WASHINGTON — Agriculture Under Secretary Kevin Concannon Thursday announced a series of grants and tools designed to help schools serve healthier meals and snacks – and help students select them – as they return from summer breaks.
The announcement includes $5.7 million in Team Nutrition grants to state agencies administering the National School Lunch and Child and Adult Care Food Programs, USDA said.
Several states will use the grants to increase the number of schools implementing Smarter Lunchroom strategies, which are methods for encouraging kids to choose healthy food.
USDA is also funding 2,500 toolkits to provide school districts with the resources they need to take advantage of research on Smarter Lunchroom strategies.