Washington State Department of Agriculture’s (WSDA) Farm to School Program exists to facilitate increased use of Washington grown food by schools.
Donor Name: Washington State Department of Agriculture
State: Washington
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant | Reimbursement
Deadline: 07/03/2025
Size of the Grant: Not Available
Grant Duration: 1 Year
Details:
The purpose of the Farm to School Purchasing grants is to increase the purchase, use, and promotion of foods that are grown, raised, caught, or foraged in Washington by child nutrition programs with an emphasis on procurement from small and direct marketing farms and food businesses, including but not limited to, socially disadvantaged, beginning, limited resource, women and veteran farmers and ranchers. WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grants are reimbursement grants.
Grant funds are intended to support schools and early learning services in sourcing and preparing high quality, nutritious, culturally relevant foods for their meal programs.
There are two application types:
- School Meals
- Childcare Meals.
Funding Information
Grant awards may range from $1,000 to $300,000.
Grant Period
July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027.
Eligible Expenses
Farm to School Purchasing Grant funds must be used to support the grant purpose of increasing use of Washington grown, raised, caught, or foraged foods
- Farm to school purchasing may:
- Increase scratch cooking practices with the use of more ingredients in fresh and raw forms
- Create opportunities for meal programs to develop culturally relevant meals for students
- Introduce students and staff to new and unfamiliar foods with supportive training, education, and taste-testing
- Expand opportunities for Washington’s small farm and food producers to access new markets
- The Farm to School Purchasing Grant may be used to cover non-food costs in addition to direct food purchases. Non-food costs must directly support the project plan’s efforts to purchase and promote foods grown, raised, or caught in Washington State
- Examples of Eligible Food Costs:
- Grantees may purchase foods grown, raised, harvested, and packaged or processed in Washington from various sources including, but not limited to:
- School & Childcare gardens
- Washington farms
- Food hubs or farmer cooperatives
- Food Processors
- Regional produce or broadline distributors.
Eligibility Criteria
- Schools or early learning programs operated by Federally Recognized Tribes
- Organizations that operate one of the following USDA Child Nutrition Programs:
- National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
- Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
- Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) – Child care only
- Child Care Centers
- Sponsoring Organizations of Unaffiliated Facilities
- Family Day Care Homes (FDCH)
- Sponsors of unaffiliated child care centers.
- National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
For more information, visit WSDA.
