USDA Food and Nutrition Service Grant for Team Nutrition and HealthierUS School Challenge Enhancement

­ Provide training and technical assistance to child nutrition foodservice professionals to enable them to prepare and serve nutritious meals that appeal to children.
­ Provide fun and interactive nutrition education for children, teachers, parents and other caregivers.
­ Build school and community support for creating healthy school environments that are conducive to healthy eating and physical activity.
For a Non-Competitive TN-HUSSC Grant, State agencies can receive guaranteed grant funding up to a maximum of $50,000 for committing to increase applications for the HUSSC. State agencies must commit to getting the specified number of schools to submit applications for a HUSSC award before the end of the grant period. Grant funding amounts will be based on the following:

Number of schools guaranteed to apply for award Guaranteed funding amount
50+ schools $50,000
40+ schools $40,000
30+ schools $30,000
20+ schools $20,000

These funds may be used to assist the State agency in providing training and technical assistance to school staff in meeting the HUSSC criteria. In order to qualify for the guaranteed funding, State agencies must describe how their plan will assist schools in one or more of the following areas:
• Planning menus for increased whole grains, dark green/orange vegetables, fresh fruits, low-fat or fat-free milk and milk products, dry beans/peas. This could include creating and standardizing recipes and menus that incorporate these items;
• Creating, modifying, or adopting recipes that support such menus;
• Assisting with the development or implementation of nutrition education curriculum, regular physical activity programs and/or wellness policies. This could include increasing acceptance of a variety of types and forms of whole grains, fresh fruits, dark green/orange vegetables, and dry beans/peas through nutrition education sessions and activities, such as taste tests, with the student population;
• Bringing schools into compliance with the competitive foods criteria of the Challenge. This could include providing technical assistance to schools on model vendor contracts that provide competitive food and beverage options that meet HealthierUS School Challenge criteria; and
• Funding staff to assist with compilation of application components or other related activities.

State agencies may choose to apply for these guaranteed non-competitive funds only, or apply for the guaranteed funds in addition to their competitive grant proposal for one or more of the first three objectives above. States choosing the latter option must submit two application packages, not to exceed a total of $350,000.