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USDA Farm to School Grant Is Now Open

Submitted by tim on

Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets USDA is now accepting applications for the 2022 Farm to School Grant. Farm to School grants support state, regional, and local organizations in planning, developing, and implementing farm to school programs. Grants are designed to help start new farm to school programs or expand existing efforts.

Funds support a wide range of activities from training, planning, and developing partnerships, to creating new menu items, establishing supply chains, offering taste tests to children, purchasing equipment, planting school gardens, and organizing field trips to agricultural operations. The USDA Food and Nutrition Service seeks to competitively award up to $12 million this fiscal year to eligible applicants for projects that meet the purpose of the grant program.

Information about the three grant tracks available, along with the related eligibility requirements, is described in the Request for Application (RFA), and can be found through the link below.

Deadline to Apply: January 10, 2022
Learn More About the Farm to School Grant
We Are The Land - NOFA-VT Image

Agriculture literacy week, hosted by NOFA-VT and the Vermont Department of Libraries, offers programming to highlight and celebrate local farms & the food system. This year’s theme is Land Connections. All events are free and open to the public; pre-registration is required.

In We Are the Land, father and son Nulhegan storytellers Joseph and Jesse Bruchac will present a bilingual program of Native stories and songs from Abenaki traditions that link us to the land.

Webinar Date: Nov. 17 @ 6 p.m.
Specialty Crop Block Grant Stake Holder Call

How should the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets invest up to $500,000 in Vermont’s specialty crop industries? Thanks to a COVID-19 stimulus bill, the Vermont Specialty Crop Block Grant Program is receiving additional funding in 2022 and they are seeking industry input on how to best utilize it.

Learn about our plan and share your thoughts by joining the Vermont Specialty Crop Stakeholder Webinar Call. You can also share your perspective by responding to this brief survey.

Stakeholder Call: Nov. 4 @ 2 p.m.
DBIC Food Safety Grant for Dairy Farmers and Producers

This grant will provide dairy farmers, processors, and/or producer associations with funds needed to take actionable steps to improve the safety of dairy products. Projects funded through this program will support increased production safety standards with the goal of accessing new markets.

Projects that increase marketability of dairy products will be prioritized. Activities covered by this grant include accessing technical assistance, audits, food safety plan development, training, testing fees, and certain infrastructure upgrades.
Grants available of $10,000 - $40,000.

Deadline to Apply: Feb. 3

Join Rural Vermont for a two-part educational workshop on the slaughter and processing of poultry guided by Elizabeth Roma from Putting Down Roots Farm and Roma's Butchery.

Participants can choose to attend one or both workshops, which are being held back-to-back with an hour break in between. Each workshop is being held at a different location in the South Royalton area but within a short distance of each other. Participants get to take home their farm-fresh slaughtered and cut chicken. Registration is required to attend

Workshop: Nov. 6 from 12 p.m. - 5 p.m
View the VAAFM Grants Calendar
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
https://agriculture.vermont.gov