FY 2023 School Breakfast Program Expansion Grant - State Agencies and District of Columbia

The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (the Act), Section 23 (42 USC 1793), as amended by Section 105 of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (PL 111-296), authorizes funds to provide grants on a competitive basis to state agencies. An amount of $6 million is available for award to state agencies within U.S. states and the District of Columbia to expand the School Breakfast Program (SBP).

The purpose of the SBP expansion grants is to provide sub-grants to local educational agencies (LEAs), not to exceed $10,000 per qualifying school or group of qualifying schools per school year, to establish, maintain, or expand the SBP. As defined in Section 4(d)(1) of the Act, the term “qualifying school” means a school in severe need. This includes only schools (having an SBP or desiring to initiate an SBP) in which 40 percent or more of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) lunches served to students at the school were served free or at a reduced price.

The SBP is a federally assisted meal program that was established in 1966. It provides categorical grants to assist public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions that serve breakfasts to “nutritionally needy” children. The SBP operates in the same manner as the NSLP. This is a new RFA and a FY 2023 opportunity.

The SBP Expansion Grant provides sub-grants to local educational agencies (LEAs) to:

1. Improve quality and nutritional standards of breakfast food served using less sodium and sugar and serving a variety of protein sources, whole grains, milk, fruits and vegetables,
2. Establish, maintain, or expand a school breakfast program, and
3. Increase breakfast participation in qualifying schools.. Awarded grantees can use up to 15 percent of their award for grant administration.

Agencies representing U.S. territories are directed to apply for this grant under a separate RFA, titled “Child Nutrition School Breakfast Program Expansion Grant for U.S. Territories” and available on Grants.gov.

Grant Awards (September 2023)

Illinois - $1,910,220

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) will expand the School Breakfast Program by providing subgrants to qualifying local educational agencies (LEAs), increasing student and LEA participation, and improving the quality and nutritional standards of breakfast foods served. ISBE's project design will consist of four phases: (1) School Breakfast Program subgrants awarded to qualifying LEAs, (2) nutrition education for food service staff, (3) collaborating and concluding, in which ISBE will host a virtual event that allows LEAs to share their experiences and provide feedback on their results, and (4) result analysis, in which ISBE will analyze program data to measure the success rate of each LEA's grant program. For additional information on this project, contact Abbey Johnson at abjohnso@isbe.net.

Pennsylvania - $1,716,627

To meet the objectives of the SBP Expansion Grant, the Pennsylvania Department of Education will award subgrants of up to $10,000 to up to 60 qualifying schools in each of two funding cycles. Schools will be strongly encouraged to propose plans that involve alternative breakfast service models. The co-project directors will develop and present a webinar on improving the nutritional quality of school breakfast meals with an emphasis on moving away from pre-packaged items and serving more hot breakfasts. Sub-grant schools will be required to enter their SBP menus into the PrimeroEdge Menu Planning system for nutrient analyses and to participate in check-in calls to discuss their progress, successes, and challenges with the co-project directors and representatives from other schools. Data analysis will be used to measure changes in SBP participation and changes in nutritional quality of school breakfast. For additional information about this project, contact Vonda Ramp at vramp@pa.gov.

Wisconsin - $1,819,722

To increase School Breakfast Program (SBP) participation in Wisconsin, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) School Nutrition Team (SNT) will subgrant funds to schools for targeted activities focusing on improving the nutritional quality and standards of breakfast foods served. DPI SNT will provide tangible, practical guidance for school nutrition professionals and collaborate with schools to identify and complete activities to implement best practices for sodium and sugar reduction in their school food service operations while increasing whole grains, meat/meat alternatives, and fruit and vegetable offerings. The grant will involve training and education, implementation of individualized school plans, and evaluation of results in a three-phase approach. DPI SNT will award subgrants with a focus on the most at-risk school populations so that schools can increase access to nutritious breakfasts, thereby fostering better student health and education outcomes. For additional information about this project, contact Jessica Sharkus at Jessica.Sharkus@dpi.wi.gov.