WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement today after U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced the release of $25 million in grants for school food service equipment to help support high quality and safe school meal programs. Congress invested in these grants as part of a one year extension of the child nutrition programs enacted last October to address immediate challenges schools and food service directors are facing amidst state budget cuts.
“It is critical that schools have access to the equipment they need to ensure the foods they serve are safe and healthy to eat, especially since more and more children rely on the school meal programs as a nutritional safety net. In the wake of dwindling state and local budgets, these grants will help many schools overcome significant barriers to buying quality food service equipment. I applaud Secretary Vilsack for getting this money out the door quickly and I hope states and school districts are able to spend this money effectively and in the same speedy manner.”
For more information about the other investments Congress has made in school meals, click here.
For more information about the equipment grants, click here.
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