In recent years, the rise of childhood obesity has brought increased attention to possible methods of improving the quality of school lunch food. Among these efforts are grant programs that help schools bring fresh food into their cafeterias and encourage students to eat healthier. Grants are available from the federal government to support community food projects and school nutrition awareness. Private foundations provide assistance as well, and some programs come in the form of materials like vegetable seeds and salad bars.
Community Food Projects Grant
The Department of Agriculture offers a federal funding program called the Community Food Projects Grant, which helps expand the availability of fresh food in low-income communities. This program is fairly flexible in terms of how funds can be used, but generally, eligible projects support comprehensive approaches to address local food needs. Projects might involve urban gardening or the development of local agriculture. They could also fund efforts to connect low-income schools and communities with sources of fresh food.
Team Nutrition Grants
The Department of Agriculture also funds training grants for state agencies to help improve school lunch options. This funding opportunity is available to assist schools served by the National School Lunch Program. The USDA seeks to provide state agencies with the ability to improve training for school food service employees, to reach out to parents and teachers, and to build community support for healthier school food options. As of February 2011, $5.5 million in funding is available through this program. A sum of $2.5 million will be awarded to the states as noncompetitive grants.
Operation Green Plant Seed Grant
Some grants helping to provide fresh food for kids come in the form of materials rather than financial assistance. The America the Beautiful Fund provides grants in the form of free seeds to schools and community gardens for the development of vegetable plots. Since 1980, their Operation Green Plant program has awarded seeds to 80,000 communities across America. The fund has also helped schools reclaim seeds from landfills by providing a new use for waste seed.
Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools Grant
Another grant program for materials is the Let's Move Salad Bars to Schools Grant, funded by a consortium of private partners that includes the National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance. The grant is intended to provide more schools with salad bar facilities, which have been shown to greatly increase kids' consumption of fresh food. Schools selected for assistance from Salad Bars to Schools receive a fully-funded salad bar to install and use in their cafeterias.
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