School Garden Mini-Grants

School Garden Mini-Grants is sponsored by Kentucky Farm to School Network. This mini-grant opportunity is for Kentucky PreK-12 grade schools to establish school gardens and implement nutrition and cooking education using garden produce. Funds can be used for garden materials, supplies, nutrition and cooking materials, and/or personnel support.

School Garden Mini-Grants — KY Farm to School Network Applications for 2026 School Garden Grants are open. School garden mini-grants Schools can apply for $5,000 for garden materials and supplies, nutrition & cooking materials, and/or personnel support. The Kentucky Farm to School Network invites Kentucky preK - 12 grade schools to apply for a school garden mini-grant opportunity.

This project will provide funding for schools to establish school gardens and implement nutrition and cooking education using the produce grown in the school gardens. Awards will be for $5,000.

Garden supplies can include: materials for raised beds, seeds and vegetable starts, perennial plants and fruit or nut trees, rakes, shovels, trowels, landscape cloth, wheelbarrow or garden cart, seed starting supplies, mulch, soil amendments, tool storage, hoses, watering cans, rain barrels, pest exclusion, crop protection, stakes or other plant supports, fencing, harvest bins, hydroponic or aquaponic materials and supplies.

Example cooking supplies include: cutting boards, knives, mini-fridge, hot plates, pots and pans, measuring and mixing tools, aprons, canning jars, canner, cookbooks, storage for cooking supplies, a rolling cart to make cooking supplies mobile, printing costs for producing a cookbook, ingredients to supplement garden items to complete recipes.

Projects may include an element of indoor growing (hydroponic or aquaponic), but must include some outdoor growing to be eligible for funding. Emphasis should be on edible crops, but some ornamental or conservation crops (like pollinator plants) may also be included. Personnel support can be used as a stipend or stipends for the school staff implementing the project and/or for paying student interns or assistants.

Using grant funds for personnel support is optional. Funding for this project is provided by Community Farm Alliance through funding from Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. In order to be eligible, schools must be: public or private; and serve grade levels within pre-K - 12th grades.

The project must reside within one campus, i.e. you can apply for multiple schools under one grant application if all school grounds are physically adjoining. Note: Funds will not be issued to any individual. Checks must be issued to a school, school board or possibly to a community partner, like a PTA or PTO.

The network will accept letters of intent to apply from February 10- February 25. Following a review of letters of intent, by March 6, a limited number of schools will then be invited to submit a full grant proposal by March 25. Some assistance may be available in developing a quality grant proposal.

Mini-Grant awardees will be selected and notified by April 3 (just in time for national garden month!) A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will be executed between Community Farm Alliance and the grantee. Checks can be issued when the MOU is signed by both parties.

Planning for the gardens with the KY Farm to School Network team will begin in April 2025. Each awardee will get a site visit from an ag professional at the start of the project.

Because a full proposal can be a considerable amount of work and because some good applicants may need assistance with putting together a proposal, we’ve decided to start with a letter of intent for this round of funding, followed by inviting a limited number of full proposals. Submitting a Letter of Intent Send a letter of intent to apply to KYF2Snetwork@gmail. com by 5pm on Wednesday, February 25 2026.

In your letter, please give the name of your school and the grade levels of students served and answer the following questions: Why would a school garden benefit your school and students? What is your long-term vision for the garden? Describe how the garden will be used to support your school’s educational curriculum and student outcomes.

What kind of support do you have from other staff at your school? Have you received a different grant for a school garden in the past? If yes, tell the amount received and describe what it funded.

Potential applicants should read the outline of a full proposal below and be prepared to develop a proposal if invited. Submitting a full proposal For those who are invited to continue, a full grant proposal will include: Growing - What types of fruits and vegetables do you plan to grow? What is the applicant’s level of experience with gardening in Kentucky?

If the applicant is new to gardening, how willing are they to learn from expert gardeners? School support - What type of support do you have for a school garden from the school and/or school district (e.g. teachers, existing classes, students, principal, superintendent, etc)? Describe what steps you have taken/will take to ensure your garden has the resources and care it needs.

Consider seasonal care, irrigation, summer break, etc. Specifically describe how you plan to care for the garden during the summer and school breaks. . Who is/will be involved in enrichment programs/lessons?

(community partners, parent groups, teachers, etc.) Explain how the harvests from the garden will be utilized to promote local produce consumption. (e.g. summer school programs, cooking classes, school cafeteria, giveaways, etc) Describe ways that the school garden and cooking and nutrition education programs could be integrated into summer programming. How will your school finance department administer the grant funds?

(Some finance departments have more restrictions about their processes and approvals. Please check with your school finance staff to find out how easy it will be for your school to administer the grant. If an alternative to school finance administration is needed, it may be easier to work with a community partner, like a PTO) How do you plan on using the grant funds?

($4,000 for garden supplies and $1,000 for cooking supplies) **Please provide an itemized budget (can be general categories).

Letters of Support - Please provide a signed letter of support from each of the following: School administration - the principal or assistant principal and/or school finance officer School grounds/maintenance staff - (garden plans that don’t have back up from the groundskeepers are much more likely to encounter difficulties) At least one other school faculty or staff member who will use the garden for lessons, etc. Schools applying for this mini-grant opportunity agree to: Work with KY Farm to School Network team to plan, establish, maintain, and evaluate the school garden and education project Provide periodic reports, including final report, about school garden activities Participate in summer garden and nutrition education/cooking programming, which could be through summer feeding, summer school, daycare, etc. Get an endorsement from the school maintenance/groundskeeping staff Record all expenses and report to the Kentucky Farm to School Network at the end (November at the latest) Get parent/guardian permission for relevant student photos/media.

Take and share photos/video of the garden project Document the use of funds for personnel support. (timesheets, job description, contract, w9, etc.) Optional, but encouraged: Form a booster club for volunteer support and sustained fundraising Proposals that include the following will be scored the highest: Proposed budget is thoughtful and thorough, contains appropriate materials that suit the purposes of the grant.

Budget provides enough detail. Clear administration plan with enough detail to demonstrate that grant administration has been discussed and will have excellent support. Demonstrates strong connection between garden and educational curriculum/student outcomes Demonstrates strong community buy-in with many partners/teachers/etc (specific to educational use of the garden).

Demonstrates strong plan to promote local produce consumption using harvests from the garden. Demonstrates many opportunities to connect school garden and educational programming to summer programming.

Demonstrates lots of support from school staff (specific to garden care) Describes exceptional plan for adequate care for garden, especially during summer and school breaks Demonstrates great benefit to school/students including but not limited to: Access to gardens and outdoor learning opportunities Applicant and/or named partners have extensive gardening experience Read the full Request for Applications Questions about applying?

859-428-7961 (call or text)