After Trump cuts, Mass. awards $850K to pay for healthy food for kids

More than two dozen school districts and 11 early education programs statewide will share in $850,000 in state grant money so they can buy locally grown, nutritious food for kids, Gov. Maura Healey’s office said Monday.

The awards through the state’s Farming Reinforces Education and Student Health, or FRESH, program, come after the Trump administration spiked a federal grant program that would have channeled $3.4 million in food assistance to Massachusetts.

All told, 26 school districts statewide, along with those early childhood programs, will receive some portion of the money, the administration said.

“While the Trump administration continues to take away food from children and families, and hurt local businesses and farmers, Massachusetts is continuing to prioritize programs like these,” the Democratic governor said. “We know that our students succeed when they have access to healthy food, and we can create partnerships that support local businesses and farms in the process.”

• Read More: ‘Are you kidding?’ Mass. Gov. Healey slams Trump cuts to food for kids

Healey, flanked by legislative leaders, slammed the White House earlier this month for its decision to cut off the flow of money.

The money the state announced Monday can be used to pay for such infrastructure and programming needs as school gardens, cooking classes, and farm field trips.

It also supports professional development for “nutrition professionals to enhance school meal offerings and professional development for educators to bring food literacy activities or curriculum to students,” the administration said.

The state grant money also can be used to pay for kitchen equipment, and preparing unprocessed or minimally processed local food for school meals, along with staff salaries, stipends, and consultant fees, the administration said.

“It’s important for students to understand where food comes from and how it is produced and prepared,” state Education Secretary Dr. Patrick Tutwiler said, adding that the grant program is “an important tool that [connects] students to their local food system and produce, while also providing STEM educational opportunities focused on food literacy, nutrition, plant science, and agriculture.”

One local advocacy group welcomed the news, saying it was “elighted to see a diversity of programs and communities receive funding to further food education opportunities.”

“We are thankful to our Massachusetts legislators for making these funds available to schools and early education programs across the Commonwealth to do this important work,” Simca Horwitz, the co-director of Beverly-based Massachusetts Farm to School, said in a statement.