46 School Districts Receive Farm to School Grants

School lunch

(Minnesota) — April 7th, 2022 — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) recently awarded funding to schools across Minnesota for two new grants to increase the amount of healthy local foods in school meals through its Farm to School programs.

Forty-six school districts across Minnesota received a total of $741,619 for purchasing Minnesota-grown and -raised foods to be used in school meal programs. This grant funding will leverage an additional $624,619 in purchases of Minnesota grown- and raised-foods, for nearly $1,366,239 in total investment.

“We’ve expanded our investment in new markets that directly benefit both farmers and children through our Farm to School programs,” MDA Assistant Commissioner Patrice Bailey said. “That means more schools participating for the first time, and longtime participants expanding their offering of healthy, nutritious, local foods for students.”

Recipient school districts were awarded one of two grants:

  • Farm to School First Bite Mini-Grant: Grants are intended for school districts that have little to no experience with local procurement as part of a Farm to School programing.
  • Farm to School Full Tray Grant: Grants are intended for school districts that have some Farm to School procurement experience.
  • Applicants were also able to apply for additional funds to purchase equipment to support Farm to School initiatives.

Funding for this program is made available through the Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) program, which administers grants to farmers, agribusinesses, schools, and more throughout the state of Minnesota. The AGRI Program exists to advance Minnesota’s agricultural and renewable energy sectors.

The grant recipients may receive technical assistance to successfully implement their farm to school procurement activities from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy thanks to funding from the USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant.

Farm to School Grant Recipients

First Bite

School/School District County

First Bite Award

Equipment Award

Total Award

Alden Conger Public School Freeborn

$3,000.00

$3,000.00

Butterfield-Odin School District Watonwan

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Caledonia Area Public Schools Houston

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Cannon Falls Area Schools Goodhue

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Delano Public Schools Wright

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

DeLaSalle High School Hennepin

$5,000.00

$4,347.00

$9,347.00

First Lutheran School McLeod

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Glacial Hills Elementary Pope

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Glenville-Emmons Public Schools Freeborn

$2,500.00

$2,500.00

Hennepin Schools Hennepin

$5,000.00

$800.00

$5,800.00

Holy Trinity Catholic School Dakota

$5,000.00

$9,926.00

$14,926.00

MN State Academies Rice

$5,000.00

$1,727.50

$6,727.50

New Millennium Academy Hennepin

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Northwestern Minnesota Juvenile Center Beltrami

$2,500.00

$2,500.00

NRHEG Public Schools Waseca

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Pine City Public Schools Pine

$4,000.00

$13,048.18

$17,048.18

Plymouth Christian Youth Center Hennepin

$5,000.00

$1,330.00

$6,330.00

Russell Tyler Ruthton (RTR) Public Schools Lincoln

$5,000.00

$13,188.24

$18,188.24

Sacred Heart School Stearns

$2,500.00

$2,500.00

St. Bernard’s Catholic School Pennington

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

St. Croix Prep Academy Washington

$5,000.00

$1,250.00

$6,250.00

St. Peter’s Catholic School Yellow Medicine

$2,500.00

$2,500.00

The Journey School Ramsey

$5,000.00

$10,775.20

$15,775.20

Wabasha-Kellogg Public School Wabasha

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

White Bear Lake Area Schools Ramsey

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Windom Area Schools Cottonwood

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Full Tray

School/School District County

Full Tray Award

Equipment Award

Total Award

Becker Public Schools Sherburne

$5,000.00

$9,344.58

$14,344.58

Columbia Heights Public Schools Anoka

$12,524.90

$25,000.00

$37,524.90

Dassel-Cokato Independent Schools Wright

$35,000.00

$13,219.00

$48,219.00

Dilworth Glyndon Felton Public Schools Clay

$6,250.00

$6,250.00

Foley Public Schools Benton

$20,357.50

$25,000.00

$45,357.50

Fond du Lac Reservation Carlton

$4,470.00

$10,970.00

$15,440.00

Holdingford Public Schools Stearns

$10,510.50

$10,510.50

Hutchinson Public Schools McLeod

$35,000.00

$25,000.00

$60,000.00

Immanuel Lutheran School Sibley

$2,500.00

$2,500.00

Lake City Public Schools Goodhue/Wabasha

$10,483.00

$10,483.00

Litchfield Independent Schools Meeker

$28,733.00

$25,000.00

$53,733.00

Mesabi East Schools St. Louis

$14,075.75

$17,964.36

$32,040.11

New Prague Area Schools Le Sueur/Scott

$7,250.00

$19,500.00

$26,750.00

New Ulm Area Catholic Schools Brown

$3,000.00

$1,630.00

$4,630.00

Northfield Public Schools Rice

$5,000.00

$5,000.00

Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools Scott

$27,000.00

$14,500.00

$41,500.00

Riverway Learning Community Winona

$2,566.26

$162.40

$2,728.66

Robbinsdale Area Schools Hennepin

$35,000.00

$18,000.00

$53,000.00

Roseville Area Schools Ramsey

$35,000.00

$25,000.00

$60,000.00

St. Anthony-New Brighton Area Schools Ramsey

$15,716.11

$22,500.00

$38,216.11

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