USDA announces which nonprofit will manage new grant and awards program for school nutrition

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced the nonprofit that will be in charge of managing the grant and awards program that is part of the USDA’s $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives initiative. 

Action for Healthy Kids will receive $47 million to manage the program, which seeks to provide assistance and recognition to school districts, especially those that are smaller and in rural areas, that are excelling at offering high quality meals to students. 

As part of the program, select schools will receive grants of up to $150,000 to help them overcome staffing shortages, lack of space, outdated equipment and rising food costs.

The program also establishes a Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition awards program that will honor school nutrition teams making strides when it comes to exceeding nutrition requirements for sodium and whole grains, reducing added sugars in school breakfasts, implementing scratch cooking and nutrition education, reflecting the culture of the student body and more.

Action for Healthy Kids is also teaming up with fellow nonprofits RMC Health and the Chef Ann Foundation to help implement the program. The former will be in charge of designing, leading and managing the program’s overall training and technical assistance strategy, while the later will provide technical assistance to support school nutrition operators improve the quality of school meals, meet the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award and mitigate potential barriers to success. 

“USDA is excited about the collaboration with Action for Healthy Kids to support and share innovative practices that will empower schools to continue serving delicious, healthy meals, and give students a healthy start,” USDA Food and Nutrition Services Administrator Cindy Long said in a statement. “We look forward to this partnership and lifting up the great work being done by nutrition professionals throughout the country.”

The USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives initiative was announced last summer as part of a larger framework released by the department to help strengthen the supply chain and combat inflation.