Other grant opportunities
These grants, which are outside the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub, could help support your work. Check back for updates!
Salad Bar Grant
The Chef Ann Foundation Salad Bars to Schools grant provides schools with salad bars, giving kids daily access to fresh fruits and vegetables. The grant includes all necessary equipment, such as the salad bar, chill pads, pans and tongs, along with training modules. Eligible applicants include K–12 school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program.
No Kid Hungry Grant
The No Kid Hungry Grant, offered by Share Our Strength, provides funding to support programs that aim to increase access to nutritious meals for children, including school meal initiatives. This funding can assist organizations in acquiring resources such as refrigerators, delivery trucks and other necessary equipment. Eligible applicants include schools, nonprofits and community organizations. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $50,000 per recipient. The application process is annual and typically opens in the spring or early summer.
KidsGardening Grant Opportunities
KidsGardening offers a variety of grants to new and existing youth garden programs across the nation. These funding opportunities range from $500 to $20,000 per grantee, aimed at transforming vacant lots into gardens, enhancing existing gardens, supporting school and youth educational garden projects, expanding the collection of gardening supplies, and more. Each grant has its own timeline, defining features, eligibility requirements, and reporting expectations. Interested applicants should sign up through the website for email notifications when applications open again and to learn more about the variety of grants available.
SeedMoney Challenge Grants
SeedMoney is a nonprofit that runs an annual 30-day crowdfunding challenge for schools, youth gardens, community gardens, community farms, and food bank gardens. Projects compete for challenge grants of $100 to $1,000 and keep 100% of what they raise through individual donations. All campaigns run from November to December.
Regional Food System Partnerships
The Regional Food System Partnerships, administered by USDA, supports partnerships that connect public and private resources to plan and develop local and regional food systems through Planning & Design and Implementation & Expansion. Planning and Design projects support food system’s efforts to build connections between public and private groups in their regions. Implementation and Expansion projects support partnerships that build on previous or ongoing efforts within a local or regional food system. Eligible applicants include agricultural businesses and cooperatives, community supported agriculture networks and associations, food councils, economic development corporations, local governments, nonprofit and public benefit corporations, producer networks or associations, regional farmers’ market authorities, and tribal governments. Grants range from $100,000 to $1,000,000 per recipient, with $4.5 million having been allocated for the program in 2025. The application process is anticipated annually, with the application deadline typically falling in June.
Garden Grants
The Garden Grant program, offered by the Whole Foods Market Foundation, provides $3,500 to support a new or existing edible educational garden located at K–12 schools. This opportunity reopens annually in late winter.
The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program
The United State Department of Agriculture’s Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program provides funding to support projects that increase access to local foods in school meal programs and connect students to agriculture through education and hands-on experiences. Grants can support activities like sourcing local food, school gardens, taste-tests, and farm to school programming across Child Nutrition Programs. Funding typically ranges from $100,000 to $500,000 for eligible projects. The program is open to entities such as state agencies, school districts, nonprofits, and agricultural producers, often requiring partnerships. The application process is released annually.
Healthy School Food Pathway: Fellowship Program
The Chef Ann Foundation’s Healthy School Food Pathway Fellowship is a 13-month apprenticeship designed for mid- to upper-level school food professionals. The program provides virtual and in-person learning to advance scratch cooking, school food leadership and advocacy for healthier school meals. Fellows receive funding, engage in coursework, attend five in-person training sessions and complete a capstone project. The program is open to school food operators under the National School Lunch Program. The application process is annual and typically opens in the summer.
The Lunch Box Bulk Milk Grant
The Chef Ann Foundation’s Lunch Box Bulk Milk Grant offers funding to help schools transition from serving milk in single-serve containers to bulk dispensers and reusable cups. The grant package includes bulk milk dispensers, reusable cups and technical assistance. This program is available to K–12 school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program. The funding is valued at $5,000 per grantee. Interested applicants should sign up through the website for email notifications when applications open again.
Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge
The Seeding The Future Global Food System Challenge, offered by Seeding The Future Foundation and Welthungerhilfe, offers three tiers of funding: Seed Grants ($25,000) for early stage innovations, Growth Grants ($100,000) for solutions ready to scale, and Grand Prizes ($250,000) for high-impact, fully developed innovations. Awards are tiered based on the stage of development, with up to $1 million distributed annually. This funding supports innovative projects that advance at least one of the core focus areas: safe and nutritious food, sustainable and regenerative practices, and increased access to affordable food. Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations, academic or research institutions, and early-stage for-profit or social enterprises. The application cycle is annual and typically open in October each year.
Local Food Promotion Program
The Local Food Promotion Program, administered by USDA, supports Planning, Implementation, Marketing and Promotion, or Recruitment and Training in local foods. Planning projects fund activities, such as conducting feasibility studies, hiring training and technical assistance experts, and developing business plans. Implementation projects establish, expand, and improve food enterprises and market channels. Marketing and Promotion projects support activities like market identification and analysis, marketing plan development, marketing and promotion design and purchases, and evaluation. Recruitment and Training projects support activities such as identification and analysis of strategies for vendor and producer recruitment, training or both as well as the development of a plan, design materials, implementing the plan, and evaluating the outcomes. Eligible applicants include agricultural businesses and cooperatives, community supported agriculture networks and associations, food councils, economic development corporations, local governments, nonprofit and public benefit corporations, producer networks or associations, regional farmers’ market authorities, and tribal governments. Grants range from $25,000 to $500,000 per recipient, with $11 million having been allocated for the program in 2025. The application process is anticipated annually, with the application deadline typically falling in June.
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) grants, funded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture, fund research and education projects that advance sustainable agricultural practices in the United States. SARE grants can address local and regional food systems, on-farm renewable energy, and more. Eligible applicants include farmers, ranchers, researchers, extension agents and other educators, graduate students, and many more.
Get Schools Cooking Program
The Chef Ann Foundation’s Get Schools Cooking program provides K–12 school districts with technical support and system improvement grants to transition to healthier, scratch-cooked meals. The program helps districts assess their current practices, create strategic plans and implement improvements such as installing salad bars, using local ingredients and introducing scratch-cooked recipes. Funding is available over three years, along with access to workshops, online courses, on-site assessments and ongoing technical assistance. The program is open to self-operated meal programs in districts participating in the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. The application cycle opens every 18 months.
School Nutrition Equipment Grants
The School Nutrition Association’s School Nutrition Equipment Grants provide funding to help school districts purchase equipment that improves their nutrition programs. Eligible applicants, who must be current director-level members of the School Nutrition Association (SNA), can use the grants to address district-wide equipment needs. The funding covers a range of kitchen equipment such as holding cabinets, food warmers and other essential tools for enhancing food service operations. Grants are providing over $600,000 total in equipment funding. The application process is annual and typically opens in the late winter to early spring.
Farmers Market Promotion Program
The Farmers Market Promotion Program, administered by USDA, supports Capacity Building, Community Development Training and Technical Assistance, Marketing and Promotion, or Recruitment and Training. Capacity Building projects are intended to build long-term organizational capacity to develop, coordinate, and expand direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Community Development Training and Technical Assistance projects are intended to provide outreach, training, and technical assistance to farm and ranch operations serving local markets to develop, coordinate and expand direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities. Marketing and Promotion projects support activities like market identification and analysis, marketing plan development, marketing and promotion design and purchases, and evaluation. Recruitment and Training projects support activities such as identification and analysis of strategies for vendor and producer recruitment, training or both as well as the development of a plan, design materials, implementing the plan, and evaluating the outcomes. Grants range from $50,000 to $500,000 per recipient, with $11 million having been allocated for the program in 2025. The application process is anticipated annually, with the application deadline typically falling in June.
Food Justice for Kids Prize
The Food Justice for Kids Prize, a multi-donor pooled fund, supports projects that improve access to food and nutrition for children across the United States. The grant focuses on areas including food systems, nutrition education, and school-based food programs, and supporting work that helps kids learn about, grow, and prepare healthy foods, and improve access to school meals. Funding can be used to support program implementation, educational activities, partnerships, and resources needed to expand or strengthen food access efforts. Eligible applicants include schools, non-profits, tribal organizations, and other community-based or government-affiliated organizations across the United States. Awardees can receive up to $100,000 over two years.
Growing Justice Fund
The Growing Justice Fund is a multi-donor pooled fund, working to transform food systems in communities. Eligible applicants include food producers, manufacturers, aggregators, small processors, distributors, community coalitions, and organizations engaged in the food market. Grants typically range from $50,000 to $250,000. Applications are expected to open annually or every two years. The application deadline is typically in March.
National School Lunch Pogram (NSLP) Equipment Assistance Grant
The National School Lunch Program Equipment Assistance Grant, administered by the USDA, provides funding to support the purchase of food service equipment for schools participating in the National School Lunch Program. This funding can be used to purchase kitchen equipment, cover delivery and installation costs, and more. Funds are distributed to state agencies, which then competitively award subgrants to eligible School Food Authorities. Location deadlines vary by state, and awards are typically announced within the same fiscal year.