Making the Most of Child Nutrition Funding:
A Guide for After School Education and Safety Grantees

@@alt@@

Introduction
After School Funding
Summer Funding
Reimbursement Rates
Meeting the Match Requirements
Working with School Food Departments
Nutrition Standards
Nutrition Resources
Model Programs
 

 

 

FRAC Home >>   Afterschool Resource Center >>  California Guide

Working with the School Food Service Department

Ideally, having the school food service director sponsor the after school or summer nutrition program will be as simple as asking about it. Yet the director may not know that federal after school and summer nutrition program funding is available. In addition, he or she may not know about your after school program or may not be aware of how helpful it would be to sponsor the nutrition program. Make your case.

  • The school food service department is the expert on the nutrition programs. It already has a contract with the California Department of Education to provide federally funded food; understands how the child nutrition programs work; and has the food, the storage space, and the staff and capacity to produce the snacks.
  • Sponsoring the nutrition program would help the school food service department further support learning and improve student health and wellness.
  • Sponsoring the nutrition program could also support longer work hours for part-time and low-paid food service department employees.
  • The school food service departments sponsorship of the nutrition program would be a tremendous help to your program. Let the school food service director know you are willing to work with the department to make the nutrition program operate effectively.

Some school food service directors may be reluctant to sponsor the after school or summer nutrition programs for ASES grantees. Often, this is due to their concern that the ASES program staff will not properly fill out the paperwork or will not serve a complete snack or meal. If that happens, the food service department does not get reimbursed for the snacks and loses money. To alleviate these concerns, the school food service department can hold a training for all of the ASES program staff.

If that doesnt persuade the food service director, it may be necessary to get support from the leaders in your district, such as the superintendent and the school principal. They have a self-interest in ensuring that your after school program has access to the nutrition programs, because providing a nutritious snack is a requirement for the district to receive ASES funding. The nutrition funding can be used to meet the matching requirement, which alleviates the pressure on school administrators to identify matching funds.

Once the school food service director agrees to provide the food, work with the director as a partner. You could propose developing a menu planning committee—composed of school nutrition staff, students in the program, parents, and after school staff—to discuss how the nutrition program is running. You could also suggest holding monthly or quarterly meetings with your staff and the school nutrition staff to discuss how the nutrition program is working.