Garden County Schools Receive Equipment Assistance Grant!
Public Law 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA), was signed into law by President Obama on 2/17/09.
ARRA provided a onetime appropriation for equipment assistance to
school food authorities.
The Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) Nutrition Services
received over 250 applications for the 2009 ARRA Equipment
Assistance Grant funding available to School Food Authorities
(SFAs). The grant review process was competitive. The applications
were of high quality and indicated a great deal of need among the
various SFAs. All applications were reviewed against the
established criteria of percentage of free/reduced eligibility, net
cash resource funds, qualified capitalization threshold, and
funding was limited to one piece of equipment per school building.
The decisions were difficult as $3,123,386.95 was requested with
just $532,209.00 available to be awarded. 145 school districts
requested funds and only 50 districts were awarded grant funds.
The Nebraska State Board of Education approved the selected
proposals on
June 10, 2009. Garden County Schools recently received notification
of grant approval for a walk-in freezer at the high school. The
grant award was for full funding of the project in the amount of
$14,024.00! Local contractors will be supported and all aspects of
the project will meet American made criteria as specified in the
grant application. This project is highly beneficial for the
students at Garden County Schools in that it improves food safety,
inventory control, and safety in the food service program. This
grant will also improve the instructional space available in the
art room. Work has already begun on this exciting project! Final
photos will be shared upon its completion.
