The Biden Administration is providing $1.5 billion in funding to states and schools through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to help meal program operators push through COVID-19 related supply chain shortages while providing students with nutritious food.
The funding, made available through the USDA Commodity Credit Corporation, will provide $1 billion for schools to purchase food for their meal programs, a Dec. 17 USDA press release said. An additional $300 million will go to states for purchasing food for schools and another $200 million will be used for cooperative agreements to purchase local foods from historically underserved producers.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the food and funds distributed by the USDA will help make sure schools have the resources necessary to continue to serve quality food to their children.
“USDA’s school meal programs have a wide-reaching impact on the health and well-being of our nation’s children,” Vilsack said in the release. “Now, more than ever, America’s children need access to healthy and nutritious foods and our school nutrition professionals play a huge role in making that happen. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, school districts have met extraordinary challenges to ensure that every child has the food needed to learn, grow and thrive.”
The $1 billion in Supply Chain Assistance Funds are expected to provide a boost in resources for up to 100,000 schools across all 50 states, D.C. and U.S territories, the release said. Funding may “be used by school districts to purchase unprocessed and minimally processed domestic food such as fresh fruit, milk, cheese, frozen vegetables and ground meat,” with each state allocating funds based on enrollment.
The funds are part of the Biden Administration’s continued effort to provide nutritious food to U.S. children amid challenges posed by the pandemic, the release said.
