Newsroom

The Biden-Harris Administration today provided $50 million in grants for schools to invest in new food service equipment that will allow them to continue serving nutritious meals. Today’s funding adds to the $30 million in equipment grants that the administration gave schools earlier this year

Today, FNS launched the first phase of its $100 million Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative aimed at improving the nutritional quality of school meals by soliciting applications for grants to small and/or rural school meal programs.

USDA announced an increase in funding to help schools continue to serve kids healthy meals this coming school year and lower costs for schools and childcare providers. 

The Biden Administration announced today that USDA will provide nearly $1 billion in additional funding to schools to support the purchase of American-grown foods for their meal programs.

USDA’s child nutrition programs provide nutritious meals to America’s children. The school and other nutrition professionals who make these meals possible need additional resources and continued flexibilities as they grapple with the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic. The deal would ease uncertainty and bring a measure of relief to our schools, summer sites and child care feeding programs - Secretary Vilsack.

FNS announced today that it will interpret the prohibition on discrimination based on sex found in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, as amended, SNAP to include discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. 

During a visit to Columbia University and in celebration of National Nutrition Month, Secretary Vilsack today announced a report detailing USDA's Actions on Nutrition Security. 

The USDA today announced it is accepting applications for the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, which will provide up to $200 million for states to purchase local food for school meal programs.

USDA today announced updates to the school nutrition standards that give schools a clear path forward as they build back better from the pandemic. These actions provide support for the dedicated school meal program operators who provide critical nutrition to millions of children every school day.  

Secretary Tom Vilsack issued the following statement highlighting key accomplishments to promote food and nutrition security at the Department of Agriculture since the Biden-Harris Administration took office.

FNS today reflected on its efforts over the past year to ensure households across the country have access to a nutritious diet. Throughout the first year of the Biden-Harris Administration, FNS bolstered its nutrition assistance programs through a wide range of administrative actions and with the unprecedented $12 billion investment in food assistance provided by the American Rescue Plan Act.

Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced an adjustment in school meal reimbursements to help schools continue to serve children healthy and nutritious meals. This move will put an estimated $750 million more into school meal programs across the nation this year, making sure federal reimbursements keep pace with food and operational costs, while ensuring children continue to receive healthy meals at school.

Secretary Tom Vilsack is announcing today that the Biden-Harris Administration is providing up to $1.5 billion to states and school districts to help school meal program operators deal with the challenges of supply chain disruptions brought on by the pandemic.