Purpose

The FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program is authorized in the National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (42 USC 1751 et seq.) and administered by the Food and Nutrition Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  It is designed to increase the availability of local foods in Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operations and connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for CNP meals.  Grants can be used to launch new farm to CNP¹ programs or expand existing efforts.

The objective for the FY 2026 program is to improve access to local foods in eligible Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sites through comprehensive farm to CNP programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts.  These grants are expected to improve child health and nutrition and reinvigorate American agriculture by better connecting American farmers and producers with USDA’s Child Nutrition Programs.

 

Eligible Entities

The following types of organizations are eligible to apply for the Farm to Schools Grant Program as Partnerships.  For the purposes of the FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program, a partnership is a group of three or more entities, including a coordinating entity, that will participate in the Farm to School Grant projects. Partnerships must identify a coordinating entity to lead the project and to serve as the applicant and grantee (if selected).

• Schools and school districts and childcare institutions that are Child Nutrition Program operators
• Any unit of government within a State, including but not limited to a county, borough, municipality, city, town, township, parish, special district, or council of governments
• Agricultural producers, or Groups of agricultural producers
• Non-profit organizations having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

NOTE:  State governments and Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) are eligible to apply as single entities, or in Partnerships with the above.

 

Eligible Activities

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).

 

Award

Estimated Total Program Funding:  $ 18,000,000

Number of Awards:  50

Award Ceiling:  $500,000

Award Floor:  $100,000

Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:  Yes; Federal funds must constitute no more than 75 percent of the total project budget.

 

Important Dates

Application Due Date: December 5, 2025; 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Anticipated Award Date: June 2026

 

Next Steps

To read another summary of the program, visit FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program | Food and Nutrition Service.

To learn more generally about the program, sign up for the Dirt, the e-letter from the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program.

To read the full announcement, visit Grants.gov, select the Related Documents tab, and download the zip file.  If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact: Anna Arrowsmith, Grants Officer.

To address all further questions about the USDA Farm to School Grant Program, please email SM.FN.FarmToSchool@usda.gov.