The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education have release two different competitive grant programs: MA FRESH CORP and the MA FRESH grant.
MA FRESH (Currently Closed)
The Massachusetts FRESH (Farming Reinforces Education and Student Health) Grant is a statewide farm to school and farm to early care grant program. The program is administered by the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). The program is designed to support K-12 and licensed early education and care centers to start up or expand their local foods purchasing and education efforts. Read below for more information on the grant program guidelines including current information on application deadlines.
The MA FRESH Grant has four categories broken out for early education programs running Child and Adult Care Food Programs (CACFP) and K-12 school districts running National School Lunch Programs (NSLP). Applicants may apply for funding between $5,000 and $30,000 in one of the following categories:
- New K-12 Farm to School Initiative
- New Farm to Early Education Initiative
- Expanding K-12 Farm to School Initiative
- Expanding Farm to Early Education Initiative
Please visit our webinar archive page for recordings of previous information sessions.
FRESH CORP (Currently Closed)
The FRESH CORP grant is a new state funded, competitive grant pilot to encourage schools and early education programs to build capacity, coordinate and execute local food system educational activities and local procurement in Child Nutrition Programs.
This pilot grant will fund new staff salaries, stipends or consultant fees to ensure local food system activities are strategically integrated into the classroom, cafeteria and community to support institutionalized, sustained programs that promote food literacy. The grant is designed to support schools and early education programs implementing experiential, high-quality, culturally and linguistically sustaining local food system learning environments that cross multiple disciplines and institutional departments.
Eligibility: Massachusetts schools operating National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) sponsors operating early education programs. Only one application will be considered per Child Nutrition Program sponsor. Sponsors of both the NSLP and CACFP may only submit one application for consideration.
Award Range: Between $15,000- $150,000 total over FY 25-26, applications must include grant requests for FY25 funding (anticipated FY25 awards between $15,000 and $60,000).
