Oregon boosts Farm-to-School efforts with $500,000 in grants

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has awarded $500,000 in grants to support the state’s Farm-to-School Producer Equipment and Infrastructure (F2S EI) program. These funds aim to help local farmers, ranchers, seafood harvesters, and food processors access the equipment and infrastructure needed to supply Oregon-grown food to schools and other eligible institutions.

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Grant Purpose

These grants aim to help Oregon-based producers access the tools and resources they need to sell or supply produce and food to eligible institutions like:

• School districts in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) centers
• Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites
• Tribal schools and youth meal programs

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Grant Recipients

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The ODA prioritized applications from diverse groups, including BIPOC, women, veterans, and Tribes. Additionally, the ODA revised the scope of some applications so that as many projects as possible could receive funding.

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As a result, the department received $1 million in funding requests and awarded grants to 12 projects, mostly focused on providing fresh crops or minimally processed foods for school meals.

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Here are the recipients of the grants and the amounts awarded:

• And the Plot Chickens (Burns) – $34,213
• Danish Honey Farms LLC (Chiloquin) – $74,897
• Full Cellar Farm (Boring) – $29,478
• Happy Curry Foods (Salem) – $75,000
• Little Wings Farm LLC (Eugene) – $23,701
• Poole Family Farm (Hood River) – $74,900
• Rusted Gate Farm (Central Point) – $10,064
• Salsa Garcia (Eugene) – $15,000
• Sufiya Farm (Portland) – $41,018
• Terra Sol Organics (Williams) – $43,185
• Valley Flora (Langlois) – $29,910
• Whistling Duck Farm LLC (Grants Pass) – $47,400

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What is the Farm-to-School program? An overview

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Oregon’s Farm-to-School program connects local agricultural producers with school meal programs, childcare centers, and summer meal sites. It helps local food to be served in schools and allows students to engage with agriculture via school gardens and field trips to farms. These efforts promote nutrition education and hands-on learning and connect children with where their food comes from.

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In summary, the program aims to improve student nutrition, provide agriculture education, and support Oregon’s agricultural economy.

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Serve your students fresh, homestyle meals with Ordo

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At Ordo, we work with local chefs and caterers to deliver fresh, homestyle, and delicious meals to your school.

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Ordo has become America's fastest-growing school food program, providing fresh meals made from scratch every day in our kitchens. Our chefs focus on cooking homestyle food that’s both nutritious and what students love.

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Students and parents can place their orders through their ordering app and choose from seasonal menus with 4 to 6 different options daily, like Tex Mex Crunch Salad with Creamy Lime Dressing or Chicken Bacon Wrap with Pretzels, Carrots & Ranch.

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Our online platform automates compliance paperwork for reimbursable meals, tracks important metrics like daily participation rate, and handles all payment and order processing.

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Ordo offers both vended meal service where we deliver the food every day and onsite food service management with our chefs preparing food on campus. We have served all types of schools, from preschools and daycare centers to private and public schools. We’ve worked with some of the top brands in early education and child care, including Guidepost Montessori, Bright Horizons, Primrose, and more.‍

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If you’re interested in providing fresh, healthy food for your school, you can reach out to the school partnerships team here.