Butler Area School District is getting a total of $55,000 in grant money from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The district is getting $30,000 from the Farm Bill Urban Agriculture Grant, and $25,000 from the Farm to School and Agriculture and Youth Grant Program. Both grants, according to a news release from the department, are aimed at combating food insecurity and agricultural education.

Brian White, superintendent of Butler school district, said both grants will be used in the elementary schools, particularly Summit Elementary, which has a developing gardening and agricultural education program where students learn hands-on skills with plants.

The Farm to School grants are awarded to “improve access to healthy, local foods and increase agriculture education opportunities for children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade,” according to the release.

“Access to food is a basic human right. It should be accessible close to home, not a car or bus ride away,” said agriculture secretary Russell Redding. “We aim to support businesses to end food apartheid and transform neighborhoods by strengthening food access through urban agriculture and the zip-code neutral approach of the Pennsylvania Farm Bill.”