Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program

Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program

Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program

The Department of Education and Workforce (the Department) is now accepting applications from sponsors of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) to support the development of and pilot the Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program (the Program). The Program is funded through the 2024 Patrick Leahy Farm to School State Agency Grant awarded to the Department by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The objective of the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant, State Agency track, is: 

To improve access to local foods in eligible Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sites through comprehensive farm to school programming that includes local sourcing and agricultural education efforts.

Purpose

The purpose of the program is to educate and prepare children from pre-kindergarten through grade 5 to grow and harvest school grown produce safely while increasing the confidence of school officials that fruits and vegetables grown on site can be safe for consumption, thereby increasing children’s access to school grown foods for both educational and wellness purposes.

The program will adapt the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course, currently used by the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) in their adult Produce Safety Alliance trainings, for preK-5 students. The program will include a Farm to Early Care and Education (ECE) Garden Safety Toolkit, corresponding picture book, Farm to School (K-5th grade) Garden Safety Toolkit, complimentary videos, and a series of farm to school standard operating procedures (SOPs) for bringing produce from the field to cafeterias and classrooms. The program’s toolkits, materials, and videos will provide produce safety lessons on the following six topic areas:

  1. Introduction to Produce Safety
  2. Student Health and Hygiene
  3. Soil
  4. Wildlife
  5. Water
  6. Harvest Handling and Sanitation

Child Nutrition Engagement

To ensure the Program meets the desired goal of increasing school grown foods in child nutrition programs, the Department will select two NSLP sponsors and two CACFP sponsors to help in the development of the Program and to assess the created materials and resources. Selected sponsors, or “piloting organizations,” will each contribute a minimum of two individuals to participate in a Produce Safety Workgroup that will create the Program’s toolkits and materials, ensuring they are appropriate for Ohio’s young gardeners and relevant to child nutrition food service operations. Selected sponsors will then pilot the Program with their students, providing feedback on the results.

Eligible Applicants

Sponsors who wish to apply to pilot the Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program  must meet the following criteria:

  1. Current NSLP or CACFP sponsors in good standing who have operated the NSLP or CACFP for at least one full school year prior to applying. Selected sponsors must remain in good standing during the period of performance to remain eligible for participation.
  2. Applicants must currently operate an edible school garden program. An edible school garden is a garden space where children can learn about and participate in the growing and harvesting of fresh produce that could but is not required to be used in child nutrition programs.  
    1. Applicants must have operated an edible school garden program for at least two full continuous school years prior to applying.
    2. Applicant must plan to have the school garden in operations throughout the grant period.
    3. The school garden program must include the operation of an edible outdoor garden. Fully outdoor spaces and outdoor greenhouses meet this definition.
  3. Applicants must currently employ or contract food service staff, classroom educator(s), and school garden coordinator(s) who manage, maintain, or utilize an edible school garden program. The school garden coordinator position may also be the identified food service staff or classroom educator. A minimum of two staff members are required from each pilot organization to participate in the Produce Safety Workgroup.
  4. NSLP sponsor applicants must operate an elementary school that serves kindergarten through fifth grade students and provide a minimum of 30 elementary students that will receive the pilot program education.
  5. CACFP sponsor applicants must operate an independent or center based childcare program and provide a minimum of 30 children ages three to five years old that will receive the pilot program education. 

Priorities

The Produce Safety for School Gardens Pilot Program will prioritize applications meeting one or more of the following:

  1. Proposed sites serving a high proportion (40% or greater) of students from the following race/ethnicity groups: American Indian or Alaskan Native; Black; Non-Hispanic; Hispanic; Multiracial; and Pacific Islander.
  2. Proposed sites serving a high proportion (50% or greater) of children who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
  3. Proposed sites in rural areas.
  4. Anticipated Produce Safety Workgroup members with Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training.
  5. Proposed sites operating both an edible outdoor garden and edible indoor garden.

Funding

Funding awards range from $5,000 to $10,000. NSLP sponsors will be awarded a maximum of $10,000. CACFP sponsors will be awarded a maximum of $5,000. Applicants must provide a completed Cost Estimate Plan detailing the anticipated costs of all grant-funded purchases in the final grant submission.

A cash match is not required.

Before Applying

Applicants must create either a Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive digital folder in which the following documents will be uploaded:

  • Completed Cost Estimate Plan . This must be uploaded for the application to be considered complete.
  • A signed statement from the school principal and school or district treasurer to verify staff members will not receive dual funding for the same hours worked, if applicable.  
  • Priority area documentation, if applicable. Applicants must not upload students’ personally identifiable information (PII).  

Folders should be titled: "IRN, Produce Safety for School Gardens Training Program, Additional Application Documents" When all documents are uploaded to the folder, verify folder access to Hannah.Hart@education.ohio.gov. The folder web address must be shared in Question 56 and/or 60 of the online application. Once the online application is submitted, the digital folder will be reviewed to ensure Department accessibility. If the Department is unable to access the folder, you will be contacted to fix the issue prior to the submission date. Once verified, an email will be sent to confirm submission. Please keep for your records.  A complete application must be received by Jan. 24, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. ET.  

Applicants must also provide their organization’s Unique Entity ID (UEI) as part of the application.

Timeline

Request for Applications (RFA) Opens: Dec. 4, 2024
Grant Application Webinar: Dec. 18, 2024 from 9 – 10 a.m. Register to attend.
Grant Applications Due: Jan. 24, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. ET
Award Notification and Announcement: March 2025
Grant Term Begins: March 2025
Grant Term Ends: April 30, 2026
 

Last Modified: 12/26/2024 2:02:09 PM