Poughkeepsie Farm Project lands $100K grant

A $100,000 grant will help the Poughkeepsie Farm Project expand its reach and impact, officials said via news release.

The Poughkeepsie Farm Project, a community-based agriculture cooperative, was created in 1999. The project offers educational programs, cooking workshops and demonstrations to Poughkeepsie City School District students and provides produce to local sponsored families.

The funding, a farm-to-school grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, was created to increase local foods served through child nutrition programs, teach children about agriculture, and develop schools’ and farmers’ capacities to participate in farm-to-school programs, according to a statement from two U.S. Democratic senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer of New York.

​The funding will continue to help "make local food and agriculture an ongoing and prioritized part of the Poughkeepsie student's experience,” said Lee Anne Albritton, executive director of the Poughkeepsie Farm Project, via statement. It will also "help us to broaden our impact by continuing to train Poughkeepsie teachers" in school gardening through a professional development program.

The Poughkeepsie district has the highest subsidized-lunch population in Dutchess County: about 86 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, according to district information. Because the number is so high, all students receive a free lunch.

The district also has the second-highest county rate of obesity among students at nearly 24 percent; only Webutuck is higher with 25 percent, according to the statewide School Health Services Center.