Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS F2S FY2016
Apply for USDA FNS F2S FY2016
- The Food and Nutrition Service in the food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY16 Farm to School Grant" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.575 Farm to School Grant Program.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 20, 2015 and posted on Mar 16, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by May 20, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $6,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $100,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 90 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Eligible schools State and local agencies Indian tribal organizations Agricultural producers or groups of agricultural producers and, Non profit entitiesPlease see page 15 of RFA for further explanation
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Opportunity Summary:
The FY16 Farm to School Grant is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to help schools and their partners start, expand, or strengthen farm to school programs. The program was created through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which amended the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to formally establish a USDA Farm to School Program. The basic purpose is practical and school-focused: improve student access to local foods and tie that food access to education and community partnerships so the effort sticks beyond a single grant cycle.
For this funding cycle, USDA expected to award about $6,000,000 total across roughly 90 awards. Individual awards ranged from $15,000 (award floor) up to $100,000 (award ceiling). The larger FY16 total reflected the program's ongoing annual support plus an anticipated additional amount (subject to appropriation) intended to help place volunteer service members such as AmeriCorps, VISTA, or local service corps participants in schools. That volunteer placement emphasis was tied to hands-on capacity building like building or maintaining school gardens, weaving nutrition education into school culture, and helping school nutrition staff procure, feature, or promote locally and regionally produced foods within the school meal programs.
The opportunity was designed to support a broad set of activities that connect local agriculture with school food service and student learning. In practical terms, competitive projects were expected to do things like get local products onto school menus, strengthen local procurement relationships, and develop food service practices that make local purchasing workable over time. Many projects also include experiential learning elements, such as farm visits, garden-based learning, cooking and tasting activities, and curriculum-linked nutrition education that encourages students to participate directly in growing, preparing, and understanding food.
The authorizing statute also set clear policy priorities for how USDA should choose projects. The Secretary of Agriculture was directed to ensure geographic diversity and equitable treatment across urban, rural, and tribal communities. Within that balanced national approach, highest priority goes to proposals that: put local foods on the menus of eligible schools; serve a high proportion of children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches; incorporate experiential nutrition education and farm- or garden-based activities into curriculum planning; show strong collaboration among schools, nonprofits and community-based organizations, producer groups, and other community partners; include solid, participatory evaluation plans; demonstrate long-term sustainability beyond the grant period; and meet any additional criteria USDA determines appropriate. In other words, the strongest applications were expected to show both immediate impacts (local foods actually reaching cafeterias) and durable systems (relationships, training, and evaluation that keep the program going).
Eligibility was broader than just school districts, reflecting the fact that farm to school efforts often require partnerships. Eligible applicants included eligible schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of producers, and nonprofit entities (with the RFA indicating further detail on eligibility in the full announcement). Regardless of applicant type, the work needs to clearly benefit eligible schools and align with the farm to school purpose laid out in the statute.
A key requirement of this grant program is cost sharing or matching. Each recipient must provide matching support, which can be cash or in-kind contributions, and must agree to cooperate with a program evaluation conducted using grant funds. This means applicants needed to plan not only for project activities, but also for documenting outcomes, tracking progress, and contributing data or participation to USDA's evaluation efforts.
Administratively, the opportunity was posted March 16, 2015, with an application deadline of May 20, 2015, and it was later archived June 19, 2015. The opportunity number was USDA-FNS-F2S-FY2016 and the CFDA number listed was 10.575 (Farm to School Grant Program). Additional program and award information was linked through USDA FNS at http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/grant-awards, and questions or access issues were directed to the Farm to School Team at farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov.
FY16 Farm to School Grant (USDA FNS) FAQs
What is the FY16 Farm to School Grant?
The FY16 Farm to School Grant is a discretionary grant opportunity administered by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) to help schools and their partners start, expand, or strengthen farm to school programs.
What is the main purpose of this grant?
The purpose is to improve student access to local foods and connect that access to education and community partnerships so programs can continue beyond a single grant cycle.
What law created the USDA Farm to School Program?
The program was created through the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which amended the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to formally establish a USDA Farm to School Program.
How much funding was USDA expecting to award in this cycle?
USDA expected to award about $6,000,000 total across roughly 90 awards for this funding cycle.
What was the minimum and maximum award size?
Individual awards ranged from $15,000 (award floor) to $100,000 (award ceiling).
About how many awards were anticipated?
USDA expected to make roughly 90 awards.
Why was the FY16 total funding amount larger than usual?
The larger FY16 total reflected ongoing annual support plus an anticipated additional amount (subject to appropriation) intended to help place volunteer service members (such as AmeriCorps, VISTA, or local service corps participants) in schools.
What kinds of volunteer service placements were emphasized?
The opportunity emphasized placing volunteer service members such as AmeriCorps, VISTA, or local service corps participants in schools to build hands-on capacity.
What kinds of activities could volunteers support under this opportunity?
Examples described include building or maintaining school gardens, weaving nutrition education into school culture, and helping school nutrition staff procure, feature, or promote locally and regionally produced foods within school meal programs.
What types of projects and activities were the grant intended to support?
The opportunity was designed to support activities connecting local agriculture with school food service and student learning, such as getting local products onto school menus, strengthening local procurement relationships, and developing food service practices that make local purchasing workable over time.
What are examples of experiential learning activities mentioned?
Examples include farm visits, garden-based learning, cooking and tasting activities, and curriculum-linked nutrition education that encourages students to participate directly in growing, preparing, and understanding food.
What priorities did the authorizing statute set for selecting projects?
The statute directed the Secretary of Agriculture to ensure geographic diversity and equitable treatment across urban, rural, and tribal communities, while giving highest priority to proposals that meet specific criteria described in the announcement.
How does USDA address geographic diversity and equity in selection?
The Secretary of Agriculture was directed to ensure geographic diversity and equitable treatment across urban, rural, and tribal communities.
What proposals received the highest priority in this competition?
Highest priority was given to proposals that put local foods on the menus of eligible schools; serve a high proportion of children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches; incorporate experiential nutrition education and farm- or garden-based activities into curriculum planning; show strong collaboration among schools, nonprofits and community-based organizations, producer groups, and other community partners; include solid, participatory evaluation plans; demonstrate long-term sustainability beyond the grant period; and meet any additional criteria USDA determined appropriate.
Does this grant focus more on short-term activities or long-term systems?
The strongest proposals were expected to show both immediate impacts (local foods reaching cafeterias) and durable systems (relationships, training, and evaluation that keep the program going).
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants included eligible schools, state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural producers or groups of producers, and nonprofit entities (with further detail referenced in the full announcement).
Do projects have to benefit schools even if the applicant is not a school district?
Yes. Regardless of the applicant type, the work needed to clearly benefit eligible schools and align with the farm to school purpose described in the statute.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
Yes. A key requirement is cost sharing/matching. Each recipient must provide matching support, which can be cash or in-kind contributions.
What forms of match were allowed?
Matching support could be provided as cash or as in-kind contributions.
Are grantees required to participate in evaluation?
Yes. Each recipient must agree to cooperate with a program evaluation conducted using grant funds.
What does the evaluation cooperation requirement imply for applicants?
Applicants needed to plan for documenting outcomes, tracking progress, and contributing data or participation to USDA's evaluation efforts.
When was this opportunity posted?
The opportunity was posted on March 16, 2015.
What was the application deadline?
The application deadline was May 20, 2015.
When was the opportunity archived?
The opportunity was archived on June 19, 2015.
What is the opportunity number?
The opportunity number was USDA-FNS-F2S-FY2016.
What CFDA number was listed for this program?
The CFDA number listed was 10.575 (Farm to School Grant Program).
Where can I find additional program and award information?
Additional program and award information was linked through USDA FNS at http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/grant-awards.
Who can be contacted with questions or access issues?
Questions or access issues were directed to the Farm to School Team at farmtoschool@fns.usda.gov.
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