Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that USDA is awarding a record-breaking $14.3 million in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants to 154 projects in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. These investments will help 1.9 million children eat more tasty, nutritious foods in school, while supporting farmers and producers in their local and regional communities.
"Farm to School is a huge win for children, schools, farmers, producers and communities," said Secretary Vilsack. "When schools have access to fresh, local food options with home-grown flavour, they can serve delicious, healthy dishes that kids are excited to eat, while also supporting the local economy. These grants continue our work to address both food insecurity and nutrition insecurity, ensuring that we're not only feeding kids, we're feeding them well."
This investment in the Farm to School Program supports the Biden-Harris Administration's National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health to end hunger and increase healthy eating by year 2030.
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program helps child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods into meals served through USDA's National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and SUN Programs: USDA's Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids.
Farm to school opens opportunities for children to learn about nutrition and agriculture through hands-on experiences, such as planting, watering, and harvesting fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The program can also provide a pathway for more children to achieve nutrition security, which is the consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe and affordable food.
USDA continues to show its commitment to equity by reaching historically underserved and marginalized communities through this year's farm to school grants:
- Fifty-four percent of students served by these projects are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
- More than one-third (35%) of awarded projects serve rural areas.
- Members of communities of colour lead 40 percent of the awarded organizations, all with projects serving those same communities.
- Eight projects are led by and serve American Indian or Alaska Native communities.
Producers can receive the grants for their farm to school projects, too. Three agricultural producers are among this year's grantees.
More than 67,000 schools currently participate in farm to school. More information about the impact of these grants across the country is available on the Farm to School website.
In addition to grantmaking, USDA recently finalized regulations that encourage more schools to purchase their foods from local producers. Schools now have the option to require unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised, or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, making it easier for schools to buy local foods. More information about these new options is available on the Procuring Local Foods webpage.
This video explains how school meals will be strengthened in upcoming years:
For more information:
USDA Press
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