ST. PAUL, Minn. — 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 |
— Minnesota Department of Agriculture
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