The Land Stewardship Project congratulates the 2025 recipients of the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s AGRI Farm to School and Early Care Programs. This includes K-12 school districts and early care centers that received reimbursement grants, as well as family daycare providers participating in the MDA’s first-ever Local Tots Cost-Share Program. Grantees span the entirety of Minnesota, from urban schools near the Twin Cities to private and public schools on the Iron Range and down to far southeastern Minnesota.

This initiative reimburses schools and early childcare education centers for purchases of Minnesota-grown and raised food used in meal programs. There are two grant options for applicants: 1) “First Bite Mini-Grants” for those with little or no experience with local procurement, and 2) “Full Tray Grants” for applicants with some experience with local procurement. Applicants may also apply for equipment grants to make it more possible to serve locally sourced products.

The AGRI Farm to School and Early Care Programs have been critical for expanding market access opportunities across the state, especially for beginning farmers and smaller operators, as well as for getting healthy, local food to our kids in both schools and childcare settings. Not only is it great to see kids enjoy tasty food grown in our state, but Farm to Kids educates kids where their food comes from; it makes the cafeteria a classroom and builds connections between children, schools, and our farmers.

LSP has been advocating for this initiative for several years and in 2025 we have asked the Minnesota Legislature to increase the funding overall for the grant program. Year-after-year there is greater demand for grants than funding available. In 2023, there were $5.3 million in requests for the program, and currently the state funds it at $1.29 million. Legislators are in the final weeks of Minnesota’s 2025 legislative session, which is set to end May 19. As you read this, lawmakers are in the midst of determining at what level to fund this important program going forward.

Sign our petition today to ask the Legislature to approve additional funding for this project.

If you have more questions on the Farm to School and Early Care Grant Programs or are interested in connecting with a school to potentially sell products to, please reach out to the MDA’s Farm to Institution coordinator, Kate Seybold, at kate.seybold@state.mn.us.

Heather Benson is an LSP communications specialist.