The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded the Michigan Department of Education $496,000 in grants to help expand foodservice training and smarter lunchroom training in particular.
“It’s wonderful to see stakeholders leverage resources in order to improve the health and academic growth of students. The connection between good health and academic success is proven, and this work will continue to fuel the creation of healthier school environments across Michigan,” said State Superintendent Brian Whiston in a release.
The funds given to the MDE are apart of the $8 million in grants the USDA earmarked last month to help school nutrition professionals struggling to prepare healthy meals.
Although the USDA contends that 95 percent of schools are successfully meeting the nutritional standards of the National School Lunch Program, a recent SNA survey revealed that meeting the mandates has harmed the financial health of nearly 70 percent of school-meal programs and benefitted fewer than 3 percent.
The USDA’s awards come as Congress prepares to reauthorize The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, which expires Sept. 30.
Initially, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry had scheduled a markup of a reauthorization bill for Thursday, Sept. 17, but issued a statement three days prior to that it had been delayed indefinitely, as reported by FoodService Director.