July 19, 2024 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that USDA is awarding a record-breaking $14.3 million in Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grants to 154 projects in 43 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico. These investments will help 1.9 million children eat more tasty, nutritious foods in school, while supporting farmers and producers in their local and regional communities.
"Farm to School is a huge win for children, schools, farmers, producers and communities," said Secretary Vilsack. "When schools have access to fresh, local food options with homegrown flavour, they can serve delicious, healthy dishes that kids are excited to eat, while also supporting the local economy. These grants continue our work to address both food insecurity and nutrition insecurity, ensuring that we're not only feeding kids, we're feeding them well."
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The investment in the Farm to School Program supports the Biden-Harris Administration's National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition and Health to end hunger and increase healthy eating by 2030.
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program helps child nutrition program operators incorporate local foods into meals served through USDA's National School Lunch Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program and SUN Programs: USDA's Summer Nutrition Program for Kids.
Farm to school opens opportunities for children to learn about nutrition and agriculture through hands-on experiences, such as planting, watering and harvesting fruits, vegetables and herbs. The program can also provide a pathway for more children to achieve nutrition security, which is the consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe and affordable food.
USDA continues to show its commitment to equity by reaching historically underserved and marginalised communities through this year's farm to school grants:
- 54 percent of students served by these projects are eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
- More than one-third (35%) of awarded projects serve rural areas.
- Members of communities of colour lead 40 percent of the awarded organisations, all with projects serving those same communities.
- Eight projects are led by and serve American Indian or Alaska Native communities.
Producers can receive the grants for their farm to school projects, too. Three agricultural producer are among this year's grantees.
More than 67,000 schools currently participate in farm to school.
In addition to grant making, USDA recently finalised regulations that encourage more schools to purchase their foods from local producers. Schools now have the option to require unprocessed agricultural products to be locally grown, raised or caught when making purchases for school meal programs, making it easier for schools to buy local foods.
For more information about how school meals will be strengthened in upcoming years, see this video:
"Kids learn how to eat; it's not programmed in them," said USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long. "What they're exposed to at a young age makes a real difference. When we support children in establishing good eating habits, we're setting them up to reach their full potential."
Since the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program's inception in 2013, the Department has awarded more than $98 million in Farm to School Grants, funding more than 1200 projects across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico. These projects ave reached more than 28 million students.
For more information, visit HERE.
The Global MillerThis blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
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