2025 Kitchen Infrastructure and Training and Retention and Recruitment Grant

Purpose

The 2025 Kitchen Infrastructure and Training (KIT) Grant competitively awards funding to eligible school food authorities (SFA) to support initiatives for improving the quality of meals served through the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP), which may include procurement of California-grown, whole or minimally processed food, food service staff training and salaries, and kitchen infrastructure upgrades.

Description

On June 27, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill (SB) 121 (Committee on Budget. Education finance: education omnibus budget trailer bill) into law. Section 79 of this law appropriated $155 million from the State of California’s General Fund to the California Department of Education (CDE) to competitively award $145 million in KIT Grants and $10 million in R&R Grants. Unlike the previous KIT allocations, these grants are competitive, and eligible entities must apply using an online application. The amount of funding grantees receive will be determined by a funding formula outlined on the “Funding” tab. Eligible SFAs may choose to apply for one or both of the following grants using the same online application: Kitchen Infrastructure and Training GrantTotal Amount of Funds Available to Award: $145,000,000 This grant supports the following types of expenditures: -Procurement of California-grown, whole or minimally processed, sustainably grown and/or organic ingredients from California producers, for inclusion in reimbursable meals served through the NSLP and SBP. -Food service staffing costs to support training and professional development for increasing capacity for freshly prepared onsite meals, which may include training on minimally processed, freshly prepared onsite meals, removal of particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods from menus, locally and sustainably grown ingredients, food preparation, healthy food marketing, reducing food waste, and changing the school lunchroom environment to promote a positive dining experience with adequate seat time. This grant may also support additional compensation for additional work relating to serving Universal Meals that may include preparing and serving minimally processed, locally and sustainably grown foods, organic foods, and plant-based or restricted diet food or milk options. -Kitchen infrastructure or equipment upgrades to increase the capacity and service options for offering freshly prepared onsite meals using minimally processed, locally grown, organic, and sustainable ingredients, and increase a school’s capacity to prepare meals that surpass the current nutritional quality of food served through the SNPs, while also reducing food waste and promoting adequate seat time. When purchasing equipment, SFAs are encouraged, to the extent practicable, to acquire energy-saving electric and induction equipment rather than equipment that uses fossil fuels. Recruitment and Retention GrantTotal Amount of Funds Available to Distribute: $10,000,000 The R&R Grant is intended to support the retention and recruitment of school nutrition professionals. This grant should primarily be used to support one-time costs associated with recruiting and retaining qualified school nutrition food service staff to meet the increased demands associated with providing high quality school meals. This could include signing bonuses, one-time bonuses, or recruitment activities. The R&R funding can also be used for training and professional development opportunities for school nutrition food service staff, or staffing costs associated with scheduling changes to increase access to school meals.