FY 2023 Team Nutrition Grant Supporting Nutrition Education for School-Aged Children

Report on FY 2023 Team Nutrition Grant for Supporting Nutrition Education for School-Aged Children

On Aug.16, 2023, FNS announced the award of $9.4 million in federal funding for the FY 2023 Team Nutrition Grant for Supporting Nutrition Education for School-Aged Children.

These 3-year grants support state agencies and school food authorities (SFA) in implementing and facilitating the adoption of healthy eating patterns by school-aged children (grades pre-K-12), parents/caregivers, and school staff through the coordination and implementation of MyPlate nutrition education connected to the nutritious meals and snacks offered through USDA child nutrition programs.

For more information, please contact TeamNutrition@USDA.gov.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

• Goal 2: Zero Hunger
• Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
• Goal 4: Quality Education
• Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities

Objectives of the Grants

1. Increase the consumption of nutritious foods and beverages offered through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Increase school community engagement in the development, implementation, and assessment of the Local School Wellness Policy (LWP).

State Agencies

Iowa

Iowa Department of Education (DOE) will use formative research to develop culturally appropriate social marketing campaign strategies and materials to increase the recognition of MyPlate and improve perceptions of the nutritional quality of school meals and snacks among school stakeholders. Previously used MyPlate nutrition education materials will be expanded and used to educate groups of students who have not been reached in previous DOE nutrition education projects, including seventh and eighth grade students and students participating in afterschool programs. DOE will award 20 sub-grants to school food authorities and 10 sub-grants to Child and Adult Care Food Program At-Risk Afterschool programs to hire nutrition educators and purchase allowable supplies. Finally, DOE will expand on the USDA Local School Wellness Policy (LWP) Outreach Toolkit to include videos for schools to share with school community members, along with an LWP webinar series outlining strategies to increase involvement, address barriers, and meet LWP requirements.

Louisiana

Louisiana Department of Education (LDOE) will pilot the Louisiana MyPlate 678 project. This project will be implemented in 20 schools across Louisiana and will focus on cafeteria service line infrastructure improvements, implementation of MyPlate-themed behavioral focused strategies to promote the selection of nutritious choices, and training of school nutrition professionals. In conjunction, a statewide awareness campaign of MyPlate resources specifically targeting sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students, parents and caregivers, and school staff will further facilitate the selection of nutritious food choices in the school environment. Formative research led by SNAP-Ed experts will inform the development of culturally appropriate nutrition education resources and use of cultural foods in school meals. Finally, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s School Health Index and Team Nutrition’s Local School Wellness Policy Outreach Kit will be adapted to support implementation in middle schools and improve health outcomes.

Michigan

Michigan Department of Education (MDE) will support the adaptation of healthy eating patterns for historically underserved and marginalized groups by using three complementary strategies. First, they will work to strengthen and energize Local School Wellness Policies (LWP) through a refresh of local school wellness committees across the state. These committees will consist of diverse members, featuring MyPlate Student Ambassadors and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program education funded Community Nutrition Instructors from Michigan State University Extension (MSUE). MSUE Instructors will play a key role in advising and coaching school or district teams through a LWP review process, using the WellSAT 3.0 and WellSAT-I tools, which support assessment, revision, and implementation. Second, MDE and MSUE will partner with school nutrition professionals and MyPlate student ambassadors to develop goals and activities to address deficiencies identified in LWP review process findings. Lastly, MDE and MSUE instructors will provide nutrition education to students via the CACFP At-Risk Afterschool Program by implementing the Peak Health and Performance curriculum, a six-week curriculum that educates young student athletes about the importance of healthy nutrition behaviors to support both health and performance.

Nebraska

Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) will conduct the School Community Engagement and Equity in Nutrition (SEEN) project to curate a collection of high-quality nutrition education resources. SEEN will reinforce core MyPlate messages and assist schools in providing nutrition education through the provision of technical assistance, 45 sub-grants to support recipe development and taste testing, and engagement activity support (taste tests, recipe contests, celebrations). NDE will also develop and translate recipes and menus to Spanish and Afghan, with help from the Hispanic/Latino and Afghan communities and standardize culturally appropriate recipes for incorporation into school menus. Finally, NDE will evaluate the triennial assessments completed in 2023 in order to develop additional trainings and adapt the local school wellness policy toolkit to further support Nebraska’s unique needs.

Rhode Island

Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will support and expand the Students Take Charge! (STC) program, previously developed by University of Rhode Island (URI) SNAP-Ed. The STC program empowers fifth grade students to see themselves and their cultures reflected within their food choices through the development of hands-on, fruit- or vegetable-based recipes that meet school meal nutrition standards and represent their cultural backgrounds and heritage. To implement STC at the local level, RIDE will develop a STC toolkit including refined MyPlate messaging, lesson plans, social media and messaging standards, and other wellness policy supports. Lastly, RIDE will prioritize training and education at all

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators in the Article

1. SDGs Addressed or Connected to the Issues Highlighted in the Article

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger – The article discusses grants that aim to increase the consumption of nutritious foods and beverages offered through school meal programs.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being – The article focuses on improving the nutritional quality of school meals and snacks to promote healthy eating patterns among school-aged children.
• SDG 4: Quality Education – The article mentions nutrition education programs that aim to increase awareness of healthy eating habits among students, parents/caregivers, and school staff.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality – Although not explicitly mentioned in the article, the grants’ objective to improve equity by reaching historically underserved and marginalized populations aligns with SDG 5’s goal of promoting gender equality and empowering all women and girls.

2. Specific Targets Under Those SDGs Based on the Article’s Content

• Target 2.2: By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age – The grants aim to increase the consumption of nutritious foods and beverages offered through school meal programs, which can contribute to reducing malnutrition among school-aged children.
• Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being – The focus on improving the nutritional quality of school meals and snacks can contribute to preventing non-communicable diseases and promoting overall well-being among school-aged children.
• Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles – The nutrition education programs mentioned in the article aim to equip students with knowledge and skills related to healthy eating patterns and sustainable food choices.

3. Indicators Mentioned or Implied in the Article

• Indicator 2.2.1: Prevalence of stunting (height for age <-2 standard deviation from the median of the World Health Organization (WHO) Child Growth Standards) among children under 5 years of age - Although not explicitly mentioned in the article, the grants' objective to increase the consumption of nutritious foods and beverages can contribute to reducing stunting among school-aged children, which is an indicator of malnutrition.
• Indicator 3.4.1: Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory disease – The focus on improving the nutritional quality of school meals and snacks can contribute to reducing mortality rates attributed to non-communicable diseases among school-aged children.
• Indicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment – The nutrition education programs mentioned in the article can be seen as a form of education for sustainable development, contributing to the mainstreaming of this type of education in national education policies and curricula.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: fns.usda.gov

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