School Meals
Rooted in Partnerships
Project SCALES supports people working to improve the school meal system.
We awarded our first round of grants in May 2024, supporting twelve rural school districts and charter schools across the United States. More information about those projects is available on the Cohort 1 page.
We are delighted to announce the second round of grants, which fund nine large team-based projects. These projects focus on a variety of goals including value chain coordination, local procurement, new product development, and building infrastructure for resilient school food systems. More information about those projects is available on the Cohort 2 page.
Fresh, Local, Meaningful
With funding from the United States Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Project SCALES is led by Boise State University, in partnership with LunchAssist. Between 2024 and 2028, we will issue more than $10 million in funding to 21 projects located across the nation. We fund projects that build capacity and increase the resilience of food systems by supporting partnerships between school food authorities and growers, producers, distributors, and processors, as well as other industry partners.
Funding
The first round of grantees received up to $150,000 in funding to advance partnerships to bring more locally sourced foods into schools. The second round of grants support large team-based projects with up to $1 million each in funding.
Resources
Our technical assistance manager at LunchAssist provides expert technical assistance to grantees, including one-on-one calls, group meetings, skill-building tools, and other professional development activities.
Community
Through the Project SCALES learning community, grantees are strengthening existing partnerships and nurturing new ones. We share successes and lessons learned both within our network and across the country.