Public Health Association of BC

 

Prepare to Apply

F2SBC Grant Application Guide

Jump to: How to Apply | Eligibility | School Admin Support | Selection Process | F2SBC Support | Resources | Appendix

 

Key Grant Information

Submission Deadline: Friday, November 22nd, at 11:59 pm PST
Estimated Time for Application: 15 – 30 minutes
Grant Information Session: Wednesday, October 23rd, 3:30 – 4:30 pm (View Recording)
Successful Grantees notified by: Late December 2024
Funds arrive: January 2025
Final report due: January 2026 (additional reporting details below)

Amount: Up to $1,000 of funding
Approximately 40 Grants will be awarded with 50% dedicated to rural, remote and First Nations schools.

  • Rural schools: communities with a population of less than 20,000.
  • Remote schools: communities with a population of less than 1,000
  • First Nations school: school located on-reserve and operated and administered by one or more First Nations in BC.

 

How to Apply

You may apply for a maximum of $1,000 to invest in your Farm to School BC project. To make our application process more accessible, we are offering the following options:

1) Online Application Form

Submit your application via the online form here on our website. We suggest you prepare your responses before starting to complete the form. Review the reference form here: Download here. 

CLOSED

2) Schedule a Call (Deadline: November 8)

New this year, you can schedule a call (phone or Zoom). Rather than filling out a form you will have a casual conversation with one of our Grants Coordinators to discuss your project plan. Contact the Grants Coordinator by November 8th to schedule a time to meet at grants@nullfarmtoschoolbc.ca.

CLOSED 

3) Submit a Video

New this year, you can upload a pre-recorded video explaining your project plan. We have developed a video submission guide to direct you in preparing this application. 

CLOSED 

 

Eligibility Criteria and Considerations

  • Must be a K-12 school located in British Columbia.
    • Definition of K-12 school can be found in the appendix below.
  • Cannot have received a Farm to School BC grant in the past year (2023-2024 grant cycle).
  • If your school has received a Farm to School BC grant in the past, you must have completed the final report before applying.
  • Must be a project that fits within the scope of Farm to School BC’s mission, Vision and Goals. Learn more about these on our About Page.

 

School Administration Support

We request all applicants obtain approval from their school district (SD), school maintenance and/or school administration for planned projects, before applying for Farm to School BC funding. Without prior approval, schools may encounter unforeseen barriers to project implementation with specific consideration given to:

  • Districts or schools may have policies or specifications regarding school gardens implementation such as materials used, location of garden, upgrades, or additions on school property.
  • Some school districts in BC do not permit schools to receive any type of grant funding without prior district approval.
  • Some districts do not allow fruit trees and/or composting on school property.
  • Consider working with maintenance staff to determine water and power access and usage needed to maintain the project.
  • Location of project considers snow removal and safety considerations.

 

How Applications Will Be Selected

To support farm to school projects across the province, we aim to equitably distribute funds across the province. Equity considerations include:

  1. Distributing grants geographically based on Health Authority regions
  2. Dedicating 50% of our grants to projects at First Nations, Rural or Remote schools
  3. Dedicating 25% of our grants for schools that have never before received F2SBC funding
  4. Having open eligibility for 25% of our grants, accessible to all K-12 schools in BC (see eligible K-12 school definition in appendix)
  5. When reviewing applications, a randomized Selection process is applied within each applicant pool 1-4 listed above

 

Farm to School BC Support: Funded Projects

What to Expect

Our program aims to work with each school funded to identify opportunities for our program and/or Regional Coordinators to support the unique needs of your school project. Schools that receive funding can expect the following engagement:

  • Connecting with a Farm to School BC Regional Coordinator to discuss your project and arrange a site-visit and/or virtual meeting 
  • Attending a virtual New Grantee gathering, facilitated by our Grants Coordinator, to provide an opportunity for New Grantees to network, ask questions and inspire one another
  • Filling out your project report, with support from the Farm to School BC Grants Coordinator as needed

Reporting

We are currently working to develop thoughtful reporting that both reduces the time demanded of grantees and enhances the accessibility of use. Since we fund a wide variety of projects with differing timelines, grantees will be able to edit, update, and submit their reporting requirements anytime they are ready, up until the final submission date in January of 2026.

Access to a reporting document with instructions will be sent to grantees once they are awarded funding, which will include capturing the story of your project, selecting how your project impacted your school and ways you feel our F2SBC program can continue to best support farm to school projects in BC.

Grant recipients will have access to an individual online reporting folder to:

  • access grant information and supplementary materials
  • store photos
  • save any ongoing project updates

 

Resources To Support Your Application

As you plan your project and application, you may want to consult the following F2SBC resources and references. Included here are links to details about our current grant cycle, examples of past funded projects, and further resources about farm to school projects, programs, and education materials.

 

Appendix

  • Farm to School BC:
    • Farm to School BC is a provincial program of the Public Health Association of BC
  • farm to school:
    • farm to school is broadly defined as a school-based program that connects schools (K-12) and food systems
    • For a more detailed description of farm to school as a school based program please visit Farm To Cafeteria’s What is Farm to School
  • First Nations school: refers to a school located on-reserve and operated and administered by one or more First Nations in BC.
  • K-12 School: All K-12 schools within a school district of BC or any BC independent schools as certified and defined by the BC Ministry of Education
  • Rural schools: are defined as communities with a population of less than 20,000.
  • Remote schools: are defined as communities with a population of less than 1,000.