Two districts and a foundation win USDA Farm to School grants

Two Colorado school districts and a Denver-based foundation each won grants of nearly $100,000 this week from the United States Department of Agriculture to support farm-to-school efforts. The three grantees were among 71 in 42 states and the District of Columbia to get Farm to School grants for fiscal year 2014.

The Colorado grant recipients include the Durango and Boulder Valley school districts, and the Colorado Foundation for Public Health and the Environment.

In Durango, the money will be used to repurpose district space to create an “aggregation center” that will allow larger purchases of local foods for the Durango district as well as four nearby districts. In Boulder, the money will be used for an intensive marketing and education program intended to increase consumption of local produce in school meals by 20 percent.

The Colorado Foundation for Public Health and the Environment will use its grant to help school districts evaluate their farm-to-school program by distributing an evaluation toolkit through webinars and in-person trainings, as well as by providing technical assistance to up to 25 districts.