$3.4M in grants awarded to 21 Nutrition Education & School Food organizations

A child immersed in crafting a fresh salad during a cooking class at Harlem Grown’s Annual Fall Festival. Photo courtesy of Harlem Grown.

We’re thrilled to announce our 2024 Nutrition Education & School Food grantee partners. This year, we have awarded over $3.4M to 21 organizations across the country working to bring food justice to children throughout the United States in schools and through nutrition education.

This group of 21 high-impact schools and organizations are continuing grantee partners of Newman’s Own Foundation. These organizations are located throughout the United States, and together make up a tapestry of impact working at every level–from strengthening communities to implementing statewide programs to impacting national policy.

Why Nutrition Education & School Food?

The foods children eat and encounter early in life, whether at home or in school, set the stage for their preferences and habits as they grow up. Yet, large gaps between what we know will help children thrive and what is available to them both in and out of school persist. Over half of children in the United States fail to meet the recommended intake of key food groups, such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.

Across the United States, forward-thinking schools, community-based nonprofits, and policymakers are working to transform the school food system so that children can eat free, healthy, and culturally relevant meals. These innovative entities are working tirelessly to ensure children are learning about, growing, gathering, or cooking healthy, nutritious, culturally relevant foods; shift school policy, practices, and systems so that children have access to healthy school meals; and support nutrition education and nutritious food in schools. 

A Newman’s Own Foundation grantee partner since 2019, Santa Cruz-based nonprofit Food, What?! implements a transformative program to empower over 90 marginalized youth through organic farming, culinary education, and community food distribution, aiming to foster healthier eating habits and agricultural knowledge among participants. They shared this quote from one of their youth, Jadet: “I’m eating more vegetables. I used to be really picky about vegetables. I was like, ‘hmmm,’ if it looked funny. Like I’ve never tried eggplant. But since we got eggplants [through the family produce box,] me and my sister just put them in the oven and they got a little roasted and it was really good.”

Our Process

Working together with grantee partners, Newman’s Own Foundation first held a series of listening sessions to inform and design the application process. Next, Foundation staff, our independent Advisory Council, and external reviewers with expertise in the issue area reviewed applications using five key criteria: 

•  Evidence of Impact:  To what extent did the organization make progress in achieving its desired outcomes during the prior year?
•  Alignment:  To what extent does the organization align with the priority program area of Nutrition Education and School Food and our broader mission? 
•  Community Power: To what extent is the organization led by, collaborating with, and building power within the communities it seeks to serve? 
•  Potential for Growth: Does the organization have the potential to grow and deepen their impact?  
• Ease of Implementation: Does the organization have a realistic plan with clearly defined objectives, adequate resources, the right stakeholder engagement, and a clear path to progress?

What’s Next?

Learn about Nutrition Education & School Food grantee partners and read more about their work! 

And, please join us for our Farm To School Roundtable on October 21, 2024 3-4 p.m. ET–a virtual celebration of Farm to School Month with several of our grantee partners working to increase access to locally grown, culturally relevant foods in schools.

Panelists from End Hunger Connecticut!, First Nations Development Institute, and National Farm to School Network will join Newman’s Own Foundation and United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services (USDA, FNS) staff to share highlights from their respective efforts and insights into the challenges and opportunities in implementing Farm to School programs across diverse communities. Register here today!