The USDA will award up to $18 million through a program that connects schools with local farmers.
Projects approved under the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program could include purchases of local food, school gardens, agricultural education and food safety training for producers.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins made the announcement alongside the release of the Make America Healthy Again report.
“These initiatives are one of the best ways we can deliver nutritious, high-quality meals to children, while also strengthening local agriculture,” Rollins said in a news release.
The grants range from $100,000-$500,000 and represent the largest total amount offered in a single year since the program’s inception in 2013. That marks a reversal from the administration's move earlier this year to cancel the program and pause the review of grant applications.
“The expansion to $18 million is great, and we'll have strong applications submitted from across the state, I'm sure,” said Chelsea Christ, co-chair of the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition and chair of the Iowa Food System Coalition steering committee.
Between 2013 and 2024, 21 projects in Iowa received a total of $1.6 million under the grant program. This includes:
- $100,000 for Nelson County Schools in 2020 to support student apprenticeships on local farms and experiential learning with hydroponics, greenhouses and school gardens
- $99,999 for the Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa in 2022 to support the Meskwaki Settlement’s school garden, food storage and development of tribal food sovereignty curriculum
- $100,000 for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship in 2017 to create a statewide celebration called “Iowa Local Food Day” and help connect food service directors and farmers
The USDA announcement for new funding comes six months after the Trump administration initially canceled the Farm to School program and halted the review of applications already submitted for fiscal year 2025.
Funding for fiscal year 2025 still has not been released, Christ said. She added that the $18 million from the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program doesn’t fill in the $1 billion gap left behind when the USDA canceled two other programs in March.
The Local Food for Schools (LFS) Cooperative Agreement Program and Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) Cooperative Agreement Program were designed to funnel federal funding to states, territories and tribes to help schools, child care facilities and food banks purchase local food.
An estimated $8.3 million was earmarked for Iowa schools and child care facilities, and $3 million was pegged for food banks and pantries.
Between 2022 and 2025, 179 public and private school districts or schools participated in LFS. Over 950 pantries and community partners purchased food from LFPA, and over 300 Iowa farms benefitted from both programs, according to the nonprofit Iowa Valley RC&D.
“If we want Iowa schools and farms to thrive and be supported in this way, we need both types of funding,” Christ said. “We need the flexible grants that spark innovation and are reliable funding streams year after year, like the Farm to School Grant, and we need programs that really sustain local procurement and grow markets for farmers year after year.”
In the coming months, Christ said she will be looking for more guidance from the USDA to help the coalitions’ partners develop project proposals. The deadline to apply for the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program is Dec. 5.
