FY15 Farm to School Grant Program

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The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (HHFKA) amended Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) to establish 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 HHFKA, $5 million is provided to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on an annual basis to support grants, technical assistance, and the federal administrative costs related to USDA’s Farm to School Program. This request for applications (RFA) provides additional details regarding the grants aspect of the USDA Farm to School Program. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) is charged with implementing the Farm to School Program. In this funding cycle, USDA anticipates awarding approximately $5 million in grant funding to support efforts that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. We also anticipate executing up to $500,000 in grants to support farm to school conferences, trainings, and like events. Grant funds will be made available on a competitive basis, subject to availability of federal funds. Applicants may apply for a Planning grant, Implementation grant or Support Service grant. Planning grants are expected to range from $20,000 - $45,000 and implementation grants and support service grants are expected to range from $65,000 - $100,000. It is estimated that planning grants will represent approximately 25 percent of the total grant funding awarded in this RFA, while implementation and support service grants are expected to represent approximately 75 percent. For all three types of grants, the federal share of a project cannot exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the project, as required by the HHFKA. Therefore, the applicant must provide at least 25 percent of the costs of the total project. The total project cost is the federal grant request amount plus the applicant match. New in FY2015, USDA Farm to School program funds will be made available to support conferences, trainings and events. Funding for conference/events are expected to range from $15,000-$50,000. No match funds are required. USDA expects to fund at least one statewide or regional conference in all seven FNS regions, and at least one national conference.For updates about USDA's Farm to School Program, please visit the USDA Farm to School website or subscribe to the Farm to School E-letter.

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