NWTN Local Food Network receives ONLY USDA Farm to School Grant in TN
Martin, TN – The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network has received notice of its selection as a Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grantee by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) this May. This $500,000 grant will support the C.H.E.F. Program (Children’s Health through Education and Food) and Tennessee Farm2Future Coalition.
“This year’s grants are a win-win for schools and children, for farmers and real food,” said Deputy Under Secretary for USDA’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Patrick A. Penn. “USDA is fully committed to supporting healthy choices, healthy families, and healthy outcomes through farm to school, and I can’t wait to see the life-changing impact these new projects will have on communities across America.”
The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network will use the funding to collaborate and procure local foods into schools from NWTN Farmers: Bell Family Farms in Gleason, and Blackberry Pond Farm in Martin, Stockyard Market in Trenton, Healthy Flavors, Eagleville and 5 NWTN school districts along with the continued formation of the Farm2Future Group – a statewide working group to help facilitate stronger connections between local foods in local schools.
“We’ve learned that one of the most effective ways to impact children’s knowledge about health is through interactive activities like cooking labs,” said Samantha Smith Goyret, Co-Director, NWTNLFN.org. When students cook and experience fresh and local products, they become excited about their food and want to explore more ways they can cook and interact with the local food system.“
Key components of the two year grant period include establishing a CHEF Program with school partners using the national Chef Ambassador model from Wellness in the Schools (NYC) in collaboration with Healthy Flavors Tennessee, including a region-wide school nutrition training, classroom and cafeteria culinary skill-building with CHEF Ambassadors, student local food taste tests, and agriculture and nutrition education through both the CHEF project, and creating a statewide Farm2Future Coalition while developing a statewide Local Food Procurement manual.
Follow the progress of The C.H.E.F. (Children’s Health through Education and Food) Program and TN Farm2Future Coalition by visiting nwtnlfn.org/programs/farm-to-
Whitney Thornton, School Nutrition Supervisor at Crockett County Schools stated, “The Crockett County School Nutrition Department is excited to be able to expand our scratch cooking, strengthen culinary skills, and increase the use of locally grown foods through this partnership to better serve our students.”
For FY 2026, USDA awarded nearly $20 million to 52 projects across the country to support projects that bring more nutritious, local food to America’s schoolchildren while expanding economic opportunities for farmers and food producers. Since fiscal year 2013, USDA has awarded $115 million in Farm to School Grants, funding more than 1,250 projects throughout all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Since 2019, the NWTN Local Food Network has successfully helped secure 9 Farm to School Grants worth over $1M, to support the development of Farm to School cultures in schools & their communities in Tennessee. Learn more about the Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program on the program’s website.
About Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network
The Northwest Tennessee Local Food Network’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for a thriving and equitable local food system that is accessible to ALL by strengthening local farms, empowering communities, and increasing access to fresh, healthy, locally grown food across the region.