News & Updates: Schools and Students for New England’s Food Future

In 2026, we are entering the second of a five-year period of intensive focus and stepped-up action by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation to support and encourage leadership, investment, innovation, and progress in New England’s food system. Schools and students collectively represent one of the most important forces for change, wielding enormous purchasing power over the short and long-term.
 
The following summary represents a review of accomplishments in 2025, as well as priority focus areas for 2026 that we hope will help ensure continued momentum and progress.
 

2030 Action Plan: Year One
 
In January 2025, we launched our 2030 Action Plan: Schools & Students for New England’s Food Future and by April, it was clear that the dramatic reductions in federal funding were creating instability, uncertainty, and shifting expectations throughout the region. To ensure our support remained relevant, timely, and responsive to the moment, we asked partners and stakeholders:

“How could the foundation deploy $1 million over the next six months to help farm to school efforts withstand threats and position the movement for long-term success and impact?” 
 
With input from 90 individuals representing all six states and various parts of the food system, we remained focused on the goals and strategies of our Action Plan, while responding to the identified priorities and pressing needs.
 
In response to stakeholder feedback:  

• We adapted our New England Food Vision Prize program to include two application periods with a four-week turnaround from submission to decision, streamlined the criteria and application process, and increased our total Prize budget. Twenty-five Food Vision Prizes were awarded a total of $2.3 million, more than double our largest year on record.

• We invested in advocacy and policy efforts to advance farm to school and food system investments at the state level and supported movement-building, campaign coordination, events and gatherings in partnership with ten regional and state-level food system and farm to school network organizations.

• We supported ten food hubs and processors looking to maintain or grow their school and institutional partnerships and invested in their teams, infrastructure, distribution, and operational capacity.

• We supported farm to school institutes, professional development and training for school nutrition teams, farm to school coordinators, wholesale readiness training for farmers, and scholarships for conference attendees.

• In 2025, we provided 52 grants, double the number provided in 2024, and over $4.3 million to our partners across New England.

• Our 2025 grantees supported projects and programs that reached 800 schools and 370,000 students. That’s 14% of the region’s schools and 12% of the region’s students!

What’s Ahead for 2026
 
In 2026, we will continue to direct our support in line with the vision of New England Feeding New England. Our grantmaking will strengthen school supply chains, increase school and campus purchasing of regional food, and elevate innovators across the system. Through collaborative partnerships and the 2026 Food Vision Prize, we aim to build demand for regional foods, creating reliable markets that benefit producers and intermediaries alike.
 
Keep an eye out for the 2026 New England Food Vision Prize announcement in early February. Information will be shared by email and posted on our website.
 
Your leadership, courage, innovation, and commitment to a resilient and regional food system are inspiring, and we look forward to an equally impactful 2026!

TagsFood Hubs, Higher Ed, K12, Leadership, Networks, Supply Chain