News and Opportunities

Join Us for the Farm to School Garden Leadership Workshops this summer!
The four-day training consists of hands-on learning and lectures to help you learn how to build and sustain a school garden while incorporating it into your curriculum! Open to all Louisiana public and private schools.

Alexandria, LA: July 10 – 13

Find more information and register today!

Kids Gardening Webinar Series:
Culturally Inclusive Teaching in the Garden

Join KidsGardening.org in 2023 for their new webinar series Culturally Inclusive Teaching in the Garden, offered in partnership with the Clif Family Foundation. The series will explore ways to celebrate and highlight culture through garden-based learning. Starting in January, Dilafruz Williams and Sheila Williams Ridge will kick off the series by sharing the principles of culturally-responsive garden education that honors diversity and inclusion.

June: Featuring Asian and Asian American Culture in Youth Gardens

Find more information and register today!

Educators: Full STEAgM Ahead with Louisiana Ag in the Classroom at the Fast Food Farms

Louisiana Ag in the Classroom is sponsoring a FREE immersive, agri-educational STEAgM opportunity at the Fast Food Farm where Louisiana pre-K – 12th grade educators will learn how to use agriculture to teach Louisiana Student Standards. Participants will receive free materials to use in their classrooms. Lunch and refreshments will be provided. This is an educator-only event—no children please, and dress comfortably, as this is an outdoor venue.

There will be special drawings for gift cards and door prizes. The first 20 educators to register and attend will be entered to win a $50 Amazon gift card (two will be awarded).

Registration is required. Complete the form below. Registration deadline is July 1.

Green Our Planet Grant Programs- Now Open!

s your school interested in a school garden or hydroponic system?

School gardens are some of the best tools for hands-on learning and engagement, and our friends at Green Our Planet are here to help by offering two programs to provide schools and students more access to gardens and garden-based learning. Learn more about their GardenConnect and HydroConnect programs!

Apply by July 21, 2023, to be considered.

Center for Science in the Public Interest Grants
CSPI is releasing several grant opportunities this funding cycle organized into 4 focus areas: State and local policy grants, Community prioritized policy innovation grants, Federal lobbying grants, Power building grants. Many topics will be relevant to school food, SNAP, CNR, and other categories relevant to Farm to School. Find more information, including resources for applicants and application information, and sign up to be notified about relevant funding opportunities here. 

RWJF’s Evidence for Action: Investigator-Initiated Research to Build a Culture of Health
This program funds research that expands the evidence needed to build a Culture of Health, which is broadly defined as one in which good health and well-being flourish across geographic, demographic, and social sectors; public and private decision making is guided by the goal of fostering equitable communities; and everyone has the opportunity to make choices that lead to healthy lifestyles. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis. Learn more about the proposal process and the program itself.

National Education Association Foundation Grants

Student Success Grants, offered by the National Education Association (NEA) Foundation, are for projects that help students learn how to think critically and solve problems in order to improve student learning. Learning & Leadership Grants, offered by the NEA Foundation, are for professional development opportunities for individuals or groups. Grants are available to current members of NEA who are educators in public schools or public institutions of higher education. Preference is given to proposals that incorporate STEM and/or global learning into projects, which can include farm to school activities. Two levels of funding are available: $2,000 and $5,000. Apply for a Student Success Grant here or a Learning & Leadership Grant here.

Captain Planet Project Learning Garden

Schools can apply now to win a Captain Planet Foundation Project Learning Garden through partnerships with grocery retailers around the country. Grand Prize Winners will receive a one-year supply of DOLE Fruit Bowls and a Project Learning Garden provided by Captain Planet Foundation, including: 5 garden beds or garden expansion (for schools with an existing garden), mobile garden cooking cart, standards-based Learning Garden lessons and lesson supply kits, and online teacher training. Learn more about the Project Learning Garden and apply here.

The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (FTPF) and Dreyer’s Fruit Bars

FTPF and Dreyer’s are planting orchards across the country in a collaborative program called “Communities Take Root,” and your town could be next! They invite your community to apply for this exciting opportunity to grow fresh fruit, beautify neighborhoods, strengthen relationships and build community food security—all through the simple act of planting fruit trees. FTPF is currently accepting the first 100 qualified applications for the next round of the program, which involves a public online vote to select the final recipients. * FTPF provides all plants, related materials and equipment, community workshops and training, and our team will work with your community volunteers to install the orchard. Recipients must have the appropriate space and commitment to the orchard to qualify. Download the application here and submit via email only. *Schools are not eligible to apply. Please visit the Fruit Tree 101 Grants page for more information about the school orchard program.

Salad Bars to Schools

Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools is a comprehensive grassroots public health effort to mobilize and engage stakeholders at the local, state and national level to support salad bars in schools. Their vision is to significantly increase salad bars in schools across the country until every child has the choice of healthy fruits and vegetables every day at school. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools is an initiative of the Food Family Farming Foundation, National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, United Fresh Produce Association Foundation, and Whole Foods Market to support First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative. The goal of the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools program is to fund and award 6000 salad bars over the next three years.