School Farm Grant

Building the Farm in Farm to School BC – A School Farm Grant

 About this School Farm Grant

Application Deadline: CLOSED

Amount: $10,000

Are you interested in getting students engaged with hands-on-learning from a real life farmer while having access to healthy local food grown at school? Then this grant is for you!

Building the Farm in Farm to School BC – A School Farm Grant is for school districts and independent school boards (including First Nations Schools) that want to establish their first school farm. A school farm is a piece of school district or independent school land (minimum 5,000 square feet) that has either a farm business or a non-profit growing food with students and the broader community. The benefits of a school farm are that students receive food literacy education from a professional farmer through hands-on learning opportunities that teach them how to grow their food. The food can then be used to prepare school meals and in other school programs. It can also be shared and/or sold to parents and community members. Click here to learn more

What does the successful applicant receive?

The successful applicant will receive support from a Farm to School BC Community Animator to help you establish the farm with an additional option of support from Young Agrarians to help match the school farm with a farmer. There are two $10,000 grants available for infrastructure to start your school district’s or independent school’s first school farm.

  • Step 1: The letter of intent is a process used for our team to assess if your school district or independent school board is ready to implement a school farm. Three school districts and/or independent schools will be selected.
  • Step 2: Selected applicants will be requested to submit their full application which includes: project plan, detailed budget, and implementation strategy. Two applicants will be selected from the proposal process to receive funding.

Who can apply?

We require school districts and independent school boards to be the lead applicant. At this point in time, you don’t need to know which school will have the farm. However, you will need to be willing to work with us to establish the farm by spring 2022. We also require that a facilities manager signs off on the application. 

Grant Eligibility Criteria (must all be met before submitting a Letter of Intent)

  • The school district or independent school board must be willing to provide a 5,000 square feet minimum of land for the school farm
  • The school district or independent school board must be willing to sign a minimum 3 year MOU with the farmer
  • The school district or independent school board must have an established meal program with some type of kitchen infrastructure at one or more of the schools
  • The school district or independent school board must commit to providing year-round water access at the approved facilities
  • The farm can be situated in-ground, on gravel, or on pavement
  • The farmer must be permitted to sell produce from the farm to the surrounding community, in addition to a portion of the produce being sold or donated to the school, district or independent school based on an agreement between both parties
  • Districts or independent school board must be willing to explore linkages to the curriculum (Board/Authority Authorized Courses or other course connected to the farm)
  • Must be the first school farm for the school district or independent school board
  • Must be a school district or independent school board (including First Nation Schools) in British Columbia, Canada
  • Having a culinary program at one or more schools is an asset

What can the grant be used for?

  • Fencing 
  • Toolshed/tools (+rental)
  • Irrigation 
  • Compost or soil
  • Seeds
  • Consultant or contractor time
  • Community honorarium (i.e. elders, community partner)
  • Produce process infrastructure (ie. basic wash station)
  • General farming infrastructure and technology

Exclusion Criteria

  • District or independent school board staff relief time or facilities time for major infrastructure (e.g., installation of the fence)
  • Garden upgrades or infrastructure that is not associated with food production
  • Vehicles maintenance or purchasing
  • School district or independent school board already with an established school farm

Important

Before proceeding further, please ensure you have reviewed the following document: 

  1. Letter of Intent – School Farm Grant (for reference). Questions listed in this application form will be asked during the online application. We recommend that you review and complete these questions before starting the online application. 
  2. School Farm Info Sheet (for reference).

Please note that you are able to go back and forth between the application pages by pressing the “back” and “next” button located at the bottom of the screen. However, if you close the window, your progress will not be saved. We encourage you to download and complete all forms before submitting your application online.

Grant Applications Closed

Questions 

For further questions please contact Aaren Topley, prov.managerCYDI@nullphabc.org


Background

The Public Health Association of BC (PHABC) is a voluntary, non-profit, non-government, member-driven organization that provides leadership to promote health, well-being and social equity. PHABC champions Farm to School BC, a healthy eating program for K-12 students with an expanding provincial network, boasting support from dozens of NGO members and supporting 200+ Farm to School BC programs in urban, rural, remote, and Indigenous communities throughout the province. Farm to School BC brings healthy, local and sustainable food into schools and provides students with hands-on learning opportunities that develop food literacy, all while strengthening the local food system and enhancing school and community connectedness.

This project has been inspired by the growing network of school farms across BC. Building the Farm in Farm to School BC – A School Farm Grant has been funded by the McConnell Foundation.