In March of 2024, four schools were awarded school garden grants of $5,000 each.
The network received 51 letters of intent and considered 13 full proposals. The next round of garden grants will open for applications in December of 2024. Join our mailing list to be notified of funding opportunities from the Network. (We share lots of other funding opportunities as well.)
Applications for School Garden Grants are currently closed.
Next round will open December 2023
School garden mini-grants
currently closed
Schools can apply for $5,000 for garden materials and supplies as well as nutrition education materials, and including student intern support.
The Kentucky Farm to School Network invites Kentucky preK - 12 grade schools to apply for a school garden mini-grant opportunity. This project will provide funding for schools to establish school gardens and implement nutrition and cooking education using the produce grown in the school gardens. Student interns will work with the awarded school districts to plan, establish, maintain, and evaluate the school garden, nutrition, and cooking education project from February 2024 - May 2025. The student interns will also implement educational programs in the schools and conduct data collection and analysis related to the school garden, nutrition, and cooking education project.
Awards will be for $5,000: $4,000 of the mini-grant is to be spent on garden supplies (plants, tools, etc.) and $1,000 of the mini-grant is to be spent on cooking and nutrition education supplies.
Funding for this project is provided by Community Farm Alliance through a USDA Patrick Leahy Farm to School grant and by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.
Eligibility:
In order to be eligible, schools must be: public or private; and serve grade levels within pre-K - 12th grades. The project must reside within one campus, i.e. you can apply for multiple schools under one grant application if all schools are adjoining. Note: Funds will not be issued to any individual. Checks must be issued to a school, school board or possibly to a community partner, like a PTO.
Key Details & Dates:
The network will accept letters of intent to apply from December 13 to January 10.
A question and answer session will be offered in early January.
Following a review of letters of intent, a limited number of schools will then be invited to submit a full grant proposal by the end of January. Some assistance may be available in developing a quality grant proposal.
Mini-Grant awardees will be selected and notified by Monday February 5
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be executed between Community Farm Alliance and the grantee. Checks can be issued when the MOU is signed by both parties.
Planning for the gardens with the KY Farm to School Network team and/or student interns will begin in February 2024.
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Because a full proposal can be a considerable amount of work and because some good applicants may need assistance with putting together a proposal, we’ve decided to start with a letter of intent for this round of funding, followed by inviting a limited number of full proposals.
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Send a letter of intent (no more than one page) to KYF2Snetwork@gmail.com by 5pm on Wednesday January 10th, 2024. In your letter, please give the name of your school and the grade levels of students served and answer the following questions:
Why would a school garden benefit your school and students?
What is your long-term vision for the garden?
Describe how the garden will be used to support your school’s educational curriculum and student outcomes.
Have you received a different grant for a school garden in the past? Yes/No
If yes, what is it and how much have you received? How long did/will the funding last?
Potential applicants should read the outline of a full proposal below and be prepared to develop a proposal if invited. Please indicate in your letter of intent if you anticipate needing assistance with developing a proposal.
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For those who are invited to continue, a full grant proposal will include:
Garden Plan
Growing - What types of fruits and vegetables do you plan to grow?
School support - What type of support do you have for a school garden from the school and/or school district (e.g. teachers, existing classes, students, principal, superintendent, etc)?
Describe what steps you have taken/will take to ensure your garden has the resources and care it needs. Consider seasonal care, irrigation, summer break, etc. Specifically describe how you plan to care for the garden during the summer and school breaks..
Education plan
Who is/will be involved in enrichment programs/lessons? (community partners, parent groups, teachers, etc.)
Explain how the harvests from the garden will be utilized to promote local produce consumption. (e.g. summer school programs, cooking classes, school cafeteria, giveaways, etc)
Describe ways that the school garden and cooking and nutrition education programs could be integrated into summer programming.
How will you use intern support? Student interns are meant to supplement educational activities with students, either in the classroom or in after school or summer programming. Activities can be related to nutrition and cooking or to garden work. Student intern labor should not be the primary plan for garden installation or maintenance.
Financial plan
How will your school finance department administer the grant funds? (Some finance departments have more restrictions about their processes and approvals. Please check with your school finance staff to find out how easy it will be for your school to administer the grant. If an alternative to school finance administration is needed, it may be easier to work with a community partner, like a PTO)
How do you plan on using the grant funds? ($4,000 for garden supplies and $1,000 for cooking supplies) **Please provide an itemized budget (can be general categories).
Letters of Support - Please provide a signed letter of support from each of the following:
School administration - the principal or assistant principal and/or school finance officer
School grounds/maintenance staff - garden plans that don’t have back up from the groundskeepers are much more likely to encounter difficulties)
At least one other school faculty or staff member
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Schools applying for this mini-grant opportunity agree to:
1.Work with the student interns and KY Farm to School Network team to plan, establish, maintain, and evaluate the school garden and education project
2. Allow student interns to conduct educational programming and evaluation in the schools, such as cooking classes and nutrition lessons
3. Participate in data collection and research, such as providing periodic about school gardens and activities
4. Participate in summer garden and nutrition education/cooking programming, which could be through summer feeding, summer school, daycare, etc.
5. Form a booster club for volunteer support and sustained fundraising
6. Get an endorsement from the school maintenance/ groundskeeping staff
7. Keep receipts from all expenses and turn them in
8. Get parent/guardian permission for relevant student photos/media, take and share photos/video of the garden project
Questions about applying?
Contact Laurie White, network coordinator:
kyf2snetwork@gmail.com
859-428-7961 (call or text)