BOSTON (WWLP) - The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced on Monday that $850,000 in grants will be awarded to 26 school districts and 11 childcare centers across Massachusetts to provide locally grown, nutritious food to students. The funding was provided through the state-funded Massachusett s Farming Reinforces Education and Student Health (FRESH) grants, supporting National School Lunch Program and Child and Adult Care Food Program sponsors to grow or procure locally grown food for students and staff to enjoy. Trump administration cuts $106M in funding for schools in Massachusetts This funding by the Healey administration came following the Trump administration's cancellation of the federal Fiscal Year 2025 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program. Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also confirmed to the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) that the state's $3.4 million allocation from the Emergency Food Assistance Program Commodity Credit Corporation had been cancelled. “While the Trump Administration continues to take away food from children and families, and hurt local businesses and farmers, Massachusetts is continuing to prioritize programs like these,” said Governor Maura Healey. “We know that our students succeed when they have access to healthy food, and we can create partnerships that support local businesses and farms in the process.”  Funds through the FRESH program can be for infrastructure and programming for curricular and extracurricular activities, including school gardening, indoor hydroponic growing, culinary classes, and farm field trips. Nutrition professionals will also be able to enhance school meals with locally grown options, and faculty will have new opportunities to teach food literacy lessons. "It’s important for students to understand where food comes from and how it is produced and prepared," said Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. "The MA FRESH grants are an important tool that connects students to their local food system and produce, while also providing STEM educational opportunities focused on food literacy, nutrition, plant science, and agriculture." Students can enjoy unprocessed or minimally processed foods during lunchtime at school, positively impacting their minds and bodies. The FY25 FRESH recipients, including multiple in western Mass., are: Billerica Public School District: $16,668  Boston Public School District: $30,000  Brockton Day Nursery, Inc: $30,000  Brockton Public School District: $20,000  Chicopee Public School District: $1,985  Communities United, Inc: $21,112  Community Action, Inc: $28,053  Dennis-Yarmouth Public School District: $26,870  East End House: $29,214  Gill-Montague Public School District: $27,540  Hatfield Public School District: $3,848  Leominster Public School District: $10,565  Lowell Public School District: $30,000  Merrimack Valley Young Men’s Christian Association, Inc: $20,785  New Bedford Public School District: $28,054  North Middlesex Public School District: $6,550  Orange Public School District: $6,710  Oxford Public School District: $2,950  People Incorporated: $22,871  Provincetown Public School District: $8,000  South Shore YMCA: $21,648  Taunton Public School District: $29,985  Westford Public School District: $16,600  Whitman-Hanson Public School District: $30,000  Worcester Public School District: $30,000  Local News Headlines Springfield man charged with trafficking cocaine in North Adams These Massachusetts schools awarded grants for locally grown food Healey budget would force Trial Court hiring freeze Springfield police seek help locating missing 58-year-old man WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. ...read more read less