Falls Church, Va. — The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) announced it has donated funding from its grant program, Apples4Ed, to the School Nutrition Foundation’s “Help Feed School Kids Now!” emergency feeding campaign. The $20,000 donation will aid SNF’s frontline work to ensure that students who depend on the National School Lunch Program do not go hungry while in-person classrooms remain closed due to COVID-19.
The Apples4Ed donation will help SNF provide grants to school districts across the country so more kids can be fed. Money will help purchase food and packaging for grab-and-go meals, mobile carts and kiosks for curbside service, or supplies and personal protective equipment so school children can remain fed and safe. The School Nutrition Foundation, a 501(c)3 sister organization of the non-profit School Nutrition Association (SNA), represents more than 55,000 school nutrition professionals nationwide. SNA is a partner of Apples4Ed.
In its fourth year, Apples4Ed provides funding to schools for healthy eating initiatives. Typically, schools that have applied for funding throughout the year are considered for grant dollars that are awarded every spring. Earlier this year, USApple leaders made the decision to postpone the 2020 spring announcement due to school closures. When many schools did not resume in-person instruction in September, the decision was made to instead seek out opportunities to fund emergency feeding programs for vulnerable school children. Schools that applied for 2020 funding will receive primary consideration once Apples4Ed resumes its normal operation.
“When USApple was unable to award funding to schools for healthy eating initiatives, it made sense to look to our partners to see where we could instead assist in their efforts during this critical time,” said USApple President and CEO Jim Bair. “We applaud the School Nutrition Foundation’s effort to provide food and meal services for school kids who are at their most vulnerable.”
Before COVID-19 shutdown schools nationwide, SNF school nutrition professionals were serving healthy meals to 30 million students every day. Through the “Help Feed School Kids Now!” emergency feeding campaign, SNF is now working with those same nutrition professionals to identify and help provide food and resources to school communities so children do not go hungry.
“This generous donation from U.S. Apple will support school nutrition professionals working on the frontlines to ensure students continue to receive healthy school meals that fuel their success, whether they are learning in school or at home,” said SNA/SNF CEO Patricia Montague, CAE. “With this funding, SNF will help address urgent needs for everything from carts and coolers for curbside and classroom meal service to personal protective equipment to keep staff and students safe. “
Apples4Ed is a program created by USApple, in partnership with the School Nutrition Association and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, to financially award schools that encourage daily consumption of healthy, balanced foods that positively impact student achievement, focus and fitness. To learn more, visit apples4ed.com.
