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Indigenous Foodways in Schools Grants

Farm to Cafeteria Canada is offering grants in the range of $5,000 – $20,000 to Indigenous school communities in partnership with Whole Kids, a Pillar of Whole Foods Market Foundation, the Public Health Agency of Canada, Air Canada Foundation; and regional partners. We are very grateful to our Circle of Advisors for their support in developing this grant opportunity.

Accepting applications until May 8, 2026

Goal of the Grants

The Indigenous Foodways in Schools Grants provide funding for Indigenous school communities throughout Canada to support their long-term community visions of Indigenous food security and food sovereignty that are implemented in the school setting. 

They aim to enhance the ability of school communities to:

  • Buy infrastructure and equipment (e.g. canning and dehydrating equipment, refrigerators and freezers, fishing rods, deer driers, gardens and greenhouses).
  • Harvest, fish, butcher, filet, grow, preserve, prepare, and serve more culturally relevant and other nourishing food to K-12 students. 
  • Teach about and weave Indigenous foods, foodways, worldviews, and approaches into daily practices at school including an emphasis on relationships, reciprocity, and connections to the land. 
  • Connect Elders, Knowledge Keepers, family members and other community members to the school and students.
  • Support land-based learning. 
  • Support the social development of children and youth through land-based activities relating to food, intergenerational learning, mentorship opportunities and other meaningful connection.

Schools that receive a grant will join a growing community of more than 400 previous grant recipients, including many from Indigenous school communities. School communities that receive grants will also be provided resources, training and ongoing technical support from the Farm to Cafeteria Canada team and its partners. 

Learn more about Indigenous Food Sovereignty from
the Indigenous Food Systems Network and La Via Campesina.

Eligibility

Grants may be implemented in any school or schools (kindergarten to grade 12) in Canada that are located in Indigenous communities or that serve a high proportion of Indigenous students. This includes schools in rural, remote and urban settings. 

Schools that have only received a previous Farm to Cafeteria Canada seed grant are still eligible to apply. Schools that have previously received a Farm to School Canada Grant are eligible to apply if they received funding before 2022.

Any school or community organization in Canada can apply for a grant as long as they can:

  1. Show a clear connection to one or more schools in the community, and 
  2. Commit to using the funds to support Indigenous food security and food sovereignty in the school setting. (Those selected to receive a grant will be asked to enter into a contribution agreement confirming that the funds will be used for the idea proposed.)

What do we mean by Indigenous School Communities?

Schools in Indigenous communities or with a high proportion of Indigenous students.

When can the grants be used?

During the September 2026 – June 2028 school years.

How can you learn more?

  • Read the About the Grants document to understand what makes for a strong application. 
  • Watch the recording of the Grant Applicant Webinar  (optional)
  • Use the application template to draft your responses
  • Reach out to us to have a 1:1 discussion:
    • English (Pacific-Manitoba): Sue-Anne Banks – sbanks@farmtocafeteriacanada.ca
    • English (Ontario-Atlantic): Jeff Kiyoshk Ross – jkiyoshk@farmtocafeteriacanada.ca
    • French: Carolyn Webb – cwebb@farmtocafeteriacanada.ca

Key dates

March 5, 2026
Grant application window OPENS

April 7-8, 2026
Join a virtual conversation to connect with us, hear more about the grants and to brainstorm your ideas (optional)

May 8, 2026
Grant application window CLOSES

August 17, 2026
Grant applicants notified

September 5, 2026
Grant recipient contracts completed and initial funds issued and schools commence their programs

June 30, 2028
Program deliverables complete

Accepting applications until May 8, 2026

Apply Here

Photo credit: École Secondaire Cochrane High School, Cochrane, ON

FAQ

  • Can this funding go to support adult learners who are going back to school to receive school credits? Unfortunately at this time our focus is children and youth. We do acknowledge that any learner, regardless of their age, should be able to access healthy and culturally relevant food at school and will consider this as a future area of growth for our programming. 
  • What do we consider a “school”? We will consider applications that involve any type of school – public, Indigenous, private and independent in urban, rural and remote locations.
  • What do you mean by “a high proportion of Indigenous students”? By this we mean a significant and meaningful representation of Indigenous students who will be supported through the initiative to share their culture/s and feel that their culture/s is and are meaningfully represented in the school’s food and food education. It may help to consider: Will the impacts of the grant be felt, in a meaningful way, by a sizeable number of Indigenous students? 
  • Can some of the equipment be built off of school grounds? Yes, our goal is to support long-term community visions of Indigenous food security and food sovereignty that are implemented in the school setting. Some of these visions may involve building infrastructure in the community that one or more community schools can regularly access.
  • In addition to schools receiving the funding, what kind of community organization can apply for funding? We can provide funding to an organization that is incorporated as either a registered non-profit or charity. 
  • Can our Nation apply for the grant and administer the funding for it? Yes – as long as the Nation will be implementing this work in partnership with the school and is registered as a non-profit or charity. If that is not the case we may need to ask for another community organization to receive the funding depending on the circumstances.   

In all of these examples we will be looking to fund initiatives that have significant impacts on children and youth, and the broader community.

Get Inspired!

Are you looking for ideas on how the grants can be implemented in your school community?

Questions? 

Need help with your grant application or have questions about the application process?
Reach out to us at: 

English (Pacific-Manitoba): Sue-Anne Banks – sbanks@farmtocafeteriacanada.ca

English (Ontario-Atlantic): Jeff Kiyoshk Ross – jkiyoshk@farmtocafeteriacanada.ca 

French: Carolyn Webb – cwebb@farmtocafeteriacanada.ca

We thank the funding support of the Public Health Agency of Canada, Whole Kids, a Pillar of Whole Foods Market Foundation,  The Schad Foundation, and many other contributors for making this work possible.