CDFA seeks $24.9 million to expand Farm to School program; LAO recommends tighter targeting for $3 million technical assistance

The California Department of Food and Agriculture requested $24.9 million in general fund for fiscal year 2025–26 to continue and scale its Farm to School program, with $20 million proposed for incubator grants, $3 million for climate‑smart agricultural technical assistance, and $1.9 million for network programming.

"With just 3 rounds of funding since then the California Farm to School program has been able to reach 49% of California school children," CDFA's Arma Cozina said during the subcommittee hearing. CDFA described the incubator grant program as its largest component; the program funds procurement and education projects, technical assistance to school food authorities, and producer and food‑hub capacity building.

Why it matters: CDFA and stakeholders said Farm to School both supports local producers and increases access to climate‑smart, locally grown foods in schools, and that demand has outstripped funding in past rounds. LAO and some members raised questions about whether parts of the package should be funded from Proposition 98 education dollars rather than the general fund and whether the $3 million technical assistance component is the best use of scarce general‑fund resources this year.

LAO recommendation and rationale: Frank Jimenez of the Legislative Analyst's Office told the subcommittee the Farm to School activities align with state priorities but warned that the administration was using multiple funding sources to create capacity. On the $3 million technical assistance item LAO urged rejection, stating the grants “would not directly support implementation of farm to school practices” and instead would fund a broad array of climate‑smart practices across farms regardless of whether those farms plan to sell to school markets. LAO advised that the Legislature consider shifting eligible components to Proposition 98, which has comparatively more capacity for discretionary items in the education budget.

CDFA response: CDFA said the $3 million would help bring roughly 3,000 additional producers into a pipeline of farmers implementing climate‑smart practices so those producers would be eligible to supply school markets; the department estimated the technical assistance would reach about 3,000 producers at roughly $1,000 per producer. The department also said the incubator grant solicitations would be new rounds rather than automatic awards to prior applicants because bond language and needs have evolved.

Members pressed on federal funding cuts to national farm‑to‑school programs and on whether Farm to School is contingent on federal support. CDFA said the state program is not contingent on federal funds but argued that state leadership is more important after recent reductions at the federal level.

What’s next: The Legislature indicated it will weigh the Farm to School request against other priorities, explore Proposition 98 eligibility, and seek further justification for the $3 million technical‑assistance component before making final appropriation decisions.

Speakers quoted here addressed the CDFA Farm to School request and LAO’s recommendations.