WASHINGTON (July 29, 2021) – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) are welcoming an announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is awarding New Mexico grantees with a total of $190,827 in Farm to School Grants.
Farm to School Grants help expand access to fresh, local foods and hands-on agricultural learning for children. These efforts introduce more locally grown produce into school cafeterias and expose children to agriculture and nutrition education through hands-on learning. They also provide reliable revenue for area farmers, directly boosting the local economy.
“I’m proud to support these grants to provide students in New Mexico with hands-on opportunities to eat healthy foods and learn more about where it comes from,” said Heinrich, a member of the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. “These programs will build a meaningful connection between students and local farmers and teach the values of local and culturally-rooted food production.”
“These critical Farm to School grants will help strengthen relationships with New Mexico’s farming and ranching communities and our students,” said Luján, a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee. “I’m glad that these investments will provide students with greater access to nutritious meal options in schools and support local foods.”
The following Farm to School Grants have been awarded by the USDA:
$49,956 to Peñasco Independent School District in Peñasco, New Mexico
The Peñasco Independent School District will plant a garden on a 1.5 acre plot next to a school. The garden will be integrated into school curricula so that K-12 students will be able to work on and learn about planting, growing, and harvesting, incorporating lessons about the 400-year-history of Spanish and Picuris cooperation.
$49,995 to Santa Fe Indian School in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe Indian School will complete the required Action Planning activities to develop a school plan and increase school capacity to implement farm to school programming including developing partnerships and obtaining products from local growers/producers, identifying goals and objectives for agriculture on campus and school gardening projects and increasing awareness and education within the school community regarding farm to school principals with a special focus on Southwest Native American culturally rooted foods and farming practices.
$90,876 to One Generation’s Indigenous Farm Hub in Corrales, New Mexico
One Generation’s Indigenous Farm Hub is a new farm and community education space in Corrales, New Mexico focused on revitalizing indigenous farming practices and food systems. In this Farm to School Implementation project, One Generation will collaborate with two K–12 public charter Schools—Native American Community Academy and Albuquerque Sign Language Academy—to develop and engage diverse, low-income, and hearing-impaired students in bilingual agricultural education at the Indigenous Farm Hub.