Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2027: MA Farming Reinforces Education and Student Health (FRESH)

Fund Code: 0710

Purpose:

The purpose of this state funded competitive grant program is to encourage National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and Child Adult Food Care Program (CACFP) sponsors to start or expand their capacity to grow or procure local food and educate students, teachers, school nutrition professionals and staff about the local food system. Furthermore, this grant seeks to connect food system education to the availability of local foods served in school or early education meal programs through strategic planning and investment in internal staff positions and/or external partnerships.

Priorities:

Competitive priority will be given to schools and early education programs with high percentages of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch as well as to schools and early education programs that promote geographic diversity.

Additional competitive priority will be given to districts and schools in chronically underperforming status as well as to applicants that have not received MA FRESH or MA FRESH CORP grant funding in the last two fiscal grant cycles — FY25 and FY26.

Eligibility:

Eligible MA FRESH applicants include licensed early education programs and Sponsoring Organizations of Family Day Care providers that provide meals through CACFP and provide programming to children birth to age five years old, as well as schools or school districts that offer meals through NSLP that serve students anywhere between Pre-Kindergarten and 12th grade. Applicants that have received MA FRESH or MA FRESH CORP grant funding in the past are eligible to apply, however, current and former MA FRESH CORP awardees are ineligible to apply for the MA FRESH CORP Planning Grant Track of this RFP.

Family Day Care providers participating in CACFP are not directly eligible for MA FRESH. Only Sponsoring Organizations are eligible to apply on behalf of a Family Day Care or a collection of Family Day Cares.

Only one application will be considered per Child Nutrition Program sponsor. Sponsors of both the NSLP and CACFP may only submit one application for consideration.

If an organization would like to apply to become a sponsor of NSLP or CACFP email Nutrition@doe.mass.edu . For more information on the Department of Early Education and Care's Child Care Program licensing, visit Child Care Program Licensing .

The impact of grant activities must be associated with the location where NSLP/CACFP meals are served. Eligibility to receive MA FRESH funds is contingent on the applicant's good standing within the Office for Food and Nutrition Programs, including former responsible stewardship of Office for Food and Nutrition Programs grant funding.

Information about your NSLP/CACFP program required for application completion should be obtained from the Food Service Director, Program Operator, ESE Liaison or Business Manager.

Funding Type:

State Line Item 7010-1192, pending state appropriation

The receipt of grant funds is contingent upon the grantee being able to certify that it will comply with the Massachusetts General Laws, including G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

Funding:

Approximately $400,000 is available.

Applicant proposals must be submitted in one of the following categories. Only one application will be accepted per Child Nutrition Program sponsor. Sponsors of both the NSLP and CACFP may only submit one application for consideration.

Applicants may apply for funding between $3,000 and $40,000 in one of the five following categories:

  • New* K–12 Farm to School Initiative Grants
  • New* Farm to Early Education Initiative Grants

* 'New" farm to school/early education initiatives engage in none or only one of the farm to school three "C's": Classroom (such as curriculum and school garden engagement), Cafeteria (such as local menu offerings) and Community (such as farm field trips or non-profit food system partnerships). Applicants that have been dormant in all farm to school activities for the last three years also qualify as "new."

  • Expanding K–12 Farm to School Initiative Grants
  • Expanding Farm to Early Education Initiative Grants
  • MA FRESH CORP Planning Grant*

*The purpose of the MA FRESH CORP Planning Grant Track is to support applicants seeking future state, federal and/or private/foundation funding that covers the cost of new staff salaries, stipends or consultant fees that ensure local food system activities are strategically integrated and support institutionalized, sustained programs that promote food literacy. At the end of the grant period, MA FRESH CORP Planning Grant Track recipients will be required to submit:

  1. a job description and/or consultant scope of work
  2. a funding proposal
  3. a farm to school one-year action plan and
  4. documentation of exploratory stakeholder meetings between the grant leads and the district or organization's human resources and business official to discuss strategies for hiring a position or consultant/community partner to conduct strategic food literacy program integration.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.

Fund Use:

The program is designed to support K–12 and early education programs in food literacy initiatives that connect local food system education to the availability of local foods served in school or early education meal programs. Applicants will be asked to indicate all activities their MA FRESH application seeks to fund. Project activities may include, but are not limited to:

  • Building a new garden for children
  • Building a new indoor growing operation for children
  • Developing classroom curriculums or lesson plans that support food literacy efforts
  • Expanding in-school or child care programming to promote food literacy for children through gardening, cooking, taste tests and more
  • Field trip(s) to local farm/food producers
  • Expanding before/after school/child care programming that supports food literacy, and exposure to local foods for children and families
  • Completing farm to school strategic planning, including the development of an action plan, job description(s) for food literacy coordination, or a scope of work for a contractor to cultivating program structures that elevate internal staff capacity in food literacy
  • Professional development and training for educators to bring food literacy activities or curriculum to their classrooms
  • Professional development and training for school nutrition professionals to integrate local, unprocessed or minimally processed ingredients into program meals

Funds cannot be used to purchase food served as part of a reimbursable meal in Child Nutrition Programs or sold as a competitive food and beverage or fundraiser. Grant awards may not be used to fund existing activities, projects or staff positions (including current Farm to School Coordinators). Funds can only be used to fund new staff time or salaries because of new or expanded initiatives.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (No earlier than 7/1/2026) – 6/30/2027

Program Unit:

Office for Food and Nutrition Programs

Contact:

Maggie Nowak

Phone Number:

(781) 338-6475

Date Due:

Friday, May 22, 2026*

Completed grants must be received at the Department via GEM$ by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

*Competitive grant applications are considered submitted when the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP. Review the Competitive Grant Policy for more detailed information.

All responses must be submitted through proper steps and received by the due date/time listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not received on time will not be reviewed. Applicants applying after the due date may be notified their application was received late and will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted as directed in the Submissions Instructions below. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. If you need assistance with submitting your application, please reach out to the contact person listed on this funding opportunity.

Additional Information:

All funding is subject to state appropriation. Final state appropriation is anticipated in late Summer 2026. Grantee awardees should anticipate receiving notice of their award no earlier than September 2026 with grant activities subject to begin in Fall 2026.

Child Nutrition Program Sponsor awardees will adhere to all Federal, State, and Local procurement laws and standards, including, if applicable, as found in 7 CFR Part 210.21 and 2 CFR 200.317 through 2 CFR 200.326

All equipment competitively procured using these grant funds must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable.

State Contract User Guide

Questions and Answers — Applicants can find questions asked and answered regarding this funding opportunity and DESE's response here. All RFQ questions must be received no later than Friday, May 8 and can be emailed to Grant Contact Maggie Nowak .

Submission Instructions:

The 0710 MA Farming Reinforces Education and Student Health (FRESH) will be submitted in Grants for Education Management System (GEM$).

A FY27 FC 0710 MA FRESH Planning Template, outlining the questions asked in the GEM$ "Required Grant Questions" section, can be found on the GEM$ Home Page > DESE Resources > Competitive Grants - Planning Templates and Documents. While the FY27 FC 0710 MA FRESH Planning Template may be used as a planning and organizing tool, responses to the questions in the "Required Grant Questions" section of the application must be submitted through GEM$ in order to be reviewed.

New Organizations: Grant Submission requires applicants to have their organization established in GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization established in GEM$ must contact the Office for Food and Nutrition Programs Grant Contact, Maggie Nowak, at a minimum 5 business days prior to the grant due date for temporary organization access.

New organizations that do not have an established LEA with DESE skip to Step 3.

Step 1: Establish and assign proper roles before the grant due date/time. Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off.

All roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Step 2: Submit the grant through all LEA steps in GEM$. There are three LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding:

  • Grantwriter Submitted
  • LEA Fiscal Representative Approved
  • LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved

Competitive grant applications are considered submitted once the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP. Please plan accordingly.

The Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved Step allows for the organization lead to review and approve the grant application. Removing the requirement for the Part I Standard Contract Form, this step signifies Superintendent /Chief Executive sign off. Any grant budget changes requiring signature, will re-execute this step when amended signifying the organization lead is approving these changes.

Step 3: (If applicable) New organizations request temporary organization access. New organizations are entities that have not been established as an LEA in GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization established in GEM$ must contact the DESE Program Unit issuing this grant at a minimum 5 business days prior to the grant due date for temporary organization access.

Temporary Access will need to be created by DESE before you can then assign the proper roles and submit the grant as outlined in Steps 1 and 2.

Failure to provide DESE with GEM$ Temp Organization Access Request at least 5 business days prior to the due date may result in not meeting the submission due date listed above. DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date.

Last Updated: March 5, 2026

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