School kitchens across the country are getting $50 million for equipment upgrades to improve food service and ensure the nation's school children are served healthy, appetizing meals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced recently.
The grant funding was announced by the USDA Oct. 11, during National School Lunch Week Oct. 10-14, "a time to recognize the critical nutrition that school meals provide to tens of millions of children every school day," the announcement states. The $50 million in grants adds to the $30 million in equipment awards provided to schools earlier this year, the USDA reports. School districts which participate in the National School Lunch Program are eligible for the funding, which will be provided by the USDA to states to award, according to the announcement.
"School districts can use the funds to purchase upgraded equipment that will support serving healthier meals," the USDA states in the announcement, "including those sourced from local foods; implementing scratch cooking; establishing or expanding school breakfast; storing fresh food; and improving food safety."
Hoke County Schools in Raeford, N.C., used its funds to purchase warming cabinets and reach-in refrigerators for its middle and high schools, according to Deborah Carpenter, the district's child nutrition executive director. The equipment has "helped with serving our complex menu items," Carpenter said in the announcement.
"The equipment that has really assisted our program the past two years have been Blast Chillers, which allow us to quickly cool down our foods," Carpenter said. This has decreased the time students had to wait for their meals, which has increased the number of students eating lunch, she said.
"Students eat with their eyes and when the food looks good, they eat more," Carpenter said. "The ultimate goal for Hoke County Schools is to provide the highest quality menu food items to all students and with this equipment, we are able to accomplish this goal.”
USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack said the agency is "doubling down" on its responsibility to help schools mitigate challenges such as high food costs and supply-chain disruptions, the report states. He said the additional grant funding will allow schools "provide healthy, appealing meals by meeting vital food service equipment needs.”
“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,” Vilsack said in the announcement.
