Funding Farm to
School
Danielle Fleury, USDA Farm to School
Lauren Mancini & Karyn Novakowski, Somerville Public Schools
Sally Loomis, Williamsburg Public Schools
January 13, 2014
Overview
• Federal funding streams:
» USDA’s Farm to School Grant Program
» Other USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) funds
» Other USDA Grant and Loan programs
• Somerville perspective:
» Somerville Farm to School Planning Grant and leveraged resources
» Somerville’s DoD Fresh and FFVP grant
• Williamsburg perspective:
» Williamsburg parent committee and school garden coordinator
» Snapshot of a successful community fundraising “farmraiser”
USDA Farm to School Grant Program
• Award up to $5.0 million annually, for:
» Training
» Supporting operations;
» Planning;
» Purchasing equipment;
» Developing school gardens;
» Developing partnerships; and
» Implementing farm to school programs.
Types of Grants
• Planning ($20,000 - $45,000 over 1 year)
» school districts or individual schools just starting to incorporate farm
to school program elements into their operations
• Implementation ($65,000 - $100,000 over 1-2 years)
» school districts or schools to help scale or further develop existing
farm to school initiatives
• Support Service ($65,000 - $100,000 over 1-2 years)
» state and local agencies, Indian tribal organizations, agricultural
producers or groups of agricultural producers, and non-profit entities
working with school districts
Timeline
• January/February
» Request for Applications announced (FY 2016 RFA forthcoming)
• Late April
» Applications due
• October/November
» Awards announced
supply chain
development…distribution
and storage of local
foods…school gardens…
menu audits… salad bars…
taste testing… curriculum
development… farm field
trips…advisory groups…
Detailed info on funded
projects, by state, is on the
website
FNS Program Funds
• Federal cash reimbursement (nonprofit food service account
funds)
» local foods and school gardens
• Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP)
» local foods and educational opportunity
• USDA Foods/DoD Fresh
» local foods
• State Administrative Expense (SAE) funds
» State-level farm to school trainings, materials, activities
School Garden Memo
• Federal
reimbursement
dollars can support
school gardens
• Allowable expenses
Other Federal Sources
• Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food
» KYF2 Compass Map
» Track where federal funding is going to support local and regional food
systems
• Other USDA and federal agency
support
Resources
USDA Farm to School Toolkit
http://www.fns.usda.gov/farmtoschool/census/#/toolkit/module/11
• #11 Sustaining Your Program- grants, fundraising techniques
Somerville Public Schools
Culturally rich city with 50
native languages spoken
Somerville
~5000 students in ~4 sq miles
makes it the most densely
populated community in New
England
Lunch served to ~3000 students daily
67% free and reduced lunch
10 Schools – PreK to 12
1 Early Childhood Center
7 K-8 Schools
1 Alternative Middle/High School
1 High School
Somerville Food and Nutrition Services
Salad bars at 7 K-8 Schools and High School
Fresh fruit and vegetable program at 3 K-8 schools
Events: Food Day, Corn Shucking Day
6 schools received Bronze award for HUSSC
Vegetable of the Month
Cafeteria and in-class taste tests
DoD Fresh
Farm to School Project
Shape Up Somerville Approved
Somerville Farm to School Project
EMPOWERING MINDFUL EATERS
Purpose of the grant:
• Strategically align all of the district’s
farm to school efforts
• Work with FNS on sourcing local
foods for school food program
• Offer food education programs
• Develop short and long term goals
and implementation plan
Mission of project:
•
Grow, cook, eat, repeat
•
Cultivate a sense of place
•
Advocate for good food
Funded by a USDA Planning Grant December 2013 – November 2014
Somerville Farm to School Programs:
Cafeteria, Classroom, Community
Funding Farm to School
CURRENT FUNDING SOURCES
FUTURE FUNDING GOALS
Partner funded programs
Partner funded programs
•
•
•
•
Groundwork Somerville – School Gardens
Project Bread – Healthy Summer Harvest
Continue to work with current partners
Cultivate new partnerships
Funding through District
•
•
•
•
Somerville Family Learning Collaborative – Pop up
Literacy Workshop
Somerville Community Schools - Cooking Club
PEP Grant – Cooking Club, Food Literacy Programs
School discretionary budget – School Gardens
Funding through District
•
•
Continue to partner with district
departments
Increase individual school investment
Funding from within FNS
Funding from within FNS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
DoD Fresh – Local foods
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program – Local foods
USDA Farm to School Planning Grant – planning,
taste tests, curriculum development, local
sourcing, school gardens
Increase DoD Fresh participation
Add additional FFVP schools
Apply for grants
Create permanent Farm to School
Director Position for district
Sourcing local with DoD Fresh
Somerville allotted $16,500 to spend through the Department
of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
Can use USDA Foods
entitlement dollars to
buy fresh produce via
A.T. Siravo
Choose local items
when available
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program
Three schools participate
Argenziano, 2008-2015
East Somerville, 2009-2015
Winter Hill, 2012-2015
34% of students in district
served through FFVP (~1600
students)
Provides free fresh fruits and
vegetables midmorning snack to
students 5 days/week
Promoting local with FFVP
GOALS
1. During 4 months of the school year
(June, September, October, November)
identify snacks that can be locally sourced
once per week (Once per month might be
more realistic is pilot year)
2. Hold planting days in the spring when
students can plant seeds of vegetables that
they eat as a part of the FFVP Program.
3. Provide fruit and vegetable source
information to teachers and students
EXAMPLES OF LOCAL PRODUCE:
June – strawberries, peas
September/October/November – apples, carrots, pears, peppers, zucchini
Local Sourcing Obstacles
Vendor communications: Availability report and source labeling
Local to us…..
Local to our vendor…..
?
Massachusetts Grown
Defining local
New England Grown
Mid Atlantic Grown
Funding deadlines/timeframes: DoD Fresh funding available October, spend by April
Flexibility to accept different varieties or items
Fruit
Budget:
Local is more expensive
Case Size
Price
Non-local
Cost Differential
Local
Apple
125 ct
$
35.00
$ 40.00
13%
Strawberries
1 case
$
18.00
$ 25.00
39%
Please be in touch!
Lauren Mancini
Director, Somerville Food and Nutrition Services
lmancini@k12.somerville.ma.us
Charlotte Stephenson
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Grant Coordinator
cstephenson@k12.somerville.ma.us
Karyn Novakowski
Somerville Farm to School Project Director
knovakowski@k12.somerville.ma.us
Williamsubrg Elementary School Farm
To School Program
• Started in 2001 as after school program for
kindergarten
• Grew to provide weekly garden education to all 160
students during school day
• At peak size had paid coordinators, multiple special
projects, lots of grant $
• Intentionally shifted to a smaller, more sustainable
program organized by volunteers with most funding
from school
Williamsburg Peak Budget
Williamsburg Income
Foundation Grants
$16,000
Special Project grants
$14,000
Individuals and major donors
$10,000
Fundraising Events
$2,500
School
$5,000
Total
$42,500
Creating a Sustainable Program
 School put a line item in their budget for garden
education. Small at first.
 Shift of organizations from outside nonprofit to
School PTO
 School took on coordination of program
 Downsized program to core – garden education,
support for local food in school meals, annual harvest
feast
 New volunteers organize key program elements –
fundraising, summer garden care, annual celebration
Williamsburg Greenhouse Project
Long-time vision of a school greenhouse
Waiting for school renovation gave time to build
momentum
Raised nearly $30,000 for structure big enough
for an entire class
Broad community support
3 groups raising money for the project
Wonderful volunteer support
School Greenhouse Budget
Williamsburg Greenhouse Income
Community Foundation grant
$7,000
Individual donations
$2,100
Local businesses including % profit to greenhouse
days
$4,900
Plant People fundraisers
(Surplus from several Mother’s Day plant sales)
$6,000
PTO fundraisers
(including sales of local syrup, coffee)
$5,000
School Garden Program fundraisers
(silent auction, half day programs)
$5,000
Total
$30,000
Lessons Learned
• Find fundraising strategies that fit with your
community
• Build momentum and excitement
• Cultivate a core group of volunteers and make the
work fun
• Don’t be afraid to ask
• Budget a buffer
• Make your project new and exciting for funders
• Emphasize how the project or program will be
sustained in the future
Thank you!
Questions?
Contact us:
Danielle Fleury
danielle.fleury@fns.usda.gov
Lauren Mancini
lmancini@k12.somerville.ma.us
Karyn Novakowski
knovakowski@k12.somerville.ma.us
Sally Loomis
loomissally@gmail.com