Iowa schools participating in the National School Lunch Program are invited to apply for a new competitive subgrant opportunity, supporting nutrition education and expanded use of fresh foods that align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans in school meals. Subgrant proposals will be accepted through Dec. 3.
Sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education’s Team Nutrition, the Students and School Nutrition Professional Nutrition Education opportunity will provide subgrants ranging from $5,000-$14,500 that target middle school and/or afterschool students and increase the use of fresh fruits, vegetables, scratch-made menu items and other foods served in the National School Lunch Program and National School Breakfast Program.
“The Students and School Nutrition Professional Nutrition Education subgrant is an excellent opportunity for schools to shine a spotlight on nutrition and healthy eating habits for our young people,” said Christine Crow, Team Nutrition project director for the Department’s Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services. “Nutrition education coupled with access to healthy menu items at school can make a big difference in a student’s development, overall learning and lifelong healthy habits.”
To be eligible, schools must commit to implementing at least one of the subgrant components, listed below.
- Provide nutrition education lessons and taste tests to middle school students.
- Engage in school nutrition professional training and student engagement to improve the nutritional quality of school meals by encouraging more fresh fruits, vegetables, scratch-made menu items and/or items that align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- Provide nutrition education lessons and taste tests to students participating in the National School Lunch Program’s Afterschool Snack Program.
Iowa’s Team Nutrition has created middle school and afterschool nutrition education lessons that can be used for this subgrant opportunity. Lesson overviews for middle school (266.91 KB) .pdf and afterschool programs (80.86 KB) .pdf are available for review.
Preference will be given to schools that apply to implement multiple subgrant components. Schools that commit to providing at least five middle school nutrition education lessons, at least five afterschool education lessons and/or have more than 50% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals will also be given priority. Schools with less than 50% free or reduced-price meals are still encouraged to apply.
Application details and materials for the Students and School Nutrition Professional Nutrition Education subgrant can be found in IowaGrants. Questions on the grant opportunity may be submitted through the IowaGrants Questions tab through Nov. 6.
The subgrant opportunity is funded through a Team Nutrition grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) .