Legislation introduced on Thursday by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) would provide schools better access to equipment and resources to make nutritious food for students.
The School Food Modernization Act would authorize grants and loan assistance for infrastructure improvements and equipment purchases that would help school food service staff meet nutrition standards at no additional cost to the federal government.
“We need to start our school children off on the right food every day,” Collins said. “If they are going to compete in the global arena, they need to be healthy and their minds and bodies fully nourished.”
The legislation would provide targeted grant assistance to fund small kitchen infrastructure projects and establish a loan assistance program within the USDA that would make it easier for administrators to purchase new kitchen equipment. Federal guarantees would be available for up to 80 percent of the loan’s value.
The bill would also improve training and technical assistance support for school food service personnel.
“Kids often spend up to seven hours a day at school, making it particularly important that they get healthy meals to help them focus as they learn and grow,” Heitkamp said. “But in North Dakota, more than 70 percent of school districts need new or improved kitchen equipment. Congress can’t just mandate healthy school lunch requirements. We need to offer real support like Sen. Collins and I are proposing with this legislation….”
Schools are serving more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat or no-fat dairy options due to updated USDA nutrition standards. Despite the updated standards, many school kitchens are only equipped to reheat and hold food for dining service.
Eighty-eight percent of school districts need at least one new piece of kitchen equipment nationwide, and 55 percent of districts need kitchen infrastructure upgrades, according to the PEW Charitable Trusts.