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USDA Awards $10 Million to Spark Innovation in Regional School Food Systems
USDA’s FNS awarded a total of $10 million in grants through its partners – Full Plates Full Potential and the Illinois Public Health Institute – as part of USDA’s $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative. The initiative empowers schools to continue serving delicious, healthy meals that give students nutrition to grow and thrive.
07/10/2024
News Item
FNS Announces $26 Million of Investments in School Meal Programs
FNS today announced $26 million in new grants to support schools’ efforts to serve nutritious and delicious foods to students. Headlining the new investments are nearly $6.5 million in grants that will increase healthy foods in the school meals marketplace by supporting collaboration between schools, food producers and suppliers, and other partners.
05/16/2024
News Item
Biden-Harris Administration Announces New School Meal Standards to Strengthen Child Nutrition
Secretary Tom Vilsack announced major steps to promote the health of America’s children through school meals. Nutrition standards for school meals will be gradually updated to include less sugar and flexibility with menu planning between Fall 2025 and Fall 2027. The Department arrived at these changes after listening closely to public feedback and considering the latest science-based recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
04/24/2024
News Item
Join the Challenge: Grant Opportunities Now Open
The USDA Northeast Region announced today two new grant opportunities available through the School Food System Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants, part of USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative.
02/13/2024
Subscriber Updates
Applications Now Open for States to Streamline Access to Free, Reduced Price School Meals
Did you know there’s a way for children in Medicaid households to be automatically eligible for free and reduced price school meals without their families completing another application? It’s called the Direct Certification with Medicaid Demonstration Project and USDA recently opened applications for more states to participate.
11/29/2023
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USDA Expands Access to School Breakfast and Lunch for More Students
USDA today announced that it is giving an estimated 3,000 more school districts in high-need areas the option to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no cost, by expanding the availability of the Community Eligibility Provision, commonly known as CEP.
09/26/2023
Blog
Critical Need to Increase Food Security in Rural Alaska
A key part of our work to end hunger, improve nutrition, increase physical activity, and reduce diet-related diseases is focusing on historically under-served areas, like rural and Tribal communities. Alaska, for instance, faces unique challenges.
09/20/2023
News Item
USDA Announces Approval of D-SNAP for Hawaii Disaster Areas
USDA announced that low-income Hawaii residents recovering from the devastating wildfires beginning Aug. 8, 2023, could be eligible for assistance from the USDA’s Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or D-SNAP.
09/14/2023
Subscriber Updates
Child Nutrition Program Integrity Final Rule
FNS published a final rule on program integrity to ensure that child nutrition programs are properly operated and managed to protect federal funds and taxpayer dollars.
08/23/2023
Page updated: February 09, 2021