USDA/FNS Grant for Farm to School Technical Assistance

• Must be a regional or national organization. A regional organization includes one working with at least three adjacent States (interstate) or territories within one USDA-FNS region. A national organization provides services and conducts activities nationwide. Farm to school experience is preferred.

• Must have a history of meaningful engagement with the intended audience of the track (for example, multiple years of collaboration on a variety of topics and existing
relationships with stakeholders in the required audience).
The applicant’s proposal and supporting documentation should build a case that demonstrates a history of meaningful engagement; applicants who cannot demonstrate sufficient experience working with the appropriate audience will not be considered.

• Supporting Tribal Engagement Track – Must be led/staffed by Tribal members and have partnerships and strong history with indigenous food producers and CNP operators.

• Supporting Producer Engagement Track – Demonstrated experience supporting organizations that working with new, small, and/or historically underserved farmers, ranchers, and/or fishers.

Applicants that are non-profits must provide a copy of their 501(c)3 Determination Letter to indicate nonprofit status. Applicants must clearly describe how their organization satisfies the criteria for an “eligible entity” as stated above.

The purpose of the Farm to School Technical Assistance Cooperative Agreement described in this request for applications (RFA) is to support nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations to implement national- and/or regional-level farm to school activities. Awardees under this cooperative agreement will undertake projects supporting USDA’s priorities of Food System Transformation, Improving Child Health through Nutritious School Meals, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty. There are three funding tracks available, corresponding with each USDA priority. Applicants to the Supporting Community Engagement track (aligned with USDA’s priority of Improving Child Health through Nutritious School Meals) will propose projects that expand farm to school institutes. The Supporting Producer Engagement track aligns with USDA’s Food Systems Transformation priority and will fund projects that strengthen producer engagement with the Child Nutrition Programs market. Finally, the Supporting Tribal Engagement track will fund an entity to conduct Tribal dialogues with the purpose of supporting FNS’s farm to school grantmaking and technical assistance for Tribal entities, in alignment with USDA’s Indigenous Food Sovereignty priority. Available funding ranges from $500,000 to $1 million depending on the applicant’s choice of track. Eligible applicants are national and/or regional level nonprofit entities and Indian Tribal Organizations with a history of meaningful engagement with the target audience for this cooperative agreement