State to Award 15 Grants to Schools to Promote Healthy Eating, Physical Activity
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Louisiana Department of Education and the Louisiana Department of Health today announced a grant opportunity for schools interested in supporting healthier school environments. The grants, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Team Nutrition Training Grant, will provide schools with the resources, funding and professional development needed to promote initiatives conducive to healthy eating and physical activity.
The grants, valued at $5,000 total, will be awarded to 15 schools that successfully demonstrate the desire and ability to implement the following strategies:
- Communicate health messaging across multiple channels; and
In order to be considered, schools must:
- Participate in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program.
- Designate at least one representative from the applicant school to attend regional trainings and grant meetings. In 2017-2018, there will be a minimum of two grant meetings. There will be grant meetings and trainings throughout the duration of the three-year grant.
- Establish a team of two or more individuals, a wellness council, or a School Health Advisory Council willing to implement the mini-grant goals and objectives.
- Commit to creating healthy school environments that support students' healthy eating patterns.
All awarded schools will receive ongoing technical assistance on developing a grant action plan, timeline and budget. In addition, Louisiana Team Nutrition will coordinate regional Smarter Lunchrooms trainings for all Louisiana school food service professionals and launch a culinary skills training series focused on enhancing the food preparation skills and knowledge of school food service professionals.
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