The Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) is awarding 53 grants totaling more than $2.8 million through its Connecticut Grown for Connecticut Kids Grant (CTG4CTK Grant) to increase the availability of local foods in child nutrition programs, allow educators to use hands-on educational techniques to teach students about nutrition and farm-to-school connections, sustain relationships with local farmers and producers, enrich the educational experience of students, improve the health of children in the state and enhance the state's economy.
Torrington has been awarded two different grants:
- (Track 1: K-12 Local Procurement Assistance) Torrington Public Schools "Eating With Your Eyes" program was one of the chosen recipients. With this grant, Torrington is looking to assist TPS workers to prepare and present local produce to the students and staff. The TPS farm-to-school initiative began in the 22-23 school year and continues to grow. TPS wants to find creative ways to present and incorporate more of the produce available to them in their daily cooking. Torrington Public Schools also received a grant in 2022.
CT DoAg received 106 applications with 88 deemed eligible after an administrative review, totaling more than $5.3 million in requested grant funds. Selection was highly competitive, and the review was conducted by a statutorily authorized review panel and Commissioner Hurlburt. This is the third round of the program, which was funded for two years as a pilot through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and administered in collaboration with the Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) and the Connecticut Farm to School Collaborative (FTSC) and now has up to $1 million available to award annually for the next two years. Eligible entities were able to apply for up to $50,000 in funding with no match required.
- (Track 5: Shipping Container Growing Unit) Torrington'sThy Neighbors Farm is receiving one of eight shipping container growing unit awards, through a fifth track added this year. Thy Neighbors Farm proposed purchasing a shipping container growing farm that utilizes solar power, and five indoor in-school hydroponic growing systems, to enable an educational and nutritional partnership with the Torrington Public School District and the Torrington Teen Center. Food produced will be made available to schools through the NWCT Food Hub.
This year a fifth track was added for Shipping Container Growing Units, with $2 million authorized during the 2023 legislative session utilizing state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. There were 15 applications requesting more than $3.6 million for this track with eight awardees receiving more than $1.9 million.
To learn more about the CTG4CTK Grant, including success stories from previous recipients, please visit https://portal.ct.gov/DOAG/ADaRC/ADaRC/Grants/CT-Grown-for-CT-Kids-Grant/Success-Stories. |