Apply by May 26: New School Nutrition Grant Program for Small and Rural Districts

The Healthy Meal Incentives Grant Program for small and rural school food authorities (SFAs) is now open. Deadline to apply is May 26. For the purposes of this program, “small” means less than or equal to 5,000 students and “rural” means a locale code of 41, 42, or 43.  

The program will provide up to $150,000 and technical assistance to grantees to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals. Funds will be awarded to SFAs that are experiencing challenges in the improvement of the nutritional quality of their school meals due to limited staffing, difficulty in accessing training, increased food costs due to limited purchasing power, lack of physical space, and outdated kitchen equipment.

This grant opportunity comes as USDA has released proposed updates to the nutrition standards that would further reduce sodium and, for the time ever, reduce added sugars in school meals. These funds will support SFAs in meeting the new standards that are set to begin implementation in SY24-25. (Note: the proposed standards are not yet final and still in the comment period but not expected to change drastically.)

See additional information and resources on how to apply here.