BUFFALO, N.Y. — New York State announced Thursday that $1.5 million is available to eligible school districts who wish to participate in Farm-to-School programs.
Farm-to-School programs help students from kindergarten through grade 12 schools "connect with local farmers, increase the use of locally grown food on school menus, and improve student health" while helping local farmers, according to the state.
School districts that have not applied in the past will have up to $500,000 earmarked for a Farm-to-School award. The programs are used by the state to help combat food insecurity among children.
School districts have until Dec. 30 to apply for funds in this round.
"The Farm-to-School Program is a great way to ensure New York’s students have access to fresh, healthy foods, and they understand where their meals come from," state agriculture commissioner Richard Ball said in a statement on Thursday.
"I’m proud that this program continues to help schools tap into the local food movement and serve more healthy lunches with products either grown in their school garden or purchased from their community farmers. This is a win-win for our agricultural industry and for our state’s future leaders.”
Grant funding of up to $100,000 for each project will be awarded for proposals that include:
- employing a local or regional farm-to-school coordinator;
- training for food service staff to increase knowledge of local procurement and preparation of locally produced food;
- purchasing equipment needed to increase capacity of school kitchen and food service staff to prepare and serve locally produced food;
- completing capital improvements to support the transport and/or storage of locally produced food; and
- creating new food products for the menu.
More than $6.8 million has been committed to the Farm-to-School Program since it launched in 2015.
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