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. Project SCALES will also be guided by several expert consultants, an advisory board with representatives from many large national organizations, and dissemination partners including the National Farm to School Network. We look forward to doing this exciting work in collaboration with our partners!
The first cohort of grantees includes 12 school districts and charter schools from across the United States, all located in rural communities. These exciting projects include a focus on building partnerships with local and regional suppliers, incorporating culturally-relevant foods into school meals in tribal-serving school systems, and increasing the availability of fresh, local foods into school meals. For more information on these projects, please visit www.projectscales.com/grantees.
We are accepting application for a second round of grants. Applications are due December 13, 2024. Please check www.projectscales.com for more information!
To contact us, please email us at projectscales@boisestate.edu