Action for Healthy Kids is awarding nearly $30 million in subgrants to 264 school districts across 44 states and the District of Columbia. The funds are being provided by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service and will go toward boosting school nutrition programs.
In South Dakota, grants are going to the Gregory and Gayville-Volin school districts.
USDA Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small says as the school year gets going, it’s important to make sure students have nutritious meals to eat.
“All across the country, parents are getting ready to send their kids to school. And we want to take this time to highlight the work that school nutrition professionals do to keep kids healthy and thriving, so we can help them continue to do even more. Every day, almost 30 million children eat a school meal. And what research tells us is that that’s typically the healthiest meal that child will eat that day. So, it’s important at this moment that we have to make sure that kids get healthy meals that will help them during this formative time to be able to learn at their best and also grow into healthy adults.”
Rob Bisceglie is CEO of Action for Healthy Kids. He talks about how schools will use the funds to improve their meal programs.
“This is a historic investment by the USDA Food and Nutrition Service in school nutrition and will reach students in some of our nation’s highest-needs schools. Through the HMI grants, small and rural school districts will be able to modernize their operations and provide more nutritious meals that appeal to students while increasing culturally-relevant foods in their communities.”
The Gregory School District is receiving nearly $150-thousand ($149,970), which is the maximum amount a district can get. The Gayville-Volin School District has been allotted just over $117-thousand ($117,017).
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.
Each small and/or rural school district could 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:
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Innovative staff training programs;
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Kitchen updates and renovations;
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Redesigning food preparation and service spaces;
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Other school-district led efforts to support school meals and school nutrition professionals.
These funds are being provided by USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service.
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