding expectation for the program is $18 million, with grants supporting initiatives that create opportunities for agricultural producers, enhance local food procurement, develop school gardens, and provide experiential learning opportunities. Projects will primarily be conducted in school districts, local agencies, and tribal organizations, with a focus on improving local food access and agricultural education within child nutrition programs.

Synopsis

The program objective for the FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program is to:

Improve access to local foods in eligible CNP sites through comprehensive farm to CNP programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts.

Proposed activities should clearly align with the objective and their associated activities and indicators. Careful consideration of proposed activities and indicators will prepare grantees for their progress reporting requirements if awarded.

Examples of project activities that could be supported by FY 2026 Farm to School grants and support the required objective include, but are not limited to:

  • Launching a pilot program that creates opportunities for eligible entities to create farm to CNP initiatives;
  • Incorporating more unprocessed and value-added, minimally processed, locally or regionally sourced meal components into the CNP meals;
  • Readying producers to participate in the CNP food marketplace by providing training on procurement regulations, Good Agricultural Practices, and other food safety-related topics;
  • Improving infrastructure to accommodate new local ingredients or local menu items in CNP meals;
  • Solving distribution bottlenecks that limit the feasibility of sourcing more locally or regionally produced items by working closely with intermediaries (e.g., distributors, food hubs);
  • Integrating agricultural education with career and technical preparation programs to encourage the next generation of agricultural producers;
  • Expanding experiential learning opportunities at CNP sites, such as creating school gardens, developing school-based farmers markets, providing support to agriculture/food clubs, and/or increasing exposure to local farms and on-farm activities;
  • Encouraging increased consumption of fruits and vegetables in CNP sites through promotional activities, taste tests, and other activities featuring local products;
  • Adopting agricultural education curricula that encourage the sharing of Indigenous traditional knowledge between generations, such as native plant varieties and planting practices; and
  • Developing and implementing integrated curriculum to reinforce food and nutrition-based learning throughout the school environment or on a local farm(s).


Files

File Type Posted
Project_AbstractSummary_2_0-V2.0.pdf PDF
FY2026_ProjectNarrative_Template.docx DOCX document
FY2026_PartnershipLetter_Template.docx DOCX document
FY2026_MatchLetter_Template.docx DOCX document
FY2026_BudgetNarrative_Template_NoFormulas.docx DOCX document
FY2026_BudgetNarrative_Template_REVISED.xlsx XLSX spreadsheet
FY2026_BudgetNarrative_Template.xlsx XLSX spreadsheet
_Request for Applications_FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program.pdf PDF
_Request_for_Applications_FY26_FarmtoSchool.pdf PDF

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