FY 2026 Team Nutrition Training Grant

Growing Healthier Futures

On Sept. 18, 2026, we awarded $9.5 million in fiscal year (FY) 2026 Team Nutrition Training Grant funds to 11 state agencies that administer the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), to achieve the following objectives:

• Objective 1 — School Meal Programs (NSLP, SBP, SFSP)
  Deliver training and technical assistance to child nutrition professionals to improve meal planning and preparation in line with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030, while promoting nutrition education and fostering healthy school environments that support nutritious food choices and active lifestyles, year-round.
• Objective 2 — CACFP
  Provide training, mentorship, and technical assistance to CACFP providers to strengthen meal planning and preparation for children and adults, while delivering nutrition education and supporting healthy food environments at CACFP sites.

The FY 2026 Team Nutrition Training Grant: Growing Healthier Futures supports and complements two tenets of the Harvest to Hallways initiative: investing in school kitchens and nutrition professionals, and accelerating healthier meals. These tenets support state agencies in implementing and facilitating professional development for child nutrition professionals, expanding capacity for school and child care wellness policies, and increasing nutrition education opportunities for schools and child care environments.

Learn more about the Harvest to Hallways Initiative, by visiting the Harvest to Hallways webpage.

Recipients of the FY 2026 Team Nutrition Training Grant

Objective 1: School Meal Programs

Iowa Department of Education
The Iowa Department of Education will deliver layered professional development (Back‑to‑School Conference, nine regional recipe standardization/culinary trainings, a statewide Nutrition & Culinary Conference), develop Nutrition Educator Training Modules (10 lessons), and support healthy environments through student culinary subgrants, monthly tray/meal of the month recognition, and a Local School Wellness Policy Engagement Toolkit.

Montana Office of Public Instruction
Montana Office of Public Instruction’s Rooted in Real Food provides a comprehensive, statewide training program (Eat REAL‑LY Good Food in Real School Meals), nutrition education through Summer Food Service Program sites (Real Fun with Real Food), and Local School Wellness Policy enhancement—plus a partnership with Nevada for shared training and farm to school capacity. Activities include regional chef‑led trainings, budget analysis and support, Harvest of the Month integration, taste tests, and lunchroom environment training.

Pennsylvania Department of Education
Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Project PA will deliver statewide culinary training, develop standardized Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month recipes through subgrants, provide Growing Healthier Futures mini‑grants to schools/Summer Food Service Program sponsors, and expand Local School Wellness Policy implementation support. Activities include nine, two‑day hands‑on chef‑led trainings, recipe standardization with Institute of Child Nutrition coaching, student engagement campaigns, and a webinar series to spread best practices. Expected impacts include improved scratch cooking capacity, new Dietary Guidelines for Americans aligned recipes accessible statewide, stronger wellness committees, and broader awareness of healthy school nutrition environments.

Virginia Department of Education
The Virginia Department of Education will build a statewide Growing Healthier Futures Ambassador Network (with Virginia Cooperative Extension) to deliver culinary/food/nutrition training, student/parent education, and Local School Wellness Policy (LSWP) support across 30 school food authorities. Ambassadors will provide on‑site training (up to four visits per year), quarterly virtual sessions, and subgrants to bolster capacity. The Virginia Department of Education will evaluate the project by tracking the number of trainings delivered (36), participant competencies, total hours of instruction (486), rural and urban reach, nutrition education exposure, LSWP revisions and staff engagement, dissemination of project messaging, and local food purchasing throughout the project period.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s WHISK Academy will train 100 child nutrition professionals in culinary skills, recipe standardization, local procurement, and behavioral strategies; offer subgrants to 24 school food authorities to implement scratch cooking and cafeteria improvements; launch a Build a Real Food Tray Toolkit to educate 10,000 students (plus family outreach); and expand student engagement through the Whipping Up Wellness chef competition (600 students).

Wyoming Department of Education
Wyoming Department of Education’s Prep, Plate, Promote: Real Food for Strong Kids (WY–UT) expands hands‑on culinary workshops, on‑demand professional development platform access, and structured mentorship for new/emerging child nutrition directors; connects nutrition education (Farm to School, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program) to menu development and procurement; and strengthens Local School Wellness Policy implementation and early adoption of DGAs.

Objective 2: CACFP

California Department of Social Services
The California Department of Social Services will deliver a Meal Pattern Crediting Academy (nine workshops), Feeding Infants in CACFP series (six virtual trainings), menu‑planning training (virtual + four in‑person), whole‑grain/grains trainings (six virtual), and expand Farm to CACFP through coalition engagement and workshops.

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning
Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning’s Georgia Child Care REFRESH strengthens CACFP operator capacity, engages children/families with developmentally appropriate nutrition education, and improves mealtime environments through an assessment‑to‑action cycle. The first-year assessment (University of Georgia‑led) will inform training, Real Recipes for CACFP, and the Plate of the Month campaign; years two and three pilot a healthy environment cohort, coaching, and sustainability planning.

Kansas State Department of Education
The Kansas State Department of Education will strengthen CACFP meal quality and food environments through an integrated program: Culinary Coach sessions and Healthier Kansas Menu Workshops (train‑the‑trainer reach to home day care providers); nutrition education (Farm to CACFP kits; Kansas Native Foods Harvest of the Month resources); and a Healthy Food Environments Course with Kansas Child Care Training Organization. Competitive subgrants will reduce barriers to adopting family‑style service, scratch cooking, and local foods.

Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Service’s Growing with MO: Healthy Children Start Here combines learning collaboratives (Go Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care), Culinary Skills Institute updates, seasonal menus, menu‑planning trainings, and a statewide CACFP community of practice. Family‑facing education (videos and activity sheets) amplifies messaging, while farm‑to‑early childhood education content and basic culinary video series sustain skills.

Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction
Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s Powering Up Healthier Futures launches six multimodal CACFP courses (meal patterns, positive mealtimes, scratch cooking, transitioning from ultra‑processed to whole/minimally processed foods, nutrition education, and menu planning/recipe development), each with canvas modules, live sessions, action planning, technical assistance office hours, and train‑the‑trainer for sponsoring organizations and partners (Idaho Department of Education, Department of Children, Youth, and Families). Toolkits translate content to classroom/family/cafeteria channels. Evaluation emphasizes feasible, sustained actions and expanded regional reach through subgrants and interagency partnerships.

Overview

This funding opportunity empowers state agencies to develop innovative strategies that strengthen child nutrition programs in schools and child care settings. These grants support the latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (.pdf) through a strategy that aims to reduce chronic disease and build a healthier future for children.

This grant will support state agencies by:

• Building capacity and expanding existing efforts;
• Improving meal quality through professional development;
• Strengthening nutrition education, lifestyle interventions, and parent engagement;
• Providing targeted support for National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) administrators to improve meal quality; and
• Establishing personnel infrastructure for NSLP, SBP, SFSP, and CACFP operators.

Funding

We expect to award $10 million in total funding, up to $1,000,000 per state agency for use over a three-year grant period, through a competitive award process. Please note, grant awards are subject to the availability of funding and/or appropriations of funds. We reserve the right to use this solicitation and the results of this competition to award additional grants this year or the subsequent fiscal year, should additional funds become available.

Eligibility

State agencies that administer the NSLP, SBP, SFSP, and the CACFP are eligible to apply.

Application Due Date

Full grant applications are due via Grants.gov, by 11:59 p.m. EDT July 31, 2026.

Applications received after the deadline will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed or considered. We will not accept mailed, faxed, or hand-delivered applications. Applications submitted without the required supporting documents, forms, and certifications will not be considered. Applications not submitted via the Grants.gov portal will not be considered. For questions regarding applications, please contact the Grant Officer, Anna Arrowsmith at anna.arrowsmith@usda.gov.

For more information, please contact TeamNutrition@usda.gov.