• Implement a healthy meal service that allows students to choose from a variety of ingredients that are as locally and sustainably sourced as possible.
• Allow students to experience hands-on food literacy activities and engage with the food system in their school community.
Delivered directly to schools, the grants apply a farm to school (also referred to as Local Food to School*) approach to bring more local food into schools where it is featured in a meal service, such as a salad bar, that allows students to build their own bowls or create their own plates.
The goal? To see more students and school communities engaged in:
Healthy, local and sustainable foods at school!
*The term “Local food to school” can be used instead of “farm to school.” This term is preferred in some regions and Indigenous communities. It reflects the diversity of local and traditional foods that can be enjoyed in schools from coast to coast to coast, many of which are not sourced from a farm.
Applications are open to ALL schools (kindergarten to grade 12) in Canada, including schools in Indigenous communities/nations.
For more information, please refer to the 2026 Grant Guidelines.
March 5, 2026
grant application window OPENS
April 8 &9, 2026
grant application webinar
Watch the recording here
May 8, 2026
grant application window CLOSES
August 17, 2026
grant applicants notified
September 5, 2026
grant recipient contracts completed and initial funds issued. Schools commence their programs
June 30, 2028
program deliverables complete
Looking for ideas on how the grants can be implemented in your school community?
In 2017 the Farm to School Canada Grants program became the central pillar to the Farm to School: Canada Digs-in! (F2SCDI) initiative. F2SCDI is a multi-sectoral partnership designed to prevent chronic disease by improving student nutrition and food literacy, while building community and strengthening local food systems. Through Whole Kids’s supportive partnership in F2SCDI we have been able to provide grant recipients with additional access to local supports and resources and evaluate the impacts of their programs. Learn more about F2SCDI here.
September 2024 – June 2026
31 Schools
8 provinces & 1 territory
September 2022 – June 2024
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Open to all provinces & territories
September 2020 – June 2022
40 Schools
Open to all provinces & territories
September 2018 – June 2020
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Open to BC, ON, QC, NB, NL
September 2016 – June 2019
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