Grant Helps Rural Students Receive Nutritious Meals During The Summer Months

December 27, 2005

Charleston, W.Va. - The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) was one of five states awarded multi-year grant funds from the United States Department of Agriculture for innovative approaches in overcoming limited transportation resources in rural areas for the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). These grants are designed to increase access to the SFSP, a summer nutrition program that provides free nutritious meals and snacks to children in low-income areas during the summer break.

Over the course of three years, $4 million will be made available to these states. Eighteen school districts and 12 community-based organizations across five states will provide transportation services as part of their SFSP. Several of the organizations will use the funding to provide transportation to children at existing meal sites while others will transport food to new meal sites in remote rural areas.

�This will help children who live in more rural areas to continue to receive nutritious meals during summer vacation,� said Rick Goff, Executive Director for the WVDE Office School Nutrition.

In West Virginia, seven agencies were awarded grants. Those include Davis and Elkins College Upward Bound Programs, McDowell County Schools, Monroe County Schools, North Central WV Community Action Association, Inc., Playmates Preschool and Child Care Center, Inc., Shack Neighborhood House and Southern Appalachian Labor Schools. The WVDE was awarded funds to administer the grant.

For more information about the Summer Food Service Program or the transportation grants, contact Rick Goff, Executive Director for the WVDE Office School Nutrition, at (304) 558- 2708.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.