Utah Department of Agriculture and Food Receives USDA Farm to School Grant to Expand Local Food Access and Education Statewide

The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) has been selected as a Patrick Leahy Farm to School grantee by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This $350,000 grant will support a statewide initiative to increase the use of locally grown Utah fruit in school meals while integrating agricultural and nutrition education into classrooms.

“This award is an exciting step forward for Utah’s local food system and for students across the state,” said Natalie McHale, UDAF’s Farm to School specialist. “We’re bringing schools and local producers closer together while making food education a real, hands-on part of the classroom. It’s a win for farmers, educators, and students, and a model we’re excited to grow statewide.”

UDAF, in partnership with the Utah State Board of Education (USBE), Utah Agriculture in the Classroom, Culinary Solutions Center, LLC, and Pilot Light, will pilot a holistic farm-to-school model across the state. The project will integrate Utah-grown fruit into 13 Child Nutrition Programs (CNPs) while embedding agricultural and nutrition education into the school experience.

Over the two-year grant period, the initiative will leverage schools’ purchasing power to expand markets for Utah fruit producers and increase students’ access to fresh, local foods. Producers will receive support in navigating school procurement and in creating clear pathways for locally grown foods to enter cafeterias. These procurement connections are reinforced through integrated cafeteria and classroom learning, school orchard pilots, and the development of a statewide toolkit, ultimately increasing local procurement, strengthening agricultural literacy, and building a scalable farm-to-school model across Utah.

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program connects farmers to children by incorporating local foods into school meals, summer meals, and child care settings. In the 2022–23 school year, more than two-thirds of students in America attended schools participating in farm-to-school activities, such as local procurement, agricultural education and gardening, and local food promotion.

Follow the progress of the project by visiting www.farmtoschool.utah.gov and signing up for the newsletter to stay up to date.