School Nutrition Training Grant for Allied Professional Organizations

Through a competitive award process, the School Nutrition Training Grant will be funded for the period of May 20, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2023, with up to $2,000,000 provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018 (PL 115-141). Funds will be used to plan, develop, promote, deliver, and evaluate a workforce development and training initiative.

Grant Award

On May 15, 2019, FNS competitively awarded the FY 19 School Nutrition Training Grant to the School Nutrition Foundation (SNF), which was established by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) in 1964 as a 501(c)(3) national, nonprofit professional organization. SNF will partner with the Institute of Child Nutrition, the National Dairy Council, SNA state affiliates, and state educational agencies to deliver this workforce development and training initiative across the nation.

Grant Proposal Summary

The School Nutrition Foundation will implement the LEAD to Succeed (Learn, Educate, Advance, Develop) to address the professional and workforce development needs of an increasingly diverse population of school nutrition professionals in key functional competency and skill areas related to communication, marketing, customer service, and personnel management.

The LEAD to Succeed program takes an innovative approach to delivering training to all levels of school nutrition professionals (directors, managers, and frontline staff) through a combination of in-person trainings, online courses, case studies, and resources. Digital tools such as videos and an online forum will engage the rural school nutrition population in discussions around the unique challenges and opportunities faced by program operators in more rural districts. Participants will have access to two free-of-charge online learning series, and all courses developed under this grant will be publicly available and accessible to all school nutrition professionals. Additionally, a cadre of trained consultants will be equipped with knowledge and skills necessary to deliver the content from the online learning modules at in-person meetings and trainings at the state- or local-level. Training content will be drawn from a variety of sources including Team Nutrition and the Institute of Child Nutrition.

More information on this initiative will be available at a later date.

Background on the Grant

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to competitively award one grant of up to $2 million provided by the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2018 (PL 115-141) to allow allied professional organizations to develop a training program for school nutrition personnel that focuses on school food service meal preparation and workforce development.

School Nutrition Training Grant for Allied Professional Organizations funds will assist allied professional organizations in planning, developing, promoting, delivering, and evaluating a workforce development and training initiative to provide skills-based training and technical assistance for school nutrition professionals to strengthen school meals program operators’ competencies, knowledge, and skills within one or more of the eight (8) key functional areas:

• Meal Preparation and Service
• Nutrition and Meal Management
• Marketing, Communication, and Customer Service
• Procurement and Inventory Management
• Financial Management and Accountability
• Personnel Management
• Sanitation, Safety, and Security
• Facility and Property Management

Eligible Applicants

Competition for this grant is open to all national allied professional organizations operating in the United States to which school nutrition professionals are eligible to join as a member, which provides membership representation of school nutrition professionals, and whose mission seeks to further the school nutrition field and the interests of school nutrition professionals. Applicants must provide a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) Determination Letter to indicate nonprofit status, as well as a current copy of the organization’s bylaws that details, at a minimum, the organization’s official name, mission, purpose, requirements for membership, officers’ titles and responsibilities, and organizational structure. Applicants must clearly describe how their organization(s) meets the definition of allied professional organization, as stated above.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Applicants are highly encouraged to collaborate with other allied organizations or other partners during the grant period either informally or formally through a subcontracting agreement. Applicants must include through descriptions of the roles, responsibilities, and duties of such partnering organizations in the application, along with an overview of how the oversight of partner activities will occur. A letter of commitment from each partnering organization/affiliate should be submitted with the application.

Partners may include:

• State affiliates belonging to the organization(s)
• Other allied professional associations/organizations
• Training institutes that focus on implementing child nutrition programs
• Training consultants or curriculum development consultants
• Universities, academic institutions