The Child Nutrition Services Department at Santa Paula Unified School District has been awarded a 2015-2016 School Breakfast Program/Summer Food Service Program Startup and Expansion Grant by the California Department of Education. SPUSD was the only school district in Ventura County to be awarded this one-year grant totaling $22,282.
The School Breakfast Program (as it is more commonly referred to) is a federally funded program to assist schools and other agencies in providing nutritious breakfasts to children at reasonable prices. The United States Department of Agriculture is responsible for overseeing the program nationally. However, in California, the program is administered by the California Department of Education.
“Applying for the grant was a very competitive process,” said Jeremy Schoengart, Director of Child Nutrition Services. “Initially, we were hopeful that our District would be one of those selected to receive a breakfast grant and were delighted to learn that we had been selected. This grant was completed with the support of California Consulting.”
The other school districts in California receiving breakfast grants are in Los Angeles, Alameda, San Bernardino, Tulare, Fresno, Placer, Yuba, Sonoma, Roseville, Monterey, Sacramento, and Butte counties.
Child Nutrition Services is planning to use the grant to purchase blenders and mobile refrigeration units to serve nutritional smoothies to students at Santa Paula High School and Isbell Middle School. Eventually, the smoothies will also be served at Renaissance High School. The grant is restricted to not include the purchase of actual food items or to supplement staff salaries.
Before making the smoothies available, CNS is planning to conduct outreach by generating interest among students and also by conducting sampling twice a month over a three month period to garner responses to popular smoothie blends. Students will even be asked to submit their own smoothie recipes for consideration.
“We really want the students to be involved with the selection of the types of smoothies offered at their school,” said Schoengart.
