Farm to School Purchasing Grants

Applicants awarded a grant in Round 1 are not eligible to apply for the same program type in Round 2. 

Entities eligible to apply for a WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant include:

• Tribal Schools and Tribal Early Learning Programs. 

• Organizations that operate one of the following USDA Child Nutrition Programs:
  • National School Lunch Program (NSLP)  
  • Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) - Childcare
    • For schools and early learning only.
      • Program operators of adult care food programs and At-Risk After School Meal programs are not eligible.
    • Organizations that oversee multiple Family Day Care Home (FDCH) providers are eligible to apply.
      • FDCH providers may not apply individually but they may participate through the organization that oversees them.
  • Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and Seamless Summer Option (SSO) 
    • including community SFSP providers- NEW IN ROUND 2

 
Organizations applying for School Meals or Childcare Meals must have operated NSLP or CACFP for at least one (1) year prior to application. Organizations applying for Summer Meals must have operated SFSP/SSO for at least one (1) full summer prior to application (summer of 2023). All organizations must remain active program operators throughout the duration of the grant period and be considered in good standing by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
 

Round 2: For School and Childcare Meals 2024-2025 and Summer Meals 2024

Application Opens	March 2024
Application Closes	Monday, April 15, 2024 at 5PM PST
Award Announcements	June 2024
Grant Period	July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025

Round 1: Grants for School and Childcare Meals 2023-2025 and Summer Meals 2024

Application Opens	August 2023
Application Closes	Monday, October 16th at 5PM PST
Award Announcements	November 2023
Grant Period	December 2023 – June 30, 2025

 

Note: The timeline and dates are subject to change.

• There will be two separate application periods. Applicants awarded in Round 1 are not eligible to apply for Round 2.
  • Round 1 Grant Period- November 2023-June 30, 2025
  • Round 2 Grant Period- July 1, 2024- June 30, 2025

 

• The application is not in iGrants this year. The application is in the WizeHive Application Portal.  

 

• Reimbursements will not be paid through OSPI apportionment. Reimbursements will be paid by WSDA through an Electronic Funds Transfer or check. Grantees are required to have a Statewide Vendor Number to recieve payment. 

 

• For the purposes of this grant, processed food products must have a primary ingredient that is 100% grown in Washington where the primary ingredient is the largest ingredient by weight- the first ingredient on the ingredient list. For example, yogurt containing milk from cows 100% raised in Washington. Upon award, it will be the Grant Beneficiaries responsibilty to determine and ensure that the products requested for reimbursement are eligible and meet the requirement for reimbursement with grant funds. Grant Beneficiaries will ask vendors to complete the new WSDA Farm to School Purchasing Grant Washington Grown Food Product Verification Form (en español- Formulario de Verificacion de Productos Alimenticios Procedentes de Washington).  See the Sample Washington Grown Food Product Verification Form (en español- Muestra Formulario de Verificacion de Productos Alimenticios Procedentes de Washington) for reference.  If you have questions about the changes to the processed product requirement, the updated form, or allowable products, please contact us at farmtoschool@agr.wa.gov.   

 

• Applicants will be required to complete the Administrative, Financial Capabilty, and Accounting Systems Assessment in the Profile. Responses to these questions will be used to determine the applicant's level of risk. The applicant's level of risk will determine grant reporting and monitoring requirements such as submitting receipts with reimbursement requests. All grant beneficiaries are subject to random desk review. Assessement questions are not part of the scored application.

 

• Applicants who contract with a Food Service Management Company (FSMC), Vended Meals, or School-to-School Agreement are required to describe how they will work with the FSMC/Vendor/School to comply with their existing contract and the grant guidelines. They will also need to provide a Letter of Commitment from the FSMC/Vendor/School.

For information about eligible applicants, grant award amounts, eligible expenses, grant application and award process, evaluation criteria and more, read the Grant Guidelines (Lineamientos para la subvención) in full before applying.

Awarded applicants will receive a grant agreement they must sign and return to WSDA. View a Sample Grant Beneficiary Agreement (Ejemplo de acuerdo de beneficiario de subvención).

For more information on Frequently Asked Questions, see or FAQs page.
 
To see information about our last two grant rounds and their impact on children, farmers and local food systems, see our Past Grantee page.
 
If you are a producer interested in selling to grant beneficiaries, please see our For Producers page.

For questions, please contact the Farm to School Purchasing Grant Program, at farmtoschool@agr.wa.gov or call  (360) 974-9752.

We welcome and encourage your feedback on this new grant program, leave us a comment here!