EASTCONN Awarded USDA Farm to School Grant to Establish Regional Production Kitchen

EASTCONN, the Regional Educational Service Center serving northeastern Connecticut, has been awarded a fiscal year 2026 Farm to School Grant from the USDA Food and Nutrition Service. The $116,858 grant will fund the creation of a centralized production kitchen at EASTCONN’s Bridges Community School campus in Columbia, enabling EASTCONN’s Food Services program to source, prepare, and distribute fresh, locally grown meals to students across its partner school districts.

The two-year project addresses a critical gap in the region, where 20% of children face food insecurity and most school programs lack the staffing and equipment needed to prepare fresh meals from scratch. Currently, EASTCONN’s farm-to-school efforts are limited to a single site sourcing from one local farm. The new production kitchen will expand that reach significantly, connecting partner schools — serving over 2,300 students — with fresh produce, meats, and grains sourced through CLiCK’s Food Hub in Willimantic, which partners with more than 30 area farms.

“EASTCONN Food Services is proud to have been awarded a grant to establish a new production kitchen dedicated to enhancing child nutrition programs through the use of locally sourced produce and ingredients,” said Courtney Haines, EASTCONN Food Services Director. “This investment in EASTCONN schools and the districts we serve allows us to take a major step forward in how we nourish our children. By using local ingredients and preparing more meals from scratch, we can provide less processed options that support student well-being and academic success.”

In the first year of the grant, EASTCONN will renovate the kitchen at the Columbia site, installing large-scale preparation and storage equipment. Staff will receive training in the safe handling and preparation of local produce and meats, and pilot menus featuring regionally grown items will be introduced in at least three schools. In year two, the program will expand to all partner schools, with family engagement events added to promote nutrition and local food awareness.

The centralized kitchen model is designed for equity as well as efficiency: schools that currently lack their own kitchen capacity or food service staff will still be able to offer nutritious, scratch-made meals. Bulk purchasing, streamlined distribution, and revenue from expanded food service contracts are expected to sustain the program beyond the grant period, creating a scalable model that other regions can replicate.

The grant also supports agricultural education, with cafeteria presentations, taste-testing events, and family programming centered on nutrition, cooking, and farming. These activities are designed to strengthen students’ connections to local food systems and foster lasting healthy eating habits across the community.