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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids recently announced that it is awarding nearly $30 million in subgrants to 264 school districts across 44 states and the District of Columbia, reaching students in some of our nation's highest need schools. These funds are being provided by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service.
"Students in every community deserve access to healthy and nutritious meals," USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small, said.
Each small and/or rural school district will receive up to $150,000 to support them in improving the nutritional quality of their meals and modernizing their operations, through efforts which could include:
Innovative staff training programs;
Kitchen updates and renovations;
Redesigning food preparation and service spaces;
Other school-district led efforts to support school meals and school nutrition professionals.
"When we strengthen school meal quality, we strengthen child health," USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Stacy Dean, said. "These grants are the largest targeted investment USDA has ever made for school meal programs in small and rural communities. We want to ensure every child in America has the opportunity to attend a school with high quality, nutritious meals, and this support is a step in that direction."
An online map features the selected school districts and their grant amounts. The map will be updated on a rolling basis as schools formalize their grant agreements.
USDA and Action for Healthy Kids also recently opened applications for the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards, which celebrate school districts that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals. All school districts in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the United States Virgin Islands are invited to apply. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis through June 30, 2025.
School districts that meet Recognition Award criteria will receive benefits such as national and local recognition; travel stipends to attend a national Healthy Meals Summit; access to diverse best practices, training activities; and more.
Action for Healthy Kids will manage the grants to school districts, Recognition Awards, and Healthy Meals Summits with the support of The Chef Ann Foundation and Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education.
USDA's Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative also includes the School Food System Transformation Challenge Grants, which aim to support innovation in the school meals market by increasing collaboration between schools, food producers and suppliers, and other partners.