USDA to Invest Up to $18 Million in Farm to School Grants

By Cami Koons

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it had improved and expanded its Farm to School Grant program and would invest up to $18 million to connect locally grown food to child nutrition programs. 

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants program was initiated in 2013, but according to a news release, the fiscal year 2026 investment represents the “largest total amount” the department has offered in a given year. 

The Farm to School Grant announcement was made alongside U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s latest Make America Healthy Again report, which called for more whole, unprocessed foods in children’s diets.

USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the grants are “one of the best ways we can deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to children, while also strengthening local agriculture.” 

“These grants will open new doors for small family farms, expand access to healthy food in schools, and inspire the next generation of Great American Farmers,” Rollins said in the news release. 

State agencies, tribal organizations, child nutrition programs, nonprofits, agricultural producers and groups of producers can apply for grants from $100,000–500,000 to support new and existing farm to school projects, according to the grant website. 

Eligible projects are those that: incorporate more unprocessed and locally produced foods in school meals, encourage the consumption of fresh foods, train producers on food safety and procurement requirements, or educate students on agriculture and nutrition.

The release from USDA said updates to the program will also streamline the application process, remove barriers to innovation and emphasize partnerships.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA is proud to streamline this program, so it works better for families, farmers, and communities across our nation,” Rollins said in the release. “Putting America’s Farmers First starts with putting our children first.”

According to USDA’s latest Farm to School Census, more than 440 Iowa school food authorities, the entities that manage school food service, have participated in the program.

The grants can also be used to support agriculture education at schools through things like ag and nutrition classes, or school gardening programs. According to the census, nearly 50% of Iowa school food authorities had classroom programs and slightly more than 15% of Iowa school food authorities had edible gardens. 

According to USDA, Farm to School Grant awards totaled $100 million since 2013. 

The millions in Farm to School Grant dollars are significantly less than the billions of dollars that schools and food banks used under a pandemic-era program to support local food purchases. 

These programs, Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance, were canceled in March after USDA announced in October 2024 over a $1 billion in funds to continue the programs across the country. 

Tommy Hexter, the policy director for Iowa Farmers Union, said the new investment from USDA is positive, but said it doesn’t make up for the loss of programs that provided “vital government support” to food farmers and players in the local food system.

Hexter said the canceled programs created relationships between farmers, food hubs, the state department of agriculture, schools, and community, that are “fundamental to our food system in Iowa.”

“The first and foremost thing with this announcement is like, yes, let’s see how we can take advantage of this new announcement and make these programs come to Iowa,” Hexter said. “But we also are acknowledging that this investment does not replace the major loss of funding that happened earlier this year.”

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