Native Farm to School is a youth-centered food sovereignty project under First Nations Development Institute’s Nourishing Native Foods and Health Program. A new USDA Food and Nutrition grant of $500,000 will support the project, “Native Food Sovereignty for Native Youth,” and Native Farm to School programs across Indian Country. The project will incorporate traditional foods and practices, language, land stewardship, and Indigenous knowledge into their education programs. Participants will engage virtually through educational webinars, and in-person at a national food sovereignty network convening. Technical assistance will be provided to complete a First Nations’ Native Farm to School Program Planner for improved focus on developing food sovereignty focused planning and collaboration. An evaluation report and a research report on Tribal, community, state, and federal policies will aid in the efforts for substantial and fundamental systemic change. First Nations recognizes that Farm to School programs in Native communities increase access to healthy foods and education for Native youth. Providing nutritious and healthy foods in school meals, along with nutrition education, can help start Native children on a path toward good health for life.
Farm to School Overview
With the generous support of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, First Nations established the Native Farm to School project to provide technical assistance and training to Native communities that are looking to create or expand farm to school programs, enhance education curriculum and/or engage new supply chain partners. This funding will support program coordinators, school staff, teachers, community and organizers, and knowledge keepers of all ages to ensure young tribal leaders can experience traditional foodways inside culturally inclusive school food systems.
To advance this aim, First Nations is requesting proposals from eligible entities interested in serving as Consulting Project Partners or CPPs for the 2024 Native Farm to School Project. From the application pool First Nations anticipates selecting 12 Consulting Project Partners to receive technical assistance and training that will expand farm to school programming, enhance education curriculum, and engage new supply chain partners.
Project Period
The project period for this opportunity will commence June 13, 2024, to May 15, 2025 (11 months)
Project Award Ceilings
Total requests for project budgets within the Native Farm to School project should be $25,000.
Applications are due April 30, 2024, no later than 5 pm Mountain Time.
Unfortunately, First Nations cannot make any emergency exceptions to application deadlines. Partial applications, incomplete applications due to user error, or faxed/emailed/mailed applications will not be considered unless they have received prior approval.
Allowable Activities
Examples of allowable expenses under this opportunity include but are not limited to:
- Personnel
- Contractors
- Equipment
- Supplies
- Meeting expenses (other than meals)
- Travel
- Trainings
- Promotional Items
Additional budget considerations:
Expenditures for both equipment (i.e., items of personal property having a useful life of more than one year and a cost of $5,000 or less such as coolers, processing equipment, and hoop houses) and supplies (e.g., knives, cutting boards, gardening or farming implements, and food processors) are allowable expenses. Salad bars are also an allowable expense.
No more than 10 percent of the project budget may be used for food purchases and the use must also be clearly delineated in the proposed budget. In general grant funds may NOT be used to purchase meals or snacks for training or meeting attendees.
The ultimate goal of funded projects should be to make local food products available on menus long-term; therefore, purchasing local products should not be a primary use of grant funds. Food purchases should be limited to educational purposes only, such as farm to school sample tables, taste tests, or promotional use. Food costs related to conducting a test offering of a new local or regional product are also deemed an appropriate use of funds.
The purchase of promotional items is allowed if they are directly related to the grant proposal’s objective. Any cost associated with such promotions must be reasonable in comparison to the grant funding. A total expenditure of promotional items should not exceed 5 percent of the total project budget.
If adequate funding is available, Farm to School Grant funds may be used to hire substitute food service staff while school food service staff attend workshops and training. For accounting purposes, a record of who attended the session, how long it lasted, and the purpose of the session is required.
Unallowable Activities
Examples of unallowable activities under this funding opportunity include:
- Lobbying
- Entertainment
- AmeriCorps
- Gift Cards
- Medical Equipment
- Vehicles
- Equipment purchase cannot exceed $5,000 (per item)
- Capital construction projects (construction of a greenhouse may be an allowable use of Farm to School Grant funds, as long as the grant funds are not placed in the nonprofit school food service account at any time)
