During Farm-to-School Month, Hochul announces $10 million available to bring more food to schools

Program provides $50 million over 5 years to projects across state for preparation of fresh, from-scratch meals for students while providing a boost to farmers

Information Provided by the Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul 

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced, during Farm-to-School Month, that $10 million is available through Round 3 of New York’s Regional School Food Infrastructure (RSFI) Grant program to bring more New York food to New York school children. The program supports projects in New York schools that improve meal preparation and distribution for kindergarten through grade 12 students. First announced in the governor’s 2023 state of the state, the RSFI program provides $50 million over five years to eligible applicants to facilitate the on-site processing and preparation of fresh, nutritious meals; increase the use of more healthy, local New York food products; and provide a boost to New York farmers.

Hochul said, “Our Regional School Food Infrastructure program brings our farmers and our schools together, supporting our agricultural industry while ensuring that our children have enough local, fresh meals they need to learn and thrive. The funding for these projects will provide the much-needed support to help schools prepare delicious, fresh foods from scratch for our students in their own facilities, further strengthening the resiliency of our food system.”

Administered by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, the Regional School Food Infrastructure Grant program is providing New York schools the resources they need to prepare fresh, nutritious meals for students from scratch. Funding from the program will go toward developing facilities to allow organizations to aggregate, store, process and prepare farm products on-site. The program also encourages workforce development by providing training to schools, communities and students in culinary arts, food processing, safe food handling, and storage, logistics and delivery, based on community need.

Project proposals should be regionally focused on improving meal preparation for K-12 school children, reducing food insecurity, increasing market opportunities for New York producers, and strengthening the resilience of the state’s food system. The program requires funded facilities serve multiple school districts, and support their local community, including by providing workforce development opportunities. Grant funds are available for the costs of capital projects to support the preparation and distribution of fresh meals for regional school infrastructure, such as aggregation, storage hubs, and/or commissary-type kitchens. Eligible applicants include not-for-profit organizations, local municipalities, school districts, and Boards of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES).

Funding will be awarded to every region of the state over the course of five years, awarding $5 million every year to two different regions at a time. The first round of funding was awarded to projects in Western New York and in the North Country, with the second round of funding going to projects on Long Island and in Central New York. Two additional regions will be awarded $5 million each in subsequent rounds, until all regions are awarded.

Round 3 proposals are due by 3 p.m. Jan. 20, 2026. For more information on the program, project eligibility, and how to apply, visit agriculture.ny.gov/Funding-Opportunities. An informational webinar covering important details of this request for proposals can be viewed here.

New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said, “One of our priorities at the department is ensuring that New York farmers can get their fresh, local food items directly into our communities, and ensuring our schools have the equipment they need to cook from scratch and use ingredients made by our farmers and producers is a crucial part of that effort. Through the first two rounds of the program, we are already seeing some exciting progress on projects like a new food hub spearheaded by the East End Food Institute that will benefit farmers and students alike. I thank Gov. Hochul for her continued support of this critical program and encourage all eligible applicants to consider applying for round 3, which provides an opportunity to strengthen our food system and provide delicious, healthy and locally sourced meals to our students while supporting our farmers.”