The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it is providing almost $1.3 billion to states to help schools purchase American-grown products for their nutrition programs.
The additional funding comes just before the expiration of the Keep Kids Fed Act, which allowed schools to receive higher federal reimbursement rates for school meals over the past year.
School nutrition professionals have been worried about how rising costs will continue to impact their programs next school year. In the School Nutrition Association’s 2023 School Nutrition Trends Report, nearly all K-12 operators surveyed (99.2%) said they’re concerned that school meal reimbursement rates may be inadequate when the Keep Kids Fed Act expires at the start of July.
The USDA has provided just under $3.1 billion to support school meal procurement efforts since December 2021.