Jenna Segal                Community Food Systems Fact Sheets
Midwest Farm to School Regional Lead, Senior Program Specialist
USDA Office of Community Food Systems, Food and Nutrition Service
Jenna.segal@usda.gov

2020 Illinois Funded Grants  - All U.S. Awards

Adelante Center for Entrepreneurship - $47,593
Waukegan, Illinois
Grant Type: Planning
The Adelante Center's Farm on Sheridan Young Farmer's program will be supported by Adelante
Center’s Farm on Sheridan indoor aquaponics farm. The project will build a community network
of community stakeholders, volunteer experts, and consultants to develop a Farm to School
Action Plan. The Farm to School program will be supported by Adelante Center’s Farm on
Sheridan indoor aquaponics farm. The Farm to School Action Plan will be facilitated by Farm on
Sheridan; it will provide an active procurement source within the community that needs it the
most and it will provide a robust venue for hands on agriculture education by both students and
families. The project will focus on engagement of the students, school districts, volunteers and
agriculture and nutrition experts to provide a comprehensive education platform that teaches
the principles of foods grow and the effect on health.

Common Threads - $100,000
Chicago, Illinois
Grant Type: Implementation
Common Threads’ project will develop the programmatic infrastructure needed to begin sourcing
from community-based urban farms for its school-based cooking and nutrition education
programs in Chicago. Common Threads will make curriculum adaptations that emphasize
seasonality and local food systems learning, implementing comprehensive Farm to School
educational programming in three schools over the course of the project period for students,
families, and teachers. Additionally, the project will increase awareness of local food and
agricultural education resources in the community. The project will collaborate with three
Chicago Public School sites and urban farms in close proximity to the schools. Common Threads’
ultimate goal is to create a scalable model for local procurement that can be replicated at other
schools in both Chicago and our 11 other program markets in future years.

Sola Gratia Farm - $47,960
Urbana, Illinois
Grant Type: Planning
The “twin cities” of Champaign and Urbana have very different school food service programs, but
both are serving schools located in multiple Opportunity Zones and a high proportion of children
who are eligible for free or reduced price meals, averaging 57% between the two districts. Sola 
Gratia Farm and CU Public Health District will collaborate with the districts to plan a F2S Program
in which: 1) Each child/student has the opportunity to try a wide variety of locally sourced foods
in a variety of forms/recipes; 2) Each child/student has the opportunity to learn about food
production and the significance of local food production in the greater economic and
environmental food systems, and meet the people producing the food; and 3) School meals not
only contribute to equality (all children have access to balanced meals), but also equity (all
students have access to locally sourced, healthy foods through the school lunch program)"

Sterling Community Unit School District #5 - $100,000
Sterling, Illinois
Grant Type: Implementation
Sterling Schools, in collaboration with the Dillon Foundation and the Community General Hospital
(CGH) Health Foundation, will implement a Farm to School program to change students'
relationships with food. The program will use a school greenhouse garden to add fresh, local
produce to the food service program. An agricultural educator will be hired to teach horticulture,
greenhouse management, and environmental science, through which students will learn how to
produce and harvest local foods while also respecting the environment. A nutrition-based
cooking class will teach students to incorporate fresh foods into daily recipes appropriate for a
variety of dietary needs.