USDA-FNS-F2S-2020

Agency: Food and Nutrition Service

10.575 -- Farm to School Grant Program

Archived opportunityLast Updated: May 13, 2026

Description

The Richard B. Russell NSLA 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 eligible schools.

To fulfill the farm to school mandate in the NSLA, $5 million is provided to the USDA on an annual basis to support grants, technical assistance, and the Federal administrative costs related to USDA’s Farm to School Program. The USDA Farm to School Grant Program is housed within the FNS OCFS.

Additional funding for the Farm to School Grant Program was made available through the FY 2018 and FY 2019 Agricultural appropriations and, as a result, up to $10 million will be awarded under this solicitation.

Authorizing language in the NSLA directed 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.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Government

County governments
City or township governments
Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
State governments

Education

Independent school districts

Nonprofit

Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
Other Native American tribal organizations

Miscellaneous

Other

Additional information

The authorizing language specifies the following eligible entities that are described in more detailbelow: Eligible schools and school districts; State agencies; Local agencies; Indian tribal organizations; Agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers; and Non‐profit entities.Entity type must be clearly indicated and unambiguous in all application materials. If USDA cannot determine the applicant to be an eligible entity based on information contained within theapplication, the applicant may be subject to removal from consideration.Eligible schools are defined as pre‐K‐12 School Food Authorities (SFAs), non‐profit private schools, charter schools, Indian tribal schools, and others that participate in the National School Lunch or Breakfast Programs. Eligible SFAs may apply for funding that spans the entire SFA, for a specific group of schools (e.g. only K‐5 schools within an SFA), or for an individual school. The school(s) that comprise the primary target audience for or beneficiary of the grant project must participate in the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program. The application must come from the SFA, and only one application per SFA is allowed.

Grantor contact information

Description

Dawn Addison Hawkins Grants Officer

Email

Dawn Addison Hawkins, Grants Officer

dawn.addison@usda.gov

Documents

File name	Description	Last updated
508Compliant_Farm-to-School_FY20_RFA_Final_003.pdf	RFA pdf	Oct 8, 2019 05:32 PM UTC
FY2020_Farm-to-School_Coversheet.pdf	Farm to School Coversheet	Oct 8, 2019 05:32 PM UTC
Grant_Program_Accounting_System_and_Financial_Capability_Questionnaire_04_04_2016.docx	Financial Questionnaire	Oct 8, 2019 05:47 PM UTC

Link to additional information

Farm to School website

Archived: January 12, 2020

Application process

This site is a work in progress. Go to www.grants.gov to apply, track application status, and subscribe to updates.

Award

$--

Program Funding

275

Expected awards

$20,000

Award Minimum

$100,000

Award Maximum

Funding opportunity number:

USDA-FNS-F2S-2020

Cost sharing or matching requirement:

Yes

Funding instrument type:

Grant

Opportunity Category:

Discretionary

Opportunity Category Explanation:

Category of Funding Activity:

Food and nutrition

Category Explanation:

History

Version:

Posted date:

October 8, 2019

Archive date:

January 12, 2020