The United States Department of Agriculture recently provided $50 million in grants for schools to invest in new food service equipment that will allow them to serve more nutritious meals.
This is in addition to $30 million in equipment grants the administration granted to schools earlier in the year, according to an Oct. 11 USDA news release.
“Ensuring access to nutritious school meals is one of the best investments we can make in our fight to end child hunger and improve health,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the release. “As we celebrate the valiant efforts of school nutrition professionals across the country this National School Lunch Week, USDA is doubling down on our commitment to helping schools overcome challenges including higher food prices and continued supply chain disruptions."
Vilsack noted these resources will help schools provide "healthy, appealing meals by meeting vital food service equipment needs," the release reported.
This backing for child nutrition works in concert with the recent White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health, where the administration revealed a plan to put a top to hunger and decrease diet-related disease by 2030, according to the release. The USDA gives money to states, which then use a competitive application process to award money to school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program.
School districts can use funds to upgrade equipment that will support serving healthier meals, including locally-sourced food; implementing scratch cooking; upgrade school breakfast programs; storing fresh food; and improving food safety, the release reported.
These are not the first moves to increase school lunch quality, as the USDA recently launched the first phase of a $100 million initiative which will award grants for small and rural schools to improve their meal quality, according to the release.
Other states that will be receiving major funds include New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Tennessee at more than $2 million each, according to a breakdown of the state allocations. The state that will be getting the highest funding of this combined $80 million is Texas at more than $10 million.
