Grants offered to help farms sell healthy foods to schools
County, a past grant recipient, said in a statement that the farm “feels strongly about providing healthy, nutrient-dense organic food for our community.” “We feel very happy the schools are highlighted for this cause and are thrilled to be a part of this program and to contrib- ute,” the statement noted. The CDFA Office of Farm to Fork received funding through the California Budget Acts of 2020, 2021 and 2022 to establish and continue the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program. The program awarded $8.5 million to 60 farm-to-school
projects in 2021 and $25.5 million to 120 projects in 2022. CDFA Farm to School Program staff is conducting weekly Zoom sessions about the grant program request for applications. People may register for the Zoom sessions via the links under “Grant Info Sessions & Weekly Q&A Sessions” at www.cdfa. ca.gov/caf2sgrant/. To apply or register for informational webinars, visit www.cdfa.ca.gov/ caf2sgrant/. For more information or assistance, email cafarmtoschool@ cdfa.ca.gov.
To advance farm-to-school projects statewide, the California Department of Food and Agriculture Office of Farm to Fork announced it is accepting applications for up to $52.8 million in grant funding. The deadline to apply for the 2023-24 California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program is April 4. Through a competitive grant process, funds are available through multiple fund- ing tracks: Track 1, the California Farm to School TK-12 Procurement and Education Grant; Track 2, the California Farm to School Technical Assistance Grant; Track 3, the California Farm to Early Care and Education Grant; and Track 4, the California Farm to School Producer Grant. The amount of funds awarded depends on the number of applications received. The California Farm to School Producer Grant is for food producers and pub- lic-serving distribution enterprises to sell California-grown or -produced foods to the state’s school food market. Farmers are encouraged to apply for producer grant funding for the program, which helps build economic connections between farms and schools while enhancing healthy food of- ferings for students. “Our Farm to School Incubator Grant Program offers a triple bottom-line win for farmers, local economies and kids,” CDFA Secretary Karen Ross said in a statement. “Farmers win in developing lasting rela- tionships with local schools and students, local economies win in school food pro- curement dollars staying closer to home, and kids win through gaining the nutrition of California-grown or -produced food.” To be eligible for program grants, ap- plicants must show evidence of an estab- lished relationship with each California School Food Authority or childcare center operator of the Child and Adult Care Food Program to which they intend to sell food. Grant funding prioritizes small to mid-sized food producers, military vet- erans and socially disadvantaged or
limited-resource food producers. The program also focuses on producers us- ing climate-smart agriculture practices and systems including certified organic or transitioning to certified organic, or other regenerative approaches. McGrath Family Farmers Inc. in Ventura
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