The Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) has been awarded $1 million to work with school districts to help promote healthy eating habits and enhance nutrition education for school-aged children and their families. LACOE was one of ten agencies across the nation to receive the fiscal year 2023 Team Nutrition Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“Good nutrition not only supports physical growth but also has a big impact on cognitive development and emotional stability,” said Dr. Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools. “We want to educate students to become food smart and make healthy food choices for themselves.” 

The three-year grant will allow LACOE to provide technical assistance and professional training to 44 local education agencies (LEAs) where 60% or more of the enrolled students qualify for free-or reduced-priced meals.  

LACOE will also provide direct guidance, support, and funding to help select LEAs serving historically underserved communities to integrate nutrition education using Team Nutrition materials into the classroom. LACOE will use the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model to support the expansion and implementation of Local School Wellness Policies to advance Whole Child health and learning at the LEA level.  

With this funding, LACOE aims to work with schools to increase access to quality school meals while providing skills-based nutrition education and improving the school environment to help students from marginalized groups make healthier choices and practice healthy behaviors during the school day and beyond.  

The connections between healthy behaviors and student achievement have been supported in numerous studies. Nutrition and physical activity are two areas that significantly affect the health and psycho-social determinants of attendance and learning. LACOE is looking forward to working closely with LEAs to improve student performance and health outcomes, which contribute to state and national efforts to improve nutrition security and reduce diet-related chronic diseases.