February 2026
Florida Farm Bureau distributed a total of $47,346 to fund meaningful, hands-on agricultural learning experiences in the 2025-26 school year through its Classroom Mini-Grant program.
Florida Farm Bureau county leaders and Women’s Leadership Committee members delivered 194 mini-grant checks to 168 schools across Florida– the largest amount of mini-grants awarded in a single year.
The Mini-Grant program was created to help teachers build awareness in their classrooms of the vital role Florida farmers and ranchers play in feeding communities and stewarding the land. Teachers will use grant funds to support a wide range of engaging classroom projects, including:
- Raised gardens, greenhouses and hydroponic systems
- Egg incubators, chicken coops and beehives
- Food science and nutrition programs
- Ornamental horticulture studies
- Adding agricultural literature such as A Land Remembered and Cotton and its Boll Versus the Peanut and its Hull to classroom libraries
- And much more
Applications for the next grant cycle will open July 6, 2026. Any educator engaged in agricultural education for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade is eligible to apply.
The following are some examples of how 2025-26 mini-grant recipients are helping shape the next generation of informed consumers, leaders and agricultural professionals.
At Baker School in Okaloosa County, third-grade teacher Christina Fassnacht will use her Classroom Mini-Grant to bring biology lessons to life through a chicken incubation project. Students will observe and document every step of the chicken life cycle, ultimately growing their understanding of the role that farmers play in cultivating their food.
Amanda Brock’s $250 Classroom Mini-Grant will help kickstart a new collaborative project between the career and technical education classes at Marianna High School in Jackson County. Students in business classes will operate an online store stocked with items produced by the agriculture, engineering and culinary classes, combining hands-on agricultural science with practical business skills.
Sarah Andrews’ Agricultural Foundations and Animal Sciences classes at Fort White High School in Columbia County were awarded a Classroom Mini-Grant to fund a livestock simulator– a reusable resource that will benefit students for years to come. The simulator will allow students to gain confidence and real-world experience in practicing key livestock identification techniques before working with live animals.
At Tomoka Elementary in Volusia County, Jessica Springer’s third-grade class will use a $250 Classroom Mini-Grant to design and build greenhouses to grow edible flowers. Students will learn about plant anatomy and photosynthesis while practicing record-keeping and data analysis.
Elementary STEM teacher Anthony Pocopanni received a Classroom Mini-Grant to create a school garden at Global Leadership Academy Discovery in Duval County. His elementary schoolers will collaborate with middle school STEM students to grow a variety of fruits and vegetables.
Thanks to a Classroom Mini-Grant, middle school English and Language Arts teacher Merredith Schaefer will be able to integrate a school garden into her agricultural elective class at Madeira Beach Fundamental in Pinellas County. Since most students in this suburban area have limited knowledge of farming, this project will be a fun introduction to self-sustainability through growing your own food. Schaefer hopes it will encourage them to pursue their own agricultural projects in the community.
Agriculture teacher Rebekah Entry at South Elementary School in Okeechobee County plans to use her Classroom Mini-Grant to engage fifth grade students in hands-on learning about plant biology, nutrition, sustainability and responsibility by growing and harvesting their own salad ingredients. The project will conclude with a salad-making celebration where students can enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor.
Agriscience teacher Angelina Rivera-Benavides at Dr. Mona Jain Middle School in Manatee County will use her Classroom Mini-Grant to fund a coral farm. This project will engage students in the conservation of Florida’s coral reefs from the classroom, providing foundational knowledge in aquaculture and marine conservation.
By the end of the semester, students will successfully propagate and maintain at least ten healthy coral fragments, recording weekly water quality data with 90 percent accuracy. Within eight weeks, students will complete a research presentation on coral reef ecosystems and the role of aquaculture in marine conservation.
Deanna Jones teaches science at Highland Elementary School in Palm Beach County, a Title I school serving a significant number of students facing housing instability and food insecurity. Jones’ Classroom Mini-Grant will help support the school’s vegetable garden, which functions as an outdoor classroom and source of fresh produce for students. All students will engage in hands-on agricultural activities throughout the school year and see firsthand how participating in sustainable food systems can address hunger in their own community.
