Farm to school makes local food and agricultural education available to child nutrition program participants through grants, research, technical assistance, and training.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the fiscal year (FY) 2026 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants, kicking off the largest ever financial investment in the history of the grant program. For FY 2026, USDA will award nearly $20 million to support projects that bring more nutritious, local food to America’s schoolchildren while expanding economic opportunities for farmers and food producers. To learn more about the FY 2026 Farm to School grantees, visit the Grant Awards page.
We are clarifying the geographic preference option—a tool that helps child nutrition program (CNP) operators more easily purchase local foods for program meals. The update is meant to support CNP operators in bringing more local food to students’ plates. To learn more, check out the direct final rule Simplified Geographic Preference Procurement in Child Nutrition Programs.
- Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants
- Farm to School - Planning Toolkit
- USDA Foods: A Resource for Maximizing Food Budgets To Buy Local Factsheet
- USDA DoD Fresh Program: A Source for Locally Grown Produce Factsheet
- Agricultural Marketing Service Grants, Loans and Other Support
- Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Grants
- Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Cooperative Agreements
