USDA: Team Nutrition Training Grant Supporting Nutrition Education for School-Aged Children

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service is seeking applications for its Team Nutrition Training Grant program.

Donor Name: U.S. Department of Agriculture

State: All States

County: All Counties

Type of Grant: Grant

Deadline: 04/24/2023

Size of the Grant: $1,000,000

Grant Duration: 3 years

Details:

The goal of the FY 2023 Team Nutrition Grant is to facilitate the adoption of healthy eating patterns by school-aged children (grades Pre-K through 12) and their families through the coordination and implementation of MyPlate nutrition education connected to the nutritious meals and snacks offered through USDA Child Nutrition Programs.

Objectives

Increase the consumption of nutritious foods and beverages offered through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP) and Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) At-Risk Afterschool Meals and Outside School Hours Care Centers (OSHCC) via high-quality MyPlate nutrition education.
- Facilitate connections between nutrition education activities for school-aged children and school meals and meals/snacks offered through afterschool settings participating in Child Nutrition Programs.
- Establish and/or maintain a statewide and/or regional coalition of all entities providing nutrition education for school-aged children, develop a plan for coordinating MyPlate nutrition messages, and measure outcomes in school and afterschool settings. Convene the coalition quarterly.
- Participate in State Nutrition Action Councils (SNAC), where available.
- Engage students in developing strategies to increase the consumption of nutritious foods at school meals and decrease food waste, such as through student competitions and challenges, student ambassador programs, and taste-test events.
- Collaborate with school nutrition services, students, and nutrition experts on ways to implement behavioral focused strategies in the cafeteria to promote the selection of nutritious food choices.
- Identify opportunities to coordinate with other grant programs (e.g., Farm-to-School, SNAP-Ed) and initiatives to maximize nutrition education message delivery without duplicating efforts.
- Collaborate with Farm to School efforts to promote the use of MyPlate nutrition education messages and the sharing of information about the nutritional quality of school meals.
- Collaborate grant activities with other school interventions offered under the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, a framework for addressing health in schools.
Increase awareness of the MyPlate symbol and accompanying MyPlate nutrition education tools, resources, and messages. Increase awareness of the nutritional contributions of meals and snacks offered to students from parents/caregivers, school coaches and athletic trainers, school nurses, afterschool program operators, and Pre-K-12 teachers.
- Develop, implement, and assess a social marketing campaign to increase awareness of the nutritional quality of school meals. Use formative research to inform the development of the campaign
- In collaboration with the School Nutrition Director, offer educational sessions and resources for parents/caregivers, school coaches, teachers, and other applicable stakeholders about the
- nutritional quality of school meals offered as part of the SBP, NSLP, and CACFP At-risk afterschool meals, OSHCC, and afterschool care snack service.
- Host school-based events and activities to increase awareness of the nutritional quality of school meals, such as National School Lunch Week and School Breakfast Week celebrations.
- Collaborate with secondary school athletic programs to provide student-athletes and their parents/caregivers with information about the availability and nutritional quality of meals and snacks offered through the SBP, NSLP, and CACFP At-risk afterschool meals, OSHCC, and afterschool care snack service.
- Provide training for school and afterschool staff on the use of Team Nutrition’s MyPlate nutrition education resources.
- Display nutrition education posters and signs in school and afterschool settings in places where foods are offered, including signs highlighting local agricultural products offered as part of school meals.
- Provide MyPlate nutrition education for school-aged children in school and afterschool settings.
- Assist SFAs in applying for Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards, by providing technical assistance and resources.
- Encourage school and afterschool sites to sign up as MyPlate Ambassadors.
- Apply findings from evaluations of MyPlate nutrition education grant activities to improve the effectiveness and quality of nutrition education
Improve equity by increasing the number of students from historically underserved and marginalized populations who are reached by nutrition education resources, including resources and recipes that are culturally appropriate and/or in the preferred language of the students and their families.
- Together with school nutrition services, collaborate with students, families, and the community to develop and implement meal patterns and recipes that reflect traditional, indigenous, or cultural foods while meeting meal pattern requirements.
- Provide nutrition education for students, families, and school staff on menu offerings related to specific cultures, such as Halal or Kosher, and plant-based options that meet meal pattern requirements.
- Conduct formative research to inform the development of culturally appropriate nutrition education.
- Identify translations services for preferred languages of the students and their families in all activities.
Increase school community engagement in the development, implementation, and assessment of the Local School Wellness Policy (LWP).
- In collaboration with LWP Coordinators:
  - Engage the school community in LWP efforts by inviting school administrators, students, parents/caregivers, school nutrition staff, teachers, coaches, nurses, and community members to be a part of the SFA’s Local Wellness Committee.
  - Spread the word using a variety of communication tools to engage school staff and parents/caregivers in school wellness, using examples from Team Nutrition’s Local School Wellness Policy Outreach Toolkit.
  - Strengthen LWPs by comparing them to a model policy and/or reviewing findings from recent wellness policy assessments, such as a triennial (3-year) assessment, if applicable.
  - Propose policy updates to school administration and seek approval.
  - Enhance implementation of LWPs by assigning roles and responsibilities for putting the policy into action; educating school administration, staff, and families about the policy; and building excitement by sharing examples of how SFAs are engaging students, families, staff, and principals in school wellness activities.
  - Plan for and conduct the required triennial assessment of the LWP and share the results.

Funding Information

Total amount of funding expected to award: $10,000,000.00
Minimum award amount (award floor): $500,000.00
Maximum award amount (award ceiling): $1,000,000.00
Anticipated period of performance (start and end date) of the award: 3 year(s), September 15, 2023-September 30, 2026

Eligible Applicants