USDA’s Foodstuff and Diet Provider (FNS) has recognized the Wholesome Meals Incentives Initiative to improve the dietary high quality of university foods through foodstuff units transformation, faculty meals authority recognition and technical help, the era and sharing of modern concepts and tested techniques, and grants.

Essential Pursuits

Nutritious Foods Incentives Recognition Awards for University Meals Authorities

Beginning college 12 months 2023-24, FNS will present Wholesome Meals Incentives Recognition Awards to celebrate faculty food items authorities (SFAs) that have manufactured major improvements to the nutritional high quality of their college foods. Most effective procedures from the awardees will be shared and identified. 

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Healthier Foods Incentives Grants for Tiny and/or Rural University Food Authorities

In spring/summertime 2023, FNS will provide aggressive grants (up to $150,000 for every grant) for little and/or rural SFAs that are going through troubles strengthening the dietary high-quality of their college meals. Obstacles involve, but are not confined to staffing shortages, problems accessing instruction, elevated foods fees, lack of physical room, and outdated kitchen devices. These grants are meant to aid tiny and/or rural SFAs triumph over these difficulties, boost the nutrition of school foods, and meet up with Healthier Meals Incentives Recognition Award standards.

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Faculty Food Programs Transformation Obstacle Grants

Setting up in spring 2023, FNS will aid the development and progressive remedies for K-12 foodstuff support transformation. Through partnerships involving different entities, the aim is to develop a resilient, equitable, and nutritious university foods technique. As portion of these grants, grantees will do the job with marketplace companions (agricultural producers, growers, processors, etcetera.) to build imaginative alternatives to offer healthy meals for university foods.  

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Balanced Meals Summits

FNS will host two Healthful Meals Summits for Nutritious Meals Incentives Recognition Award recipients and University Foods Techniques Transformation grantees. All through the summits, attendees will share best tactics and methods for sustaining their achievements.

 

Study Much more

The Balanced Meals Incentives things to do observed over are predicted to boost utilization, and therefore demand from customers, for wholesome agricultural commodities, this sort of as full grains, greens, legumes, and fruits as perfectly as food items products and solutions that reflect several cultures. These efforts are also positioned to improve tiny and rural faculty food authorities’ access to wholesome agricultural commodities as a result of food items techniques transformation and grants to smaller and rural school food items authorities.

The collection and sharing of best tactics concerning school foods authorities’ use of wholesome agricultural commodities in college meals, as perfectly as the incentivization of tactics these types of as nutrition training (which include farm to school nourishment training), use of nearby agricultural solutions in scratch cooking, and the progress of culturally-varied school meal menu things is also anticipated to indirectly reward producers that offer food products to faculties.

Utilize

Ask for for Apps: The Enhancement and Implementation of Wholesome Foods Incentives Recognition Awards and Sub-Grants for School Food items Authorities Cooperative Agreement.

  • FNS plans to enter into a cooperative settlement with a non-governmental entity that will establish and put into practice the Wholesome Meals Incentives Recognition Awards, Balanced Foods Incentives Grants for Little/Rural SFAs, and the planning and implementation of the Healthier Foods Summits.  
  • The RFA is open up from Sept. 23, 2022 as a result of Nov. 28, 2022 
  • Show up at the informational webinar on Oct. 6, 2022 at 2:00 pm ET

Take note: College Food Systems Transformation Grants will be supported by way of a different cooperative agreement that is not component of this RFA.