Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue Tuesday announced more than $9 million in USDA Farm to School Program grants will be awarded in 2019.
This year marks an all-time high of funding and projects in the program, with grants supporting 126 selected projects across 42 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The projects are expected to serve more than 3.2 million students in over 5,400 schools.
Perdue says the program helps “connect schools with the farmers, ranchers, and producers in their communities,” while inspiring youth to consider careers in agriculture.
The record-breaking year for the USDA Farm to School Grant Program was made possible by increased funding from Congress for fiscal years 2018 and 2019.
The increase allowed USDA to award 52 more grants than the previous highest year of 2016 when 74 were granted.
Grants range from $20,000 to $100,000 and fund equipment purchases and experiential learning activities, including planting school gardens, offering taste tests to children, and organizing field trips to local farms and food producers.