Action Alert: Contact Your Legislators Today to Support Farm to School Grant Program and Local Food Incentive Funding!
Contact your legislators by email or phone and ask them to support funding for the Farm to School FRESH Grant program and Local Food Incentive within the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
The farm to school funding request would sustain the competitive FRESH grant program by providing $750,000 for the next school year. It would continue Northeast Food for Schools, a Local Food Incentive program, by providing $2 million for FY25 operations. The FRESH Grant Program was first established with ARPA funding and during the first two rounds of applications, DESE received over $4M in requests for the $1M in available funding. Additional funding will help more schools and early education and care centers provide students with healthy, locally grown foods in school meals, provide expanded food education, and support new markets for our farmers and fishermen. We have the opportunity NOW to support infrastructure investments, staff training, and educational initiatives that lead to farm to school program success and sustainability.
