FY2025 MA FRESH and MA FRESH CORP Awardees

FY2025 MA FRESH CORP Awardees

Acton-Boxborough Public Schools | $28,961.00 ($69,911.00 FY26)
Acton, MA

The Acton Boxborough Food and Nutrition Department will support local, scratch-cooked menus through recipe development, staff training, and student- and community-based outreach development. Culinary specialists will be utilized within the department to champion sustainable changes to benefit students, staff, and the community.

Boston Public Schools | $48,316.00 ($85,500.00 FY26)
Boston, MA

Boston Public Schools (BPS) Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) will establish a new full-time Farm to School Manager position. The incumbent will establish and implement a strategy to build, manage, and execute relationships with local farmers, schools and food service providers to increase the procurement and serving of fresh, locally sourced foods for school meals. The Farm to School Manager will promote healthy eating habits and support sustainable food systems within the community. The incumbent will build the educational bridge between school meals/local, sustainable food/nutrition and academic learning. The Farm to School Manager will collaborate to provide equitable access to nutritious school food for all students.

Bristol County Agricultural Public School District | $35,420.00 ($85,500.00 FY26)
Dighton, MA

Bristol County Agricultural High School (Bristol Aggie) will launch a foundational phase of its local food systems initiative by leveraging the internal knowledge and expertise of faculty and staff. This phase will prioritize strategic planning and with a focus on curriculum development, logistical coordination, and program establishment. Building on previous efforts such as the Northeast Food for Schools Grant and ongoing farm-to-table programs, this initiative will enhance student engagement in food literacy and expand our capacity to integrate sustainable food systems into our academic and operational framework.

Chicopee Public Schools | $16,620.00 ($55,825.00 FY26)
Chicopee, MA

Funds will be used to add a full-time Garden Educator to our district's Farm to School team. Working alongside our district's Farm to School Coordinator, this employee will design and teach garden education for 2,800 elementary school students at 9 schools. Additional funds will be used to pay for professional development opportunities for our Garden Educator and existing district staff to ensure the continuation of our initiatives and curriculum after the grant period ends.

Collaborative for Regional Educational Service and Training | $14,950.00 ($14,203.00 FY26)
Andover, MA

Farm Fresh to CREST's Culinary is driven by CREST educational collaborative's mission, "elevating every learner together" and dedicated to the goal of serving new healthy school menus with a multitude of fresh produce and protein farmed locally in the Merrimack Valley, while optimizing current Massachusetts FRESH CORP resources and educational partnerships. In addition, CREST's students, families, teachers, and food service partners will also be immersed in increased food literacy activities with the goal of increasing farm to table knowledge in all K–12 classrooms.

Crispus Attucks Children's Center | $17,600.00 ($33,560.00 FY26)
Dorchester, MA

CACC will work with a consultant to support local food system educational activities for the nearly 200 children and their families who are a part of its early childhood education center in Dorchester. This includes optimizing growing and teaching potential with children and teachers in raised bed gardens and a beautiful new greenhouse, providing professional development for teachers on food and nutrition, providing workshops for families on growing vegetables and fruits, and providing input on how we incorporate the produce we grow into the meals the center provides.

Frontier Regional School District | $27,372.00 ($75,509.00 FY26)
Deerfield, MA

Frontier Regional Union 38 School Districts (FRSU38) will hire three part-time staff members to work collaboratively with the existing Farm to School Team, including the Food Service Director, to create a districtwide Farm to School Program — integrating Classroom, Cafeteria and Community. This grant will also provide funding for seven current staff members to become leaders in the Farm to School Program at their schools. All the members of the Farm to School Team will engage community partners — including local farms and businesses, caregivers, teachers, and administrators — in a process that reflects the diversity of our community and celebrates its agricultural roots.

Gloucester Public Schools | $16,075.00 ($14,716.00 FY26)
Gloucester, MA

Gloucester Public Schools will work in partnership with the non-profit Backyard Growers to expand our Harvest of the Month taste tests to include preschool and middle school students. We currently host our taste testing at four elementary schools. In addition, preschool students will take part in two additional school garden learning experiences per year, offering four total touchpoints in the garden per year. Lastly, Backyard Growers will offer educators garden guides on ways to infuse seasonal use of the garden into classroom learning.

MetroWest YMCA | $15,023.00 ($42,817.00 FY26)
Framingham, MA

Funding from MA FRESH CORP will increase our part-time Farm to School Director to full-time. This will allow us to enhance the impact of our work across classrooms, cafeterias, and communities while also building new year-round relationships with additional farms and local food sources.

Nauset Public Schools | $17,700.00 ($55,153.00 FY26)
Nauset, MA

Nauset aims to establish a Farm to School (FTS) Program Coordinator position to enhance local food procurement, integrate farm-based education, and manage district farming systems in alignment with cafeteria needs. The coordinator will oversee 3 school gardens, our greenhouse, and district's hydroponic units to ensure year-round food production while fostering hands-on learning opportunities for students. Additionally, they will collaborate with local farmers, provide professional development for staff, and align menus with locally sourced foods to promote sustainability and enrich the school community. This role will strengthen connections between local agriculture and education while supporting healthier, more sustainable school meal programs.

Northampton Public Schools | $15,125.00 ($45,885.00 FY26)
Northampton, MA

The Freshampton Farm to School program at Northampton Public Schools has been around in various forms of the 3 C's (Cafeteria, Classroom, and Community) for more than 15 years. However, the programming needs to be better aligned and sustainable for the long-term. Additionally, there is a disconnect among parents and other community members around Farm to School programming, cafeteria services and the hard work the cafeteria team does to improve school meals. So, we are starting the Freshampton Collaborative, with the goal of strategically planning, refining, creating, and coordinating programs that are more cohesive and sustainable, in addition to promoting these programs so that the community is fully aware and proud of this work.

Robbins Children's Programs, Inc | $26,591.00 ($60,499.00 FY26)
Attleboro, MA

Robbins will utilize three of their School Age Educators to implement a taste testing experience for children and families in the Preschool Program. Funds will also be used to fund stipends to support staff with project activities and the implementation of a Garden Club. Robbins will also be taking Preschool children on field trips to a local pick-your-own farm so they can experience a variety of fruits and vegetables when they are in season, as well as collaborating with Mass Audubon to provide professional development to Preschool Educators about gardening.

Salem Public Schools | $44,039.00 ($84,845.00 FY26)
Salem, MA

Salem Public Schools (SPS) will work with a Farm to School (FTS) consultant team to integrate FTS, food literacy, and school garden education into Pre-K, elementary and middle school classrooms and Out of School Time (OST) programs. The FTS consultants will work with the SPS Academics Department to identify FTS Coaches at each school to lead this work and provide professional development to other educators. The consultants will also work with SPS on the creation of a School Garden Master Plan to ensure gardens are used equitably and consistently, and a communications strategy to include FTS information in weekly school newsletters, social media, and special events. Salem Public Schools is eager to connect and systematize our farm-to-school work with this grant opportunity to ensure that all students in the Salem Public Schools district have equitable access to school gardens, and food literacy education.

Watertown Public Schools | $26,200.00 ($82,946.00 FY26)
Watertown, MA

This grant will fund a part-time Freight Farm teacher position and expand a part-time garden coordinator role to a full-time position to enhance food literacy and local food system education from a K–8 model to K–12. The grant will also fund supplies and professional development activities related to the Freight Farm and school gardens. The project will support existing Farm to School programming while playing an integral role in expanding these initiatives as we operationalize our newly purchased Freight Farm at our high school. By integrating experiential, culturally sustaining learning opportunities into classrooms, cafeterias, and the broader school community, this initiative will strengthen connections between students, their local food systems, and nutrition education. These roles will ensure the sustainability of programs that align with the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Child Adult Food Care Program (CACFP).

FY2025 MA FRESH Awardees

Billerica Public Schools | $16,668.00
Billerica, MA

The Billerica School Farm project seeks to develop a long-term system to grow nutritious and local food in order to provide additional healthy food options to the Billerica community. By increasing growing capacity through investment in alternative methods (hydroponics, indoor grow lights), a robust curriculum can be created that allows students of all ages and backgrounds to cultivate food year-round. The inclusion of an indoor garden will allow students to overcome the challenges of a shorter New England growing season and the impacts of climate change. It will also allow students the opportunity to learn about sustainability, nutrient cycling, soil science, and vertical gardening. The project will develop a sense of community around food cultivation as students engage with a broad range of community stakeholders.

Boston Public Schools | $30,000.00
Boston, MA

Boston Public Schools Food and Nutrition Services will develop a sustainable procurement channel for local food grown by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) farmers, supported by development of an educational component for students at point of sale. This project would encompass a) networking to identify New England BIPOC farmers; b) an exploration of the opportunities and impediments for BIPOC farmers to conduct business with Boston schools and schools, generally; c) finding solutions to overcome challenges, and d) initiating long-term, respectful procurement relationships.

Brockton Day Nursery, Inc | $30,000.00
Brockton, MA

Brockton Day Nursery's project is an engaging, interactive and fun, opportunity for children to learn about how and where our food comes from. Children will learn how certain foods are better than others for our bodies and growth, all while supporting the cultural diversity of our community. The complementing curriculum will be taught in multiple languages and highlight foods that are ethnically diverse.

Brockton Public Schools | $20,000.00
Brockton, MA

Brockton Public Schools' project aims to establish an indoor mushroom farm to promote mushroom cultivation and education within the school community. This initiative will allow Brockton to grow a variety of mushrooms such as oyster, pink oyster, maitake (hen of the woods), shiitake, snow white, and more. In addition to providing educational opportunities, the farm will also serve as a platform for community engagement through tasting sessions, lunch and learns, and special events.

Chicopee Public Schools | $1,985.00
Chicopee, MA

Chicopee Public Schools would like to connect our existing farm to school activities with more productive school gardens and greater student knowledge about Massachusetts-grown products. We will install school garden irrigation systems at four existing garden spaces to more efficiently and consistently water gardens during the school year and summer months. To further encourage garden learning and engagement, we will hold a district-wide Harvest of the Month Trading Card Design Contest and print custom, informative trading cards to be distributed during taste tests and garden planting and harvest events.

Communities United, Inc. | $21,112.00
Lexington, MA

Feeding Hungry Minds will introduce the families in our program to their local food community. We will do this by providing children with the opportunity to taste test locally grown fruits and vegetables, planning field trips to a farm to see how food is grown, and incorporating farm to early education curriculum. Our staff will feel confident in implementing this through our partnership with Mass Audubon who will be providing over 5 hours of farm to early childhood education professional development training. Through these new initiatives, we hope to help our families feel more connected to their community and incorporate locally grown food into their own unique cultures.

Community Action, Inc | $28,053.00
Haverhill, MA

Community Action, Inc (CAI) is committed to addressing the food and nutrition needs of our community in innovative ways. This grant will enable CAI to offer food and nutrition programming for Head Start children, focusing on cooking, gardening, and other topics that support access to farm fresh foods. We have an integrated approach to the project — supporting professional development for Head Start staff; encouraging experiential learning in the classroom; and offering opportunities for families to deepen the connection in fun and engaging ways at home.

Dennis-Yarmouth Public Schools | $26,870.00
Yarmouth, MA

The Dennis-Yarmouth High School Farm Initiative is a transformative project designed to cultivate sustainable agriculture, promote inclusivity for our diverse student body, and foster healthy lifestyles through hands-on learning opportunities. This initiative aims to establish a community farm and indoor hydroponics system that offers cooking classes, engages students with disabilities, provides fresh produce to local food pantries, and practices environmentally responsible farming. Students will also have opportunities to visit organic farms, engage with Master Gardeners, and learn how to cook healthy recipes. By integrating education, culinary arts, sustainability, and community support, the project seeks to empower individuals of all abilities while addressing critical food access and environmental concerns.

East End House | $29,214.00
Cambridge, MA

SproutEd, an initiative of East End House, aims to deepen the connection between young children and fresh, local foods through the creation of an on-site garden. In partnership with Green City Growers, we will integrate gardening into the curriculum of our early education program for toddlers and preschoolers. This garden will become a living classroom, offering hands-on learning experiences that ignite curiosity and enthusiasm for sustainable food practices and healthy eating. By immersing our youngest learners in this dynamic environment, we strive to cultivate a lifelong passion for nutritious eating and environmental stewardship, laying the foundation for healthier communities in the future.

Gill-Montague Regional School District | $27,540.00
Gill, MA

The Gill-Montague Regional School District is using the FRESH funds to expand an existing Farm-to-School program at Gill Elementary by providing opportunities for students to plant vegetables throughout the year through hydroponics and a small greenhouse. The funds are also being used to build a new program at Sheffield Elementary including a raised bed garden and hydroponic system for their school. Sheffield is also experimenting with the use of a worm compost system as a part of their gardening endeavors. The funds are also being used to provide stipends to educators at both schools to create lessons and extensions to established curriculum in order to support farm-to-school programming.

Hatfield Public Schools | $3,848.00
Hatfield, MA

FRESH HES will help Hatfield Elementary School students build awareness of the connections among sustainable farming practices, climate change, and health promotion through a partnership with Prospect Meadow Farm. This will be achieved with student-led taste testing events featuring locally-sourced produce from this partnership, followed by farm-led tours.

Leominster Public Schools | $10,565.00
Leominster, MA

Grow, Prepare and Eat Local at Leominster High School is a collaboration between the Culinary Arts students, Life Skills students, staff, our food service management company, Chartwells, Wellness Committee, Professional Development Committee and local partners. The goals are to introduce gardening, focusing on indoor gardening, using aeroponics and greenhouse techniques; introduce recipe development using fresh, local produce; broaden the student and school community's food knowledge and experience; and provide food literacy topics that are in alignment with DESE's Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Framework.

Lowell Public Schools | $30,000.00
Lowell, MA

The Lowell Public Schools' Food is fun! program teaches students about our local food system by collaborating with community partner, Mill City Grows. Students engage in hands on learning in their school gardens and learn about healthy eating by incorporating their harvests into their school cafeteria menus.

Merrimack Valley Men's Christian Association, Inc | $20,785.00
Lawrence, MA

Merrimack Valley YMCA's FRESH project will provide opportunities for preschool youth to learn about where their food comes from and the food chain through hands on activities and experiences. FRESH educators will be trained in farm to school education through Mass Audubon's SEEDS program to help develop youth's food literacy and interactions with local farms. We will also provide educators with Dr. Yum curriculum to better support their curriculum development and help to educate youth on the importance of healthy food and where it comes from. Students will grow their own vegetables and herbs in their classroom gardens. Parents will be engaged with programming focusing on picky eaters, the importance of healthy breakfasts and lessons on healthy meal preparation.

New Bedford Public Schools | $28,054.00
New Bedford, MA

"New Bedford Eats Using Hydroponics" looks to embrace students in the elements of hydroponics and how hydroponics are used in the growing of produce. The indoor growing of lettuce as well as several herbs and other produce will be an educational experience for students at the elementary and high school levels. Harvested products can be incorporated into the school menu and meal preparation in these schools.

North Middlesex Public Schools | $6,550.00
Townsend, MA

The North Middlesex Regional School District will grow its current community garden and gardening club to increase awareness and education about the health benefits of fresh vegetables. Through grant funding, the district will upgrade the community garden currently located at the high school, increase the students' access/exposure to fresh vegetables grown locally at school and in the community, and leverage high school students to be stewards of food literacy within their building and with students in the elementary and middle schools.

Orange Public Schools | $6,710.00
Orange, MA

Fisher Hill Elementary School will link a farm field trip for Grades 1 & 2 to their social studies curriculum, specifically "Topic 4. Economics: resources and choices" of the Massachusetts' Social Studies Curriculum Framework in which students should "explain the relationship between natural resources and industries and jobs in a particular location (farming & trading)." Additionally, the school will have a speaker from Seeds of Solidity come to share a presentation as well as conduct a MA Farm to School curriculum lesson.

Oxford Public Schools | $2,950.00
Oxford, MA

Oxford's project integrates agricultural education with school food service, helping students understand food systems. Through growing crops in a campus greenhouse and studying soil health, students contribute fresh produce to the school meal program. The project also explores the link between agriculture, health, and sustainable food sourcing, encouraging students to take ownership of the food they grow and connecting the classroom to the cafeteria.

People Incorporated | $22,871.00
Fall River, MA

The People Incorporated Early Education Roots of Friendship Project will focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) for preschoolers and will prioritize hands-on, interactive learning that helps children discover concepts through play and exploration. By engaging young children in activities that demonstrate the connections between food, nutrition, community, and the natural world, educators will make these concepts both fun and meaningful. Children will explore locally sourced organic produce, meet farmers from the community, and learn about the magic and science of growing food in their classrooms and their new outdoor organic gardens.

Provincetown Public Schools | $8,000.00
Provincetown, MA

The goal of Provincetown IB Schools' Expansion of Edible Gardens: Native Fruits project is to develop our current food program gardens with the design and installation of a new orchard area containing native apple & pear trees, and a native fruits garden containing blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, elderberry and beach plum. Expansion of our current school gardens allows us to include new native food resources in our current farm-to-school program and enhance our food system education, including local food webs, nutrition, and global issues of food insecurity. Expansion of our gardens will increase our resource output and support the contribution of grown food to our school kitchen and community food pantry.

South Shore YMCA | $21,648.00
Quincy, MA

As South Shore YMCA expands its Hanover Family Farm by 8,000 square feet, we are building new breakout education areas dedicated to supporting our preschoolers, our preschool teachers and other teachers in southeastern Massachusetts. These new spaces will be designed for small group gatherings (classroom groups, for our early learning center) that will include farm-to-school professional development programs for our 90 or so preschool teachers, our afterschool, and summer camp staff, as well as teachers from around the region from other districts/programs.

Taunton Public Schools | $29,985.00
Taunton, MA

Taunton Public Schools' project unites students with moderate to severe disabilities and other at-promise high school students in a state-of-the-art hydroponics lab, where they will grow fresh produce for the Tiger Den, our student-run restaurant, a school cafeteria taste-test, and for local families. Through hands-on sustainable agriculture practices in partnership with local farmers, students not only learn about sustainability and the green economy but also take control of the growing, packaging, and marketing processes. Students will then make PSAs to share their learning journey and show the entire district just how exciting and impactful sustainable farming can be!

Westford Public Schools | $16,600.00
Westford, MA

Norman E. Day Elementary School will bring our students' vision of a more inclusive school nutrition program to reality. We will expand our long-standing recreational school garden program and enable students to cultivate a variety of ethnically significant vegetables that honor their heritage. Students will collaborate with school nutrition professionals to work those crops into fresh new options that will be served on the lunch line. These new offerings will mirror our growing Indian, Asian, African, and Hispanic student body, while also providing a window for all to celebrate diversity through food.

Whitman-Hanson Public Schools | $30,000.00
Whitman, MA

"Hydroponics, Culinary Class, School Gardens: Oh My!" is an engaging program designed for students to explore the intersection of innovative gardening techniques and culinary arts. Participants will learn about hydroponics, cultivate their own school garden, and develop hands-on cooking skills, all while discovering the importance of sustainable practices and healthy eating. Through interactive lessons and activities, students will gain a deeper appreciation for where their food comes from and how to prepare delicious meals from fresh, home and locally grown ingredients.

Worcester Public Schools | $30,000.00
Worcester, MA

Worcester Public Schools' Head Start program will implement a Spring Harvest farm-to-school unit, culminating in a field trip for 26 classrooms to a local farm. This hands-on experience will be complemented by books, classroom and home activities, and cooking experiences centered around locally grown spring produce. The goal is to provide an immersive educational experience that enhances learning through nature exploration, literacy, and hands-on cooking projects.

Last Updated: January 20, 2026