{"id":2831,"date":"2026-08-21T19:43:18","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T19:43:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/?p=2831"},"modified":"2026-08-21T19:43:18","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T19:43:18","slug":"cdfa-accepting-public-comment-for-ca-farm-to-school-incubator-grant-program-request-for-applications","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/cdfa-accepting-public-comment-for-ca-farm-to-school-incubator-grant-program-request-for-applications\/","title":{"rendered":"CDFA accepting public comment for CA Farm to School Incubator Grant Program Request for Applications"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" data-attachment-id=\"2832\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/cdfa-accepting-public-comment-for-ca-farm-to-school-incubator-grant-program-request-for-applications\/08-21-26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/08.21.26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,450\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;alt&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"08.21.26 farm to school public comment small\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/08.21.26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small.png\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/08.21.26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2832\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/08.21.26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small.png 450w, https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/08.21.26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/08.21.26-farm-to-school-public-comment-small-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has released the draft Request for Applications (RFA) for the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program for public comment through 5 p.m., September 11, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">The Budget Acts of 2025 and 2026 provide up to $40 million for this grant cycle. CDFA will set aside up to 10% of awards for tribal governments and tribal-based non-profit organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">Since 2021, the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program has invested $86 million in 375 projects, benefitting 49% of all California public school students. To date, Title I schools make up 80% of incubator grantees and 100% of farmer grantees are small, mid-size, or socially\/economically disadvantaged producers (veterans, women, indigenous, people of color, and limited-resource farm households). Additionally, 100% of funded producers utilize climate smart, organic, or regenerative agricultural practices, providing a stable market for adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">\u201cThis program nourishes students while fostering climate-smart, resilient food systems, benefiting local communities by directly connecting students, educators and farmers,\u201d&nbsp;said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. \u201cWhether they\u2019re in the cafeteria, classroom, or school garden, we\u2019ve seen this program inspire kids to eat what they grow and expand what they know about California food and farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">There are three tracks in this upcoming grant cycle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">Track 1: California Farm to School TK-12 Procurement and Education Grant<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">Track 2: California Farm to School Technical Assistance Subaward Grant<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">Track 3: California Farm to School Producer and Food Hub Grant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">CDFA will hold three Zoom information sessions in English and one in Spanish to provide an overview of the RFA and allow time for questions and public comments. The information sessions are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">August 21, 2026, 4 p.m.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">August 26, 2026, 1 p.m.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">September 2, 2026, 1 p.m., Spanish only<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li style=\"font-size:18px\">September 3, 2026, 10 a.m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">The RFA and registration for the Zoom information sessions may be viewed on CDFA\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdfa.ca.gov\/caf2sgrant\/\">Farm to School Incubator Grant Program webpage<\/a>. Stakeholders may submit comments during the live information sessions or via the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/forms.cloud.microsoft\/Pages\/ResponsePage.aspx?id=UdLfryKil0iMuq5oyr__vEmvra5AOw9GvNvKDOoyC4JUMjBaN1JHSUhFQTVGWDhTTDAzTVFYRVJSTy4u\">public comment submission link<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">CDFA will incorporate stakeholder feedback from the public comment period into the final RFA. The grant application period will open in October 2026, with funding awards planned in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/pressreleases.cdfa.ca.gov\/Home\/PressRelease\/69594486\">Click here<\/a> to view this original CDFA news release. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has released the draft Request for Applications (RFA) for the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program for public comment through 5 p.m., September 11, 2026. The Budget Acts of 2025 and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/2026\/08\/21\/cdfa-accepting-public-comment-for-ca-farm-to-school-incubator-grant-program-request-for-applications\/\"><span class=\"text-nowrap\">Continue reading <i class=\"fa fa-fw fa-caret-right\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[40,12,23],"tags":[276,232,4,73],"class_list":["post-2831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cdfa-farm-to-school-program","category-cdfa-inspection-services-division","category-cdfa-f2f","tag-california-farm-to-school","tag-california-farm-to-school-incubator-grant-program","tag-farm-to-school","tag-food-access"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2831"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2831\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2835,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2831\/revisions\/2835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.cdfa.ca.gov\/CDFAInspectionServicesBlog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}