Resources
Merced County
Merced County has 20 school districts, 3 charter schools and 1 county office of education. In 2022 the Kitchen Infrastructure and Training (KIT) Fund sent $6.6 million to agencies in the county, and in 2025 another $2 million.
Every agency's KIT money
The California Department of Education (CDE) gave the 2022 round by formula to agencies that sponsor the federal school meal programs. The 2025 round was a competitive grant. Hands-on food education in school gardens is an allowed use of the 2026 money.
$6.6 million
2022 allocations
$2 million
2025 grants
| Agency | Type | 2022 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atwater Elementary | School district | $423,323 | $172,870 | |
| Ballico-Cressey Elementary | School district | $124,749 | $14,610 | |
| Delhi Unified | School district | $403,892 | None listed | Priority |
| Dos Palos Oro Loma Joint Unified | School district | $290,459 | $45,943 | |
| El Nido Elementary | School district | $140,169 | None listed | Priority |
| Gustine Unified | School district | $358,515 | None listed | Priority |
| Hilmar Unified | School district | $319,155 | $101,798 | |
| Le Grand Union Elementary | School district | $135,044 | $16,010 | |
| Le Grand Union High | School district | $160,405 | None listed | Priority |
| Livingston Union | School district | $543,044 | $96,769 | |
| Los Banos Unified | School district | $593,890 | $388,469 | |
| McSwain Union Elementary | School district | $138,648 | None listed | Priority |
| Merced City Elementary | School district | $730,887 | $483,126 | |
| Merced River Union Elementary | School district | $126,019 | None listed | Priority |
| Merced Union High | School district | $1,320,903 | $540,987 | |
| Plainsburg Union Elementary | School district | None listed | None listed | |
| Planada Elementary | School district | None listed | None listed | |
| Snelling-Merced Falls Union Elementary | School district | $104,194 | None listed | Priority |
| Weaver Union | School district | $236,295 | None listed | Priority |
| Winton | School district | $448,601 | $116,009 | |
| Ballico-Cressey Community Charter | Charter school | None listed | None listed | |
| Come Back Charter | Charter school | None listed | None listed | |
| Merced Scholars Charter | Charter school | None listed | None listed | |
| Merced County Office of Education | County office of education | None listed | None listed |
2022 amounts as of March 29, 2024; 2025 amounts as of March 11, 2026.
Priority: on CDE's 2022 allocations and not on its 2025 grant list. The 2026 law (Education Code 49507) gives these agencies first priority in 2026.
A charter school that reorganized since a round may be listed under an older charter number.
Gardens in Merced County
Of the 20 school districts here, Ten Strands found public evidence of a school garden in 6 and of garden-based education in 6.
From Ten Strands' statewide district dataset, as of September 29, 2026. Ten Strands looks for public evidence, so a missing item may mean the district has not said so publicly.
School garden data
The statewide findings, the method and the validation form.
Fix your district's data
Tell Ten Strands what your district has, so the next analysis counts it.
Ten Strands' district dataset
The Data Initiative for Environmental and Climate Action in California's TK-12 Schools: some ninety indicators for every district, free to download.
Coalition members near Merced County
Member organizations in the Central Valley region, then the ones that work statewide. Not sure which one fits? Write to us at hello@caschoolgardens.org and we'll introduce you.
In the Central Valley region
Statewide
Does your organization work with schools here? Add it to the coalition.