More Than $145,000 in USDA Grant Funding Bound for Eastern CT Schools and Education Centers, Courtney Announces

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded more than $145,000 to organizations in eastern Connecticut to help increase the amount of healthy, locally produced foods available to children in school and through local child nutrition programs. Groton Public Schools and the Yellow Farm House Education Center, located in Stonington, CT, will each receive federal funding through USDA's Farm to School Grant program to establish stronger and sustainable Farm to School nutrition programs.

Today's announcement comes as Courtney and the House Education and Labor Committee also voted to advance the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act (H.R. 8450) during a legislative markup session. The bill would help eliminate child hunger in the U.S. by supporting key programs like USDA Farm to School Grants, and more. During today's markup, the Committee also voted to incorporate two of Rep. Courtney's amendments that will support eastern Connecticut dairy farmers into the underlying bill. Read more below.

"Our students and their families deserve the absolute healthiest choices, and our Farm to School programs have really played a big role in providing that to them," said Ernie Koschmieder, Food Service Director for Groton Public Schools. "When our food is locally sourced, when we know the farms and farmers producing it, that's going to give our kids the healthiest and best-tasting food available. Federal support like this will help grow and strengthen our existing programming even more, giving us a chance to bring in more locally grown fruits and vegetables, to expand hands-on learning opportunities for our students, and to give kids a better chance at finding healthy food they love to eat. Support like this doesn't come from nowhere—we thank Rep. Courtney for his continued work on behalf of programs like these."

"Giving our students opportunities to learn more about farming, gardening, and sustainable agriculture at an early age is a smart investment," said Congressman Courtney. "The USDA's Farm to School Program is a perfect match for eastern Connecticut, where we already have such strong history and ties to sustainable farming and agriculture, and these new federal dollars will help take already excellent Farm to School programs to the next level at Groton Public Schools and at the Yellow Farm House in Stonington. It's great to see these resources coming home, and it comes at the same we're working to expand the Farm to School program for next year through the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act."

"We voted to authorize the Healthy Meals bill in Committee today," Rep. Courtney continued, "and in addition to expanded support for the Farm to School program, it also now includes two amendments I authored that will really benefit our eastern Connecticut dairy farmers. The first amendment will expand the number of milk options that schools can offer in the first place, giving kids more healthy choices and helping farmers move more of their products, and the second will ensure that any non-dairy alternatives offered in schools are at least nutritionally equivalent to their counterparts. These amendments put kids' health first, and they're important for our farmers—proud to advance these efforts."

Groton Public Schools will receive a Farm to School Grant award of $50,000. The award will be used to expand Groton Public Schools' already successful Farm to School program to the new Thames River Magnet Elementary School (TRMS). TRMS is located in a USDA-designated "food desert" and serves over 500 students, 50% of whom are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Groton Public Schools will use the funding to purchase garden beds, an industrial-sized greenhouse, and associated materials to grow foods for partnering schools, giving kids the chance to learn more about agriculture and the importance of farming in an interactive, hands-on way.

The Yellow Farmhouse Education Center will receive a Farm to School Grant award of $98,286. The award will be used to build a comprehensive Farm to School website that will include lesson plans, agricultural resources, and professional development information that can be utilized by high school science and culinary teachers, as well as by other interested students and educators.

USDA also announced that the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) will receive a Farm to School grant award of $155,411. DPH will use the new federal funding to increase access to local foods for children enrolled in CACFP participating early care and education by drawing on regional best practices and resources, increasing procurement from local producers, and creating new opportunities for hands-on garden education and local food tasting opportunities.


Courtney's Work in Congress Supports Our Local Schools, Students, and Farmers

Today's announcement comes on the same day that Rep. Courtney and the House Education and Labor Committee voted to advance the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act (H.R. 8450) during a legislative markup session. The bill includes reauthorizations and expansions for childhood and adult nutrition programs that proved to be critical during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for others that have been relied on for generations by families in need.

During its markup of the bill, the Education and Labor Committee voted in favor of incorporating two Courtney-authored amendments to the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act that will improve nutrition in schools while also supporting America's dairy farmers by:

• Expanding School Milk Options for Students—Rep. Courtney's first amendment includes language to the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act that makes clear that any milk variety that is consistent with the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), including low-fat, 1% flavored milk, can be served in school. This amendment is in line with Rep. Courtney's bipartisan bill, the School Milk Nutrition Act (H.R. 4635) which garnered support from the National Milk Producers Federation, the International Dairy Foods Association, and others. Milk provides essential vitamins and nutrients, and this amendment will help reverse the decline of milk consumption in schools while also supporting America's dairy farmers.
• Ensuring Alternative Options Are Just as Healthy—Rep. Courtney's second amendment would clarify that non-dairy alternatives offered in America's schools (when not provided for a medical reason or dietary necessity) must be nutritionally equivalent to their dairy counterparts. Prior to Rep. Courtney's engagement on this issue, the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids act required no such nutritional parity.

The Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act would also:

• Improve School Kitchen Infrastructure, Invest in Farm to School Programs, and Support Scratch Cooking—The bill would authorize $35,000,000 in discretionary appropriations per year through 2028 to purchase school kitchen equipment and improve kitchen infrastructure, purchase software and technology systems needed to serve healthy meals and promote food safety, support scratch cooking, and facilitate the use of salad bars in school meal programs.
• Increase the Maximum Farm to School Grant Award—Groton Public Schools and the Yellow Farm House Education Center are both receiving new program support through USDA Farm to School grants. H.R. 8450 would increase the maximum award that entities like these can receive to $500,000 through 2028, and would remove the requirement for a match.
• Increases the Maximum Benefit for the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program to $100—The bill would allow for WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) benefits to be accepted by Community Supported Agriculture programs, and increases the maximum amount of WIC benefits that can be used for purchases at local farmers markets and similar community programs to $100 annually.
• Expand Access to School Meals—The bill would help increase access to school meals by expanding the Community Eligibility Provision so more school districts can provide free meals and ensuring children on Medicaid are automatically certified for free school meals.
• Increase School Meal Reimbursement Rates—H.R. 8450 would preserve the future of school meal programs by increasing the reimbursement rate for lunch by 10 cents and providing commodity support to the School Breakfast Program.
• Modernize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program—The bill would modernize WIC by expanding eligibility to age six, improving access to telehealth to reduce the physical presence requirement, and expanding the Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program to ensure more mothers have access to breastfeeding support.
• Address Summer Food Insecurity—H.R. 8450 would help address food insecurity during the summer by authorizing the Summer EBT Program at $75 per month per child for eligible households, lowering the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) area eligibility threshold so sites can serve more low- to middle-income neighborhoods, and increasing access to summer feeding through transportation assistance and mobile meal delivery.
  

Now that Rep. Courtney and his colleagues have voted to advance the bill out of the House Education and Labor Committee, the Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids Act is expected to receive a vote by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks.

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