CDFA awarded $100,000 Farm to School grant from the USDA

The USDA has awarded $100,000 to CDFA's Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) from the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program. This is part of a USDA award of $14.3 million to 154 projects in 43 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. These investments will help 1.9 million children eat more tasty, nutritious foods in school while supporting farmers and producers in their local and regional communities.

"Farm to school is a huge win for children, schools, farmers, producers and communities," USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack stated in a news release announcing the awards. "When schools have access to fresh, local food options with homegrown flavor, they can serve delicious, healthy dishes that kids are excited to eat, while also supporting the local economy. These grants continue our work to address both food insecurity and nutrition insecurity, ensuring that we're not only feeding kids, we're feeding them well."

The grant funds awarded to CDFA-F2F will be used to host eight in-person regional gatherings across California to improve access to local foods in eligible Child Nutrition Program sites. The gatherings will serve farm to school stakeholders, including school nutrition programs, educators, food producers, supply chain partners and farm to school support organizations. The project will be led by the CDFA-F2F Farm to School Program, including partners at California Department of Education, the California Department of Public Health and the California School Nutrition Association.

CDFA congratulates other California organizations receiving awards in this grant program, including the Butte County Local Food Network, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers, Eat Real Certified Inc., the Every Neighborhood Partnership, Fiery Ginger Farm, Friends of School of the Arts Foundation, Olivewood Gardens & Learning Center Inc., the Pasadena Unified School District, San Diego Youth Services, the Sequoia Union Elementary School District, Soil Born Farm's Urban Agriculture Project, Turning Green, and the Upland Unified School District. Click here for the full list of awardees and project descriptions.