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Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced that more than half of the nation’s high-poverty schools are now offering breakfasts and lunches to students at no cost through the new Community Eligibility Provision, made possible by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The provision improves access to nutritious meals for low-income students while reducing administrative burdens for households and schools.

Today USDA announced the selection of eight states to participate in the Pilot Project for Procurement of Unprocessed Fruits and Vegetables, as directed by the Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the Farm Bill. Under the pilot, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin will be able to increase their purchases of locally-grown fruits and vegetables for their school meal programs.

Secretary Vilsack today announced more than $5 million in grants for 82 projects spanning 42 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands that support USDA efforts to connect school cafeterias with local farmers and ranchers through its Farm to School Program. The program helps schools purchase more food from local farmers and ranchers in their communities, expanding access to healthy local food for school children and supporting local economies.

USDA today announced that up to $200 million in competitive grants is available for state SNAP agencies to design and conduct employment and training pilot projects to help SNAP participants find jobs and increase their earnings.

Under Secretary Kevin Concannon today announced additional tools to help schools serve healthier meals and snacks as students return for the new school year.

Today, Agriculture Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Kevin Concannon announced new flexibility for school districts working to meet updated whole grain requirements for school meals. During the current school year, USDA received feedback from schools that the whole grain rich products currently on the market did not hold together when produced in large quantities for school cafeterias. Based on this input, schools that demonstrate significant challenges in serving whole-grain rich pastas can now continue serving traditional enriched pasta products for up to two more years, as industry works to develop healthy pasta that works for schools.

Congress passed the Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010 with bipartisan support to help ensure every American child had access to the nutrition they need to grow into healthy adults. One goal of the law was to help reduce America's childhood obesity epidemic and reduce health risks for America's children by helping schools across the country produce balanced meals so children had access to healthy foods during the school day. USDA based the new school meal standards on independent, expert recommendations from the Institute of Medicine to ensure kids are being fed healthy food while they are at school.

Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the USDA is awarding $25 million in grants to help schools purchase needed kitchen equipment as they continue to provide school lunches and breakfasts that give children the nutrition they need to learn and grow.

Secretary Tom Vilsack visited a Chicago school today to encourage more Chicago-area schools and community-based organizations to participate in USDA's summer meal programs to help ensure no child goes hungry during the summer months. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $5.5 million in new grants to support schools as they continue to provide school lunches and breakfasts that give children the nutrition they need to learn and grow. Over 90 percent of schools are successfully meeting new meal nutrition standards, serving meals with more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and low-fat dairy, and less sodium and fat. These new grants provide support to schools to help them achieve or continue to meet those standards. The grants focus on implementation of Smarter Lunchrooms strategies, a broad toolkit of easy-to-implement, evidence-based practices designed to increase consumption of healthier foods and decrease plate waste.

Secretary Vilsack today announced the release of a request for applications for the third round of USDA's Farm to School grants, including the addition of a new funding track. 

FNCS Undersecretary Kevin Concannon today announced that USDA is making permanent the current flexibility that allows schools to serve larger portions of lean protein and whole grains at mealtime.