The Center for School and Community Partnerships was selected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Nutrition Service, as one of four teams to collaborate on the School Food Systems Transformation Challenge. This initiative aims to catalyze locally-developed innovations and partnerships that ensure a resilient and equitable school food system across the nation.
With this $16.1 million cooperative agreement from the USDA, Project SCALES (Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems) will be providing more than $10 million in grant funding, plus support and technical assistance to grantees.
Our key partner is LunchAssist (www.lunchassist.org), an organization that provides expert technical assistance to school nutrition professionals.
The first cohort of grantees (2024-2026) includes 12 school districts and charter schools in rural communities. These projects focus on building partnerships with local and regional suppliers, and increasing the availability of fresh, local foods in school meals.
The second cohort of grantees (2025-2028) includes 9 large team-based projects from across the United States. These projects focus on a variety of goals including value chain coordination, local procurement, new product development, and building infrastructure for resilient school food systems.
More information is available at the Project SCALES website.
To contact us, please email us at projectscales@boisestate.edu.