California Farm-to-School Grants Evaluation

FIG, in collaboration with UCANR and UC Berkeley, is leading a research team from a diverse set of fields to evaluate the California Farm to School Incubator Grant Program’s capacity to support innovative local and regional farm to school projects, as well as overall grant administration. Bringing unique perspectives to the project, the team will evaluate the grant program’s progress towards the goals articulated in the RFA and the Farm to School Roadmap for Success.

Working together across a variety of impact areas, the research examines elements of grantee projects that have the greatest potential. We will identify enabling conditions for success, barriers to implementation, areas for additional and/or ongoing investment, and opportunities for coordination with related programs and agencies. Tasked with providing an invaluable and rigorous evaluation of the return on the state’s investment in farm to school and providing recommendations for program improvements, the team also describes emerging best practices and lessons learned in CA farm to school interventions with a specific aim of informing policy.

Project start date: April 2022

Project end date: December 2026