Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program, authorized in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (NSLA) (42 USC 1751 et seq.), is designed to increase the availability of local foods in Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operations and connect students to the sources of their food through education, taste tests, school gardens, field trips, and local food sourcing for CNP meals. The objective of the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Farm to School Grant is to improve access to local foods in eligible CNP sites through comprehensive farm to CNP programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts. These grants are expected to improve child health and nutrition and reinvigorate American agriculture by better connecting American farmers and producers with USDA’s Child Nutrition Programs.

The Grant Program supports expanding access for small family farms to markets and infrastructure by facilitating connections to the child nutrition marketplace, particularly through the new partnership model.

Examples of project activities that could be supported by FY 2026 Farm to School grants and support the required objective include, but are not limited to:

• Readying producers to participate in the CNP food marketplace by providing training on procurement regulations, Good Agricultural Practices, and other food safety-related topics;

• Improving infrastructure to accommodate new local ingredients or local menu items in CNP meals;

• Solving distribution bottlenecks that limit the feasibility of sourcing more locally or regionally produced items by working closely with intermediaries (e.g., distributors, food hubs);

• Eligible applicants are State agencies, ITOs, CNP operators, local agencies, agricultural producers and groups of agricultural producers, and non-profit organizations.

• While State agencies and ITOs may apply as a single entity, please note that in FY 2026, in a change from previous Farm to School Grants all other eligible entities are required to apply as a part of a partnership.

• Partnerships must be composed of no fewer than three confirmed partners (including the coordinating entity), at least one of which must be an eligible CNP operator.

• Agricultural producers include any individual or entity that produces an agricultural commodity or agricultural food product. Please note that agricultural producers are not limited to those producing fruits, vegetables, or grains, but also include fishers, ranchers, and those raising other livestock for consumption.

• For the purposes of this RFA, an eligible agricultural producer is any individual or entity who operates a small-to medium-sized farm.

• A small-to medium-sized farm is any place from which up to $1 million (gross) of agricultural products were produced and sold, or normally would have been sold, during the previous calendar year. Alternatively, a small-to medium-sized farm is any place with land acreage measuring less than 1,582 acres that produced and sold or normally would have sold agricultural products.

• Agricultural producers must be part of a partnership to apply.

• Groups of agricultural producers: Cooperatives, food hubs, or non-profit membership organizations that represent independent producers whose mission includes working on behalf of independent producers and the majority of whose membership and board of directors comprised of independent producers representing eligible agricultural producers.

• Groups of agricultural producers must be part of a partnership to apply.

• Partnerships must identify a coordinating entity to lead the project and to serve as the applicant and grantee (if selected).

• Note that ineligible entities may serve as partners; however, if the coordinating entity is NOT a CNP operator/administrator, then at least one of their partners must be a CNP operator/administrator.

• Entities can only serve as the coordinating entity for one application.

• Organizations applying as any of the entities specified above, but which do not meet the eligibility definitions will be deemed ineligible and removed from competition without further consideration.

• This competitive grant will fund innovative farm to school projects ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 for a total of up to $18 million.

• The FY 2026 Farm to School Grant program will fund projects of 24 months in length for requests ranging from a minimum of $100,000 to a maximum of $500,000.

• Anticipated number of awards: 50

• Federal funds must constitute no more than 75 percent of the total project budget.

• The grant recipient must show evidence of matching support of at least 25 percent of the total budget in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, including facilities, equipment, or services provided by State and local governments, non-profit organizations, and private sources as defined in the NSLA (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.).

• Applicants may not use any Federal funds as the source of any part of their match.

• You must calculate match as a percentage of the total project cost.

• No more than 10 percent of the Federal share of grant funds may be used for food purchases, and the use must be clearly delineated in the grant budget.

• Awards will be issued solely to coordinating entities, which will serve as the primary recipients of the funds.

• Please note, grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds.

Fiscal year (FY) 2026 Patrick Leahy Farm to School grants have been officially awarded! If you are interested in the grant program, please consider monitoring the program page for more information on future request for applications (RFAs). Please note that application requirements are subject to change each year.

Applications must be submitted via Grants.gov. Mailed, emailed, or hand-delivered application packages will not be accepted. Applicants must register with Grants.gov and SAM.gov in order to submit an application to FNS via Grants.gov as required. FNS strongly encourages applicants to begin the registration process at least four weeks before the due date and to submit applications to Grants.gov at least one week before the deadline to allow time to troubleshoot any issues should they arise.

The coordinating entity will submit the proposal in Grants.gov and be responsible for the grant administration in the post-award period. A partnership applicant must list at least two partners in the project narrative in addition to the coordinating entity and must submit two partnership letters (one page maximum in length) to be eligible for this funding opportunity. All applicants are required to submit signed letters verifying matching funds for each and every cash and/or in-kind resource, including applicants whose budgets indicate a match from their own organization.

• FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program (RFA page)

• FY 2026 Request for Applications on Grants.gov (USDA-FNS-2026-F2S)

• Grant Applicant Resources

• Prior Grant Awards

• Farm to School Planning Toolkit

• USDA Farm to School Staff