Farm to School Grants

Posted by National Farm to School Network on May 11, 2015

We’re bringing a wave of Seed Change to states poised for significant farm to school growth. Starting with Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania, this new initiative will jump start programs to bring local food into schools and elevate food education for more than 1.8 million school children.

More than 12.5 million children and adolescents between 2-19 years old are obese. School meals are a critical point of access for healthy food for many children in the United States, with more than 5 billion school lunches and more than 2.2 billion school breakfasts served in 2013.

With so much on the line, we have to make every school food experience count. That’s where farm to school comes in. Farm to school practices have been shown to improve children’s knowledge and attitudes about healthy eating, as well as their behaviors and food choices within the cafeteria line and at home.

However, not all parts of the country have equal access to farm to school activities. Children in better-resourced states are more likely to be exposed to farm to school activities than their peers in states with smaller budgets, higher percentages of disadvantaged students, and fewer private resources filling the gaps. Thus, states in most need of farm to school as a healthy eating intervention strategy are often the least likely to be able to create and sustain these programs.

Through the Seed Change project, the National Farm to School Network seeks to maximize the capacity for farm to school activities in these states for the benefit of kids, farmers and communities. Seed Change in Kentucky, Louisiana and Pennsylvania is funded by a generous grant from the Walmart Foundation.

Mini grants application now open!

Are you based in Kentucky, Louisiana or Pennsylvania?
Apply for a $5,000 grant to jump start your farm to school program.

http://www.farmtoschool.org/our-work/seedchange