Grants for School Gardens 2026: USDA and Foundations
Quick Answer: If you're a teacher, parent group or district raising money for a school garden, the federal route is the U.S.
Full answer and how we checked it
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program. USDA says it awarded nearly $20 million in FY2026, but that round funded partnership projects of $100,000 to $500,000, so a single garden usually joins a bigger district or regional plan. Raised beds, tools, soil and a greenhouse are more often paid for by local and health-focused foundations, and private foundations that file IRS Form 990-PF are the main grant source for that work.
Data note: State figures come from Grantsights analysis of IRS Form 990-PF grants tagged to education, grouped by the recipient's state and pulled October 29, 2026; the data covers 51 state groups and 871,178 grants, mostly from tax years 2023 to 2025. Garden and food gifts named below are from tax year 2025 filings. The Farm to School total is a USAspending.gov obligation figure for listing 10.575 in fiscal year (FY) 2024.
In this guide (11 sections)
- 4 Kinds of Funders Pay for School Gardens
- USDA Farm to School: Up to $500,000, Partnerships Required
- Afterschool and Summer Garden Programs
- Which Foundations Fund School Food and Garden Work: What 990-PF Filings Show
- 5 Things a School Garden Budget Should Cover
- What USDA Doesn't Tell You About School Garden Funding
- Common Mistakes in School Garden Grant Requests
- A School-Year Garden Funding Calendar
- Related Guides for School and Food Projects
- FAQ: Common Questions
- Sources
Foundations near you already fund this work. See three in your state that take requests, with how to apply. Free, about a minute.
A school garden is a small project with many possible funders: education, health, food access and environment. That's useful if you write each ask in the funder's language.
School garden source review, Grantsights, October 29, 2026: Grantsights checked USDA's Farm to School program page (opens in a new tab), the Farm to School Grant Program page (opens in a new tab), the FY2026 grant announcement (opens in a new tab), the Department of Education's 21st Century Community Learning Centers page (opens in a new tab) and 990-PF filings for school food and garden work. Where official sources stop: none of them says who waters the garden in July, which is the question most funders ask.
Foundations that fund this work
67,088 private foundations gave to schools, colleges, libraries and scholarship funds
From their own IRS Form 990-PF filings (tax years 2019 to 2025). Pick your state to see who gave there, with one foundation in full. About the list
Across the US, these foundations gave 871,704 grants totaling $51,422,345,287.
Historical giving does not establish an open application or eligibility for your organization. For-profit operators should check each foundation's applicant rules before buying.
The full list names all 67,088, state by state: what each gave, to whom, for what, and a link to its filings. One payment, no subscription.
4 Kinds of Funders Pay for School Gardens
A school garden draws on 4 pots of money. Each one sees the garden differently.
| Funder type | How they see the garden | What they pay for | Catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA Farm to School | Agricultural education tied to school meals | Planning, staff, training, local food purchasing, garden education | FY2026 projects were $100,000 to $500,000, with partnerships required for many applicants |
| Afterschool money (21st Century Community Learning Centers) | Enrichment outside school hours | Garden clubs, summer programs, staff | Awarded by your state, for out-of-school time |
| Health and insurer foundations | Nutrition and healthy habits | Beds, cooking demos, nutrition lessons | Want a health outcome, not just a garden |
| Family, company and education foundations | A visible student project | Lumber, soil, tools, irrigation, greenhouses | Small local grants; many give only to groups they know |
USDA Farm to School: Up to $500,000, Partnerships Required
According to USDA's Farm to School program page (opens in a new tab), the program helps child nutrition program operators bring local foods into school breakfast, school lunch, summer meals and the Child and Adult Care Food Program. Agricultural education is part of that, and school gardens fit as a teaching tool.
The FY2026 announcement (opens in a new tab) set these terms:
| FY2026 term | What USDA listed |
|---|---|
| Project size | $100,000 to $500,000 |
| Planned total | Up to $18 million, subject to funding |
| Eligible applicants | State agencies, tribal organizations, child nutrition program operators, local agencies, agricultural producers and groups, nonprofits |
| Partnership rule | Program operators, local agencies, producers and nonprofits had to apply as part of a partnership |
| Nonprofit paperwork | IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter required |
USDA's own page called that round very different from earlier Farm to School solicitations in eligibility, award size and scope. The program page now says USDA awarded nearly $20 million in FY2026 grants and planned up to $25 million more from the same applicant pool. According to USAspending.gov data, the Farm to School Grant Program listing (10.575) obligated $14.53 million in FY2024.
What that means for one school garden:
- A garden alone is too small. With a $100,000 floor, a single garden doesn't make a Farm to School project. It can be one part of a district plan that also buys local food for meals.
- Find the partnership. Ask your district's school nutrition director whether the district, a state agency or a regional food group is planning an application, and offer the garden as the student-education piece.
- Watch the next round. The grant program page (opens in a new tab) says requirements change each year. Check it before each cycle, and see the USDA local food grants guide for related USDA programs that buy from local farms.
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Afterschool and Summer Garden Programs
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program (opens in a new tab) is a Department of Education formula grant to state education agencies, who then award subgrants. It supports enrichment during non-school hours for students, especially those in high-poverty and low-performing schools.
A garden club after school or a summer growing program can fit if your school or a partner nonprofit holds one of these subgrants. Classroom-only gardens don't. Ask whoever runs your school's afterschool program whether garden time can sit inside it.
Which Foundations Fund School Food and Garden Work: What 990-PF Filings Show
Private foundations report each grant on IRS Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab). Few tax year 2025 filings in Grantsights' named sample say "school garden" outright. The closest gifts fund school health, farm education and youth food programs:
| Foundation | Garden, farm or food recipient | State | Grant | Stated purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation | Delta Fresh Foods, Cleveland | MS | $561,556 | Health and wellness: community and school health education |
| The Sherwood Foundation | Whispering Roots, Omaha | NE | $250,000 | Food sustainability program |
| Erath Family Foundation | Jackson County 4-H Master Gardener and Agricultural Extension, Medford | OR | $200,000 | Teaching and event pavilion |
| Hardenbergh Foundation | Dodge Nature Center, St. Paul | MN | $100,000 | Farm education center renovation |
| VSECU Foundation | Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, Richmond | VT | $10,000 | Conservation and food and farm programs |
| Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska Foundation | Conservation Nebraska, Lincoln | NE | $10,000 | Common Ground community garden |
Two things stand out. Health insurer foundations appear twice, in Mississippi and Nebraska, so a garden pitched as nutrition education reaches a funder group that pure education requests miss. And farm education centers and extension programs attract building gifts, which suggests a school greenhouse or outdoor classroom can be pitched as a capital project.
Specifically, the Vermont gift was $10,000 and the Mississippi gift was $561,556. Most school gardens should aim for the small end and stack several. A parent group raising the first few thousand dollars can use the grants for PTAs and PTOs guide, and a garden that also opens plots to neighbors can borrow funders from grants for community gardens.
Education grants by state
| School's state | Education grants | Foundations that gave | Say they take requests | Median grant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 81,479 | 12,291 | 2,871 | $5,000 |
| New York | 82,254 | 13,764 | 3,279 | $5,000 |
| Texas | 48,431 | 6,756 | 2,256 | $5,000 |
| North Carolina | 27,479 | 4,294 | 1,463 | $3,500 |
| Minnesota | 17,305 | 2,740 | 961 | $3,500 |
| Oregon | 13,335 | 1,890 | 712 | $6,647 |
| Maine | 7,775 | 1,669 | 558 | $3,000 |
| Nebraska | 6,971 | 1,253 | 485 | $5,000 |
| Vermont | 4,415 | 1,384 | 473 | $3,500 |
| Mississippi | 3,631 | 858 | 312 | $5,000 |
See school garden funders in your state
The Grantsights education funder list previews your state's funders free of charge, sorted so those that take applications come first, with recent grantees shown. Look for funders that gave to a school, a PTA, a nature center or an extension program near you. A $29 one-time purchase opens the full list for every state, and $99 a year adds every other cause list, including health. You can get that money back in full if you ask within 30 days.
5 Things a School Garden Budget Should Cover
Here's an illustrative checklist, not cost data. Get prices from your district and local suppliers.
| Item | Funder fit | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Beds, soil, lumber, fencing | Family and company foundations, garden centers | A clear one-time ask |
| Water and irrigation | District facilities, capital gifts | Ask facilities early about water access |
| Tools, seeds, storage shed | Small local gifts, parent groups | Good for $500 to $2,000 asks |
| Garden educator or coordinator time | Afterschool subgrants, health foundations, Farm to School partnerships | The line that keeps the garden alive |
| Summer care | Volunteers, summer programs, families | Write the plan into every request |
What USDA Doesn't Tell You About School Garden Funding
These 4 points come from reading the USDA pages and 990-PF filings together.
- Farm to School got bigger, not easier. The FY2026 round raised the floor to $100,000 and required partnerships for most applicants. That shut out the single-school garden grant many older articles describe.
- The garden needs an owner. Funders want to know that the principal and district facilities staff have agreed to the site and the water. A garden on school land without that sign-off is a red flag.
- Health funders are underused. Insurer and hospital foundations fund nutrition education. A request that names the lessons and the students reached fits them well.
- Summer is the weak point. A garden left without water or weeding over a 10-week break can be lost before school starts. A named summer care plan makes a small request more believable than a large budget.
Grantsights' honest take: for a single school, the best bet is a $2,000 to $10,000 local ask paired with a district Farm to School partnership when one exists.
Common Mistakes in School Garden Grant Requests
Run through these 5 checks before you send anything.
- Applying to USDA alone. A common mistake under the FY2026 rules. Most applicants needed a partnership.
- No district approval. Funders hesitate when the school hasn't signed off on the site.
- Skipping the curriculum. Say which grades use the garden and what they learn.
- Underestimating water and summer care. Name who waters and when.
- Asking above a funder's usual grant. Check past gifts first with how to read a 990-PF.
A School-Year Garden Funding Calendar
| Months | Action |
|---|---|
| August to September | Get principal and facilities sign-off; pick the site and water source |
| September to October | Ask the nutrition director about Farm to School partnerships |
| October to December | Send 10 to 15 local and health foundation requests |
| January to March | Build beds; plan spring lessons and the summer schedule |
| April to June | Plant, harvest and send photos and student counts to funders |
| June to August | Run the summer care plan; prepare next year's asks |
The Grantsights grant database lists open federal and state notices, including farm to school and nutrition programs.
Related Guides for School and Food Projects
A garden on city land with neighborhood plots belongs in grants for community gardens. Parent groups should also read grants for PTAs and PTOs, and districts with an education foundation can compare grants for school foundations. For USDA's wider local food programs, see the USDA local food grants guide.
FAQ: Common Questions
Does USDA Farm to School pay for school gardens? As part of a larger partnership project, yes.
How much did USDA award for Farm to School in FY2026? Nearly $20 million, per USDA's program page.
Who funds school gardens besides USDA? Local, health insurer and company foundations.
Can a PTA apply for school garden grants? Yes, as a 501(c)(3) or through the district.
How is a school garden guide different from a community garden guide? School land and students change who funds it.
Sources
- USDA: The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program (opens in a new tab)
- USDA: Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program (opens in a new tab)
- USDA: FY2026 Farm to School Grant Program (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Department of Education: 21st Century Community Learning Centers (opens in a new tab)
- IRS: About Form 990-PF (opens in a new tab)
- USAspending.gov award search (opens in a new tab)
Last updated October 29, 2026. Published by Grantsights from public sources. See our editorial policy, how we build and check guides, corrections and how we make money.
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