The grants are available to school districts and childcare centers that have a USDA child nutrition program, tribal schools, and tribal early learning centers

The Washington State Department of Agriculture is investing more than $3.5 million to get locally-grown food on school lunch trays across the state this coming school year.

WSDA notified 83 Farm to School purchasing grant award recipients this week and funds are eligible for reimbursement between Sept. 1, 2022, and June 30, 2023.

“One of our goals with this grant program is to strengthen Washington’s food system at the regional level, while helping to ensure that more locally-produced food is consumed by children in our schools,” Derek Sandison, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, said.

Background

The Washington State Legislature provided funds to expand WSDA’s Farm to School program. The grant program is administered in partnership with Washington’s Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).

The grants are available to school districts and childcare centers that have a USDA child nutrition program, tribal schools, and tribal early learning centers. The grants will help these facilities buy Washington-grown foods for their child nutrition programs.

Grant awards range from $2,900 to more than $400,000. Program officials based awards on the number of meals served at the site and conducted a competitive review of applications.

For more information, visit agr.wa.gov/FarmToSchool or email farmtoschool@agr.wa.gov. The grant program is part of WSDA’s Focus on Food Initiative, ensuring safe, nutritious, local food is effectively produced and available throughout our state.