Farm to School Grant Program | USDA FNS 2026 F2S

Opportunity Information: Apply for USDA FNS 2026 F2S

The FY 2026 Farm to School Grant Program (USDA FNS 2026 F2S, CFDA 10.575) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service designed to help communities strengthen connections between local agriculture and Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sites. The central objective is to improve access to local foods in eligible CNP settings by supporting comprehensive "farm to CNP" efforts that combine local or regional food sourcing with agricultural education. Applicants are expected to propose activities that clearly tie back to this objective and to select related indicators, since those choices will directly shape what grantees must track and report on during the project.

The grant is intended to fund practical, on-the-ground projects that make it easier for schools and other eligible CNP sites to purchase, prepare, and serve locally or regionally produced foods while also building student and community engagement through agriculture and nutrition education. Example activities highlighted in the announcement include starting or piloting new farm to CNP initiatives; increasing the use of unprocessed foods and minimally processed or value-added local items in meals; and preparing farmers and other producers to successfully sell into CNP markets through training on procurement rules, Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), and other food safety topics. The program also supports projects that address operational barriers, such as upgrading or adapting kitchen or storage infrastructure to handle new ingredients, and solving distribution challenges by working with intermediaries like distributors and food hubs when direct sourcing is not feasible.

A major emphasis is also placed on agricultural education and hands-on learning. Funded projects may integrate agriculture into career and technical education to encourage future producers, expand experiential learning at CNP sites through school gardens, school-based farmers markets, agriculture or food clubs, and farm visits, and run promotional efforts that encourage students to eat more fruits and vegetables through taste tests and events featuring local foods. The opportunity explicitly notes that agricultural education can include culturally grounded approaches, such as adopting curricula that support sharing Indigenous traditional knowledge across generations (for example, native plant varieties and planting practices). Projects can also develop integrated curriculum that reinforces food and nutrition learning across the broader school environment or through learning activities hosted on local farms.

Eligibility is limited to specific entity types, and the announcement stresses that applicants must meet the formal definitions in the Request for Applications; organizations that apply under an eligibility category but do not actually qualify will be ruled ineligible and removed from consideration. Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, independent school districts, federally recognized Native American tribal governments, and nonprofit organizations with IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) status (nonprofits must include their IRS determination letter in the application). The narrative provided with the opportunity also indicates that certain entity types identified with an asterisk in the RFA must apply as part of a Partnership to be eligible, and lists key stakeholder groups typically involved in those partnerships, including state agencies, Indian Tribal organizations, Child Nutrition Program operators, local agencies, agricultural producers (including groups of producers), and nonprofit organizations. Applicants are directed to consult pages 11-13 of the RFA for the detailed eligibility rules and category definitions.

In terms of funding scale and timing, awards can be up to $500,000 each, with an estimated 50 awards expected. The opportunity was created on September 10, 2025, and the original application closing date is December 5, 2025. Overall, the program is structured to help applicants move beyond one-off local purchasing and toward coordinated farm-to-institution systems that address sourcing, logistics, training, infrastructure, and education together, while ensuring projects are measurable through clear activities and indicators aligned to the program objective.

• The Food and Nutrition Service in the agriculture, food and nutrition sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Farm to School Grant Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 10.575.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2025-09-10.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-12-05. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 50 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Independent school districts, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

Apply for USDA FNS 2026 F2S

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: