Ohio's Office of Nutrition has issued a farm-to-school bulletin listing grants, classroom resources and events for educators and child nutrition sponsors.
The Herb Society of America will award up to 15 grants, each worth $500, to pre-kindergarten through sixth-grade classrooms for planting or improving herb gardens. Applications are due Dec. 1. Separately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $32.5 million for the DEPEND initiative, which supports schools in replacing highly processed food with nutrient-dense options. Awards under the program range from $75,000 to $2.5 million, and a first funding round is expected in October.
The department's Office of Nutrition worked with INFOhio to assemble farm-to-school classroom materials, and it offers a free garden starter set with six seed varieties plus seed-collection supplies.
The Great Apple Crunch returns during National Farm to School Month. For the 2026-2027 school year, participants may bite into a locally grown apple on Thursday, Oct. 8, or at any point during October. Organizers report more than 96,000 Ohio students took part in the 2025-2026 school year.
Other items include a produce safety toolkit for school gardens, culinary training sessions with Chef Warner, an Ohio Proud on the Menu effort, and a USDA local procurement webinar that was scheduled for Sept. 15. Deadlines noted include Sept. 30 for the Get Schools Cooking Grant, Oct. 31 for a Memphis convening, while the National Farm to School Network partner meeting is scheduled for Oct. 13-15 in Sacramento.