HARRISBURG—Greencastle-Antrim School District is one of 44 schools across the state to be awarded a portion of $946,000 in competitive grants for schools to purchase new food service equipment for cafeterias.
GASD will receive $19,535 to purchase a gas convection steamer.
“Healthy bodies fuel healthy minds, and a critical aspect of learning depends on access to nutritious meals,” said Secretary of Education Noe Ortega. “These grants will help schools upgrade their facilities to continue to provide critical food services to students in communities across the commonwealth.”
Funding for the grants is made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grants are awarded to schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Schools use the grants to purchase or upgrade equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, stoves, and dishwashers.
Over the past seven years, PDE received approval from the USDA to allow schools to provide free meals to all students through June 30, 2022. This allows school feeding programs to avoid unnecessary barriers as they navigate health and safety concerns, staff limitations, technical restrictions, time constraints, and more.
From March through August 2021, Pennsylvania schools provided more than 25 million meals to children in need.
