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State unveils grantee map, garden hub, procurement guides and five regional local food coordinators
Summary
Presenters demonstrated a new interactive grantee map, a school garden resource hub, a story map of local farm-to-school efforts, two procurement/food safety decision trees, and announced five regional local food coordinators to help connect farmers with schools and early care providers.
Presenters showcased several new tools and local supports intended to make it easier for Minnesota schools, early care providers and farmers to connect and participate in Farm to Kids work.
Mikayla (presenter identified in the transcript) introduced an interactive Farm to School grantee map that allows users to filter grants (full tray/first bite/local tots cost share), click map points to see award year, grant type and award amount, and identify nearby recipients and potential partners. She also described a school garden resource hub hosted on the Minnesota Ag in the Classroom website that consolidates guidance, funding sources and case-study plans to support garden creation and maintenance.
A narrative Farm to School story map was described as featuring nine schools and nine producers with short articles about local implementation and benefits. Jamie Anderson noted plans to continue adding stories and case studies.
Anderson and other presenters also described two new procurement and food‑safety decision trees, developed with the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture and MDE, that walk institutions through whether and how to serve local meat, poultry and eggs to different child nutrition program populations.
Sarah George outlined the regional local food coordinators project: five coordinators positioned around the state with an online map of contacts and email links. The coordinators will support schools, early care sites and farmers with connections, licensing and procurement readiness, and will host regional roadshows starting in February 2026.
Presenters said the resources and maps are live or will be posted on partner sites and that links were placed in the meeting chat for attendees to access.
