The Get Schools Cooking Grant was created to support medium-sized school districts in the U.S. who are eager to transform their school lunch programs from processed foods to scratch-cooked meals.
Type
Consultation and Monetary Grant
Grant Value
$250,000
Whole Kids has joined forces with Chef Ann Foundation to help districts transition from highly processed meals to scratch cooking.
Get Schools Cooking will guide selected districts through this multi-year transformative journey that includes in-person workshops for food service directors, on-site assessment, recommendations, and strategic planning, along with peer-to-peer collaboration and access to a Technical/Equipment Assistance Grant. The program has a value of nearly $250,000 per participating district (depending on district size).
To apply, school districts must meet the following criteria:
Serving children scratch-cooked meals allows districts to offer healthy and delicious breakfast and lunch, but it’s not always an easy task—there are financial, procurement, management, education, and staffing hurdles to jump over. Oftentimes, school districts need guidance from school food experts to overcome these challenges. According to a recent Pew study, directors whose school food programs prepared more foods from scratch and increased the use of salad bars were more likely to report that student participation rose. In addition, the guidelines implemented through this program support scratch cooking that is healthier and more nutritious than serving processed foods.
View a recent informational webinar highlighting grant details and one district's experience here.
For more information or questions on the Get Schools Cooking application process, visit ChefAnnFoundation.org or email Grants@WholeKidsFoundation.org with any questions.
Early 2024
Mid 2024
The school districts that applied had to disclose all aspects of their operations and demonstrate to the review committee through their application and interview that they are ready for change.
These school districts have begun implementing the recommendations from their on-site assessments and are in the midst of transitioning to healthier, scratch-cooked school food by meeting program goals. For example, they are introducing new scratch-cooked recipes, salad bars, adding new local foods, eliminating highly processed nuggets and patties, and gaining significant community support.
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