CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD & AGRICULTURE: CDFA Office of the Farm to Fork Invites Application for 2021 Farm to School Grants

California Department of Food & Agriculture issued the following announcement on Dec. 21.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork (CDFA-F2F) is now accepting applications for the 2021 Farm to School Incubator Grant Program. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. PT February 16, 2021.

The funding for this grant program was made available by the Budget Act of 2020, which includes a $10 million one-time General Fund allocation for the 2020-21 fiscal year and $1.5 million annually thereafter for CDFA to establish a Farm to School Incubator Grant Program and provide ongoing support for the California Farm to School Network (CFSN). CFSN is a “one-stop shop” that works to align farm to school efforts, share resources and bring together farmers, schools, distributors and practitioners.

The Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will award competitive grants to support innovative local and regional farm to school projects in nutrition education, sustainable food production and procurement, and high-quality student engagement through experiential learning. Review the Request for Applications for the grant program here.

The Farm to School Incubator Grant Program will offer two funding tracks.

Track 1, or the California Farm to School Innovation Grant, will fund Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to establish new or expand existing integrated farm to school programs that: (1) procure California-grown or California-produced whole or minimally processed foods and integrate these foods into school meals; and (2) coordinate educational opportunities between cafeteria, classroom and community. CDFA will make approximately $6.5 million available for Track 1 grants. The awards will range from $20,000 to $500,000 per project, and projects may last for up to one year and 10 months. Matching funds are not required. LEAs within California that operate National School Lunch Programs are eligible to apply.

Track 2, or the California Farm to School Regional Partnerships Grant, will fund innovative farm to school partnerships to expand existing farm to school initiatives and increase collaboration and coordination between producers and the schools they serve. CDFA will make approximately $2 million available for Track 2 grants. The awards will range from $10,000 to $250,000 per project, and projects may last for up to one year and 10 months. Matching funds are not required. LEAs within California that operate National School Lunch Programs, as well as varying types of farm to school partners, are eligible to apply.

Grant applications must be completed and submitted electronically via the online WizeHive submission portal. Applicants must create a user account in WizeHive in order to apply. The WizeHive submission portal for Track 1: CA Farm to School Innovation Grant can be accessed here. The WizeHive submission portal for Track 2: CA Farm to School Regional Partnerships Grant can be accessed here. Once a user account is created for one of the submission portals, the same user account can be used for the other submission portal. Applicants are limited to one application in each funding track.

CDFA-F2F will host a webinar at 1 p.m. PT January 7, 2021, to discuss the grant program and application process, and to answer questions. To register for the webinar, please click here. For assistance and questions related to the Farm to School Incubator Grant Program process, please contact CDFA-F2F via email at cafarmtofork@cdfa.ca.gov.

Original source can be found here.