Key Takeaways:
- The initiative supports innovation and improves the nutritional quality of school meals.
- USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service awarded $10 million in grants as part of the $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative (HMI).
- Grants were distributed through partners Full Plates Full Potential and the Illinois Public Health Institute.
- HMI has awarded 264 grants to small and rural school districts and 43 under the School Food System Transformation Challenge.
- The Biden-Harris Administration aims to strengthen school food systems and ensure access to nutritious meals for students.
USDA’s Commitment to Healthy School Meals
The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service has awarded a total of $10 million in grants through its partners Full Plates Full Potential and the Illinois Public Health Institute. This funding is part of the USDA’s $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative (HMI), which aims to empower schools to serve healthy, delicious meals that support student growth and well-being.
School Food System Transformation Challenge
The grants announced today are part of the School Food System Transformation Challenge, a component of the HMI. These funds are designed to support innovation in the school meals marketplace by encouraging collaboration between schools, the food industry, and other stakeholders. HMI also provides grants to small and rural school districts to enhance the nutritional quality of their meals and modernize their operations. To date, 264 grants totaling $30 million have been awarded to small and rural school districts, and 43 grants totaling $16.5 million have been awarded under the School Food System Transformation Challenge.
Support from the Biden-Harris Administration
“USDA is committed to strengthening the nutritional quality of school meals and it starts with strengthening the K-12 school food marketplace, which serves as an important source of nutrition for many children,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These grants will allow schools to purchase a wider variety of healthy, appealing products from local and regional producers, while building a more resilient and equitable food system.”
The Biden-Harris Administration is dedicated to providing America’s schools with the necessary tools to offer quality meals to their students. This year, nearly two dozen grantees in the Northeast and Midwest received funds to spur innovation in school cafeterias.
Full Plates Full Potential Grants
Full Plates Full Potential, a non-profit organization focused on ending childhood food insecurity in Maine, awarded $7.4 million in School Food System Innovation Grants to seven organizations. These projects aim to help schools overcome barriers to purchasing Maine-based foods for their meal programs and to establish long-term solutions and best practices that can be replicated in other regions.
Illinois Public Health Institute Grants
The Illinois Public Health Institute awarded $2.7 million to 16 organizations through the Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub’s Spark and Innovation Collaborative Awards. These grants will drive change throughout the Lake Michigan region’s school food system, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The projects aim to strengthen the K-12 food system by building regional partnerships, scaling programs, and introducing healthy new products for the school food marketplace.
