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Contact: Diane Pratt-Heavner
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media@schoolnutrition.org
SNF Awarded $200K by No Kid Hungry
2020-06-08
Funding to support COVID-19 emergency school feeding grants
ARLINGTON, VA – The non-profit School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has received $200,000 from No Kid Hungry to support the Foundation’s COVID-19 emergency feeding grant program. SNF grants are assisting school meal programs that mobilized grab-and-go meal service for students when COVID-19 forced school closures nationwide.
“SNF has heard from school nutrition professionals across the country who desperately need support as they continue their work to combat the spread of hunger throughout their communities,” said SNA/SNF CEO Patricia Montague, CAE. “Schools urgently need carts and coolers for curbside service, packaging materials for grab-and-go meals and Personal Protective Equipment for staff. This new partnership with No Kid Hungry will allow SNF to help more schools expand their emergency meal services for students through the summer and to meet needs in the fall.”
Prior to school closures, nearly 30 million students received healthy school meals each day. With more than 40 million Americans filing for unemployment since COVID-19 closures, even more children will depend on school meals as a key source of nutrition. According to a recent School Nutrition Association survey of school districts nationwide, 95% of respondents were engaged in emergency meal assistance, with 1,894 districts serving more than 134 million meals in April alone.
However, schools have encountered numerous challenges transitioning from typical cafeteria service to COVID-19 grab-and-go meal pick-up and delivery models. School meal programs operate on extremely tight budgets, funded by cafeteria sales and reimbursements for meals served. With revenue declines due to school closures, many programs lack critical funds to purchase equipment and supplies or cover transportation, staffing and other costs associated with COVID-19 feeding programs.
In his grant application, Joe Twardowski, District School Nutrition Manager for Woodbridge Township, NJ, highlighted the wide range of needs in his district:
“We are currently operating 5 days per week to prepare and package breakfast and lunch meals for all eligible low income children within the district. Our major expenses include PPE for our staff including masks and gloves, sanitizer and cleaners, as well as packaging necessary to keep food safe and fresh, which includes sealable bags for sandwiches, saran wrap, tin foil, paper bags for distribution and plastic bags to hold cartons of milk.”
Thanks to generous donations to the “Help Feed School Kids Now!” fundraising campaign, SNF has stepped in with grants to help schools. SNF has already awarded 24 grants to school meal programs in 13 different states across the country. Through a donation from Innoseal Systems, the first 125 grantees will also receive Professional Sealing Machines to help package fresh foods for grab-and-go meal service.
About School Nutrition Foundation
The School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) is an independent 501(c) (3) and the charitable arm of the non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA). Since 1964, SNF has supported school nutrition professionals nationwide through scholarships, research and professional development programs.
About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America, but in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, 1 in 4 kids could face hunger this year. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty. Join us at NoKidHungry.org.
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