department of agriculture


*For Immediate Release*




*Media Contact: *Nikki Warner

651-238-7909

[email protected]




April 30, 2025

Previous Announcements [ [link removed] ]





________________________________________________________________________



MDA Invests Over $1 Million to Bring More Local Food to Children Across Minnesota

New cost-share extends Farm to School impact to home-based child care

*St. Paul, MN* - The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has awarded more than $1 million in grants to schools and early care providers through its Farm to School and Early Care Grants [ [link removed] ] program. This funding supports the purchase of Minnesota-grown and -raised foods, creating market opportunities for local farmers and improving the quality of school and early care meals across the state.

“When schools and early cares serve local food, everyone benefits – our farmers, our kids, our communities, and our economy,” said MDA Commissioner Thom Petersen. “We are proud to help schools and early care providers incorporate more local food into their meals. Minnesota kids deserve the best, and Minnesota farms can provide the best.”

New for 2025, the MDA awarded $97,000 to 194 family childcare providers through its Local Tots Cost-Share program [ [link removed] ]. Each provider received a $500 award through this non-competitive cost-share program to help serve more local foods as part of their meal and snack programs. This marks the first year of the program, launched as the MDA expands Farm to School and Early Care efforts to support more children across the state.

The MDA also awarded $948,096 in Farm to School and Early Care grants to 63 school districts and nine early childhood education (ECE) centers across the state in this round. Recipients received one of two grants to purchase whole unprocessed or minimally processed foods that are at least 80% grown or raised in Minnesota.


* *First Bite Farm to School and Early Care Grant: *For school districts and ECE centers new to local purchasing and looking to start small.
* *Full Tray Farm to School and Early Care Grant: *For school districts and ECE centers with some Farm to School or Farm to Early Care experience who are ready to take on larger projects. Applicants for Full Tray grants are required to provide a 1:1 match on all funds awarded.

Grant awards ranged from $2,500 to $35,000 and will support $866,089 in local food purchases. Applicants could also apply for additional funding to purchase equipment that supports their local sourcing efforts, equipment funding also requires a 1:1 match. A total of $82,007 was awarded to 12 schools and ECE centers for items ranging from flat top grills and refrigeration units to tilt skillets and food processors. These tools help improve food safety and make scratch cooking with local foods more accessible and efficient.

A full list of recipients and award amounts for the First Bite and Full Tray grants can be found below. See the full list of awardees for the Local Tots Cost-Share program on the Local Tots Cost-Share Past Projects [ [link removed] ] webpage.

Funding for these programs is made available through the MDA’s Agricultural Growth, Research, and Innovation (AGRI) program [ [link removed] ], which administers grants to farmers, agribusinesses, schools, and more throughout the state of Minnesota. The AGRI Program exists to advance Minnesota’s agricultural and renewable energy sectors.

Farm to School and Early Care Grant Recipients

First Bite Grants

*FY25 First Bite Grantee*



*City*



*Type of Grantee*



*First Bite Award*



*Equipment Award*



*Total Award*



Agape Child Development Center



Minneapolis



ECE



$5,000.00



$4,750.00



$9,750.00



Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley Public Schools, ISD 2888



Clinton



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



East Grand Forks Public Schools, ISD 595



East Grand Forks



School



$5,000.00



$715.00



$5,715.00



Eureka Kids



Rochester



ECE



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Great Expectations School



Grand Marais



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Hawley Public Schools, ISD 150



Hawley



School



$2,500.00



$3,240.00



$5,740.00



Hill City Public Schools, ISD 2



Hill City



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Kelliher Public Schools, ISD 36



Kelliher



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Kingsland Public Schools, ISD 2137



Spring Valley



School



$5,000.00



$12,000.00



$17,000.00



Kootasca Community Action (Kootasca Head Start)



Grand Rapids



ECE



$5,000.00



$1,386.50



$6,386.50



Lakeville Area Schools, ISD 194



Lakeville



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Los Amiguitos De River Heights



Inver Grove Heights



ECE



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Menahga Public Schools, ISD 821



Menahga



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Northfield Montessori



Northfield



ECE



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Olu's Beginnings



Minneapolis



ECE



$2,500.00



$10,310.81



$12,810.81



Ortonville Public Schools, ISD 2903



Ortonville



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



St. Michael's School



Mahnomen



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Stillwater Area Public Schools, ISD 834



Stillwater



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Underwood School District, ISD 550



Underwood



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



West Central Minnesota Communities Action (Perham Head Start)



Elbow Lake



ECE



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Yinghua Academy



Minneapolis



School



$5,000.00



$2,500.00



$7,500.00



 

Full Tray Grants

*FY25 Full Tray Grantee *



*City*



*Type of Grantee*



*Full Tray Award*



*Equipment Award*



*Total Award*



Aitkin Public Schools, ISD 1



Aitkin



School



$20,000.00



 



$20,000.00



Alexandria Public Schools, ISD 206



Alexandria



School



$25,000.00



 



$25,000.00



Aurora Waasakone Community of Learners



Bemidji



School



$4,816.80



 



$4,816.80



Becker Public Schools, ISD 726



Becker



School



$30,000.00



$12,500.00



$42,500.00



Bloomington Public Schools, ISD 271



Bloomington



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Brooklyn Center Community Schools, ISD 286



Brooklyn Center



School



$25,000.00



 



$25,000.00



Butterfield-Odin Public Schools, ISD 836



Butterfield



School



$6,062.40



 



$6,062.40



Cannon Falls Area Schools, ISD 252



Cannon Falls



School



$23,918.40



 



$23,918.40



Crosby-Ironton Public Schools, ISD 182



Crosby



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Crosslake Community School



Crosslake



School



$4,212.00



 



$4,212.00



Dassel-Cokato Public Schools, ISD 466



Cokato



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Deer River Public Schools, ISD 317



Deer River



School



$20,000.00



 



$20,000.00



Detroit Lakes Schools, ISD 22



Detroit Lakes



School



$25,000.00



 



$25,000.00



Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Public Schools, ISD 2164



Dilworth



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



East Range Academy of Technology and Sciences (ERATS)



Mountain Iron



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Foley Public Schools, ISD 51



Foley



School



$20,000.00



$10,000.00



$30,000.00



Fond du Lac Ojibwe School



Cloque



School



$4,386.00



 



$4,386.00



Greenway Public Schools, ISD 316



Coleraine



School



$3,750.00



 



$3,750.00



Holy Trinity Catholic School, Pierz



Pierz



School



$3,487.50



 



$3,487.50



Holy Trinity Catholic School, South Saint Paul



South Saint Paul



School



$2,500.00



 

 



$2,500.00



Hopkins Public Schools, ISD 270



Hopkins



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Hutchinson Public Schools, ISD 423



Hutchinson



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Immanuel Lutheran School



Gaylord



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Jordan Public Schools, ISD 717



Jordan



School



$7,500.00



 



$7,500.00



Lake City Public Schools



Lake City



School



$15,000.00



 



$15,000.00



Litchfield Public Schools, ISD 465



Litchfield



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Mesabi East Schools, ISD 2711



Aurora



School



$11,650.00



 



$11,650.00



Minneapolis Public Schools, SSD 1



Minneapolis



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Schools, ISD 2168



New Richland



School



$21,000.00



 



$21,000.00



New Ulm Area Catholic School



New Ulm



School



$8,142.00



 



$8,142.00



Nisse Treehouse



Mabel



ECE



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Pine City Public Schools, ISD 578



Pine City



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Pine Island Public Schools, ISD 255



Pine Island



School



$5,000.00



 



$5,000.00



Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, ISD 719



Prior Lake



School



$30,000.00



$10,000.00



$40,000.00



Riverway Learning Community



Winona



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



Robbinsdale Area Schools, ISD 281



New Hope



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan, ISD 196



Rosemount



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Saint Charles Public Schools, ISD 858



Saint Charles



School



$25,418.00



 



$25,418.00



Saint Croix Prep Academy



Stillwater



School



$15,000.00



 



$15,000.00



Saint Paul Public Schools, ISD 625



Saint Paul



School



$30,000.00



$9,894.00



$39,894.00



Saint Wenceslaus Catholic School



New Prague



School



$7,500.00



 



$7,500.00



Sartell-St. Stephen, ISD 748



Sartell



School



$10,000.00



 



$10,000.00



Schoolcraft Learning Community



Bemidji



School



$4,600.00



 



$4,600.00



Stare Academy



Baxter



School



$2,500.00



 



$2,500.00



The Journey School



Saint Paul



School



$5,132.40



 



$5,132.40



United South Central Public Schools, ISD 2134



Wells



School



$15,000.00



 



$15,000.00



Vermilion Country School



Tower



School



$2,500.00



$1,521.97



$4,021.97



Wayzata Cafes, ISD 284



Plymouth



School



$30,000.00



 



$30,000.00



Winona Area Public Schools, ISD 861



Winona



School



$12,500.00



 



$12,500.00



YMCA of the North, Early Childcare Centers (7 sites)



Minneapolis



ECE



$6,000.00



 



$6,000.00



Zumbrota-Mazeppa Public Schools, ISD 2805



Zumbrota



School



$13,513.00



$13,500.00



$27,013.00



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