Bizzarro announces $20K in state funding for school cafeteria

Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center approved for grant to pay for equipment

HARRISBURG, Feb. 22 – The Pennsylvania Department of Education approved funding for Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center to make improvements to its cafeteria, state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro announced Wednesday.

The Sarah A. Reed Children’s Center in Erie has been approved for $20,903 through the Food Service Equipment Grant program to purchase a convection oven.

“We know that school lunches are essential, not only for the health of students but also for improving students’ readiness to learn,” Bizzarro said. “Providing our schools with the reliable equipment needed in food preparation is key since nutritious school lunches help address many of the issues facing school-aged children, including food insecurity, childhood obesity and poor health.”

Funding for the grants is available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grants are awarded to schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Schools use the grants to purchase or upgrade equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, stoves, and dishwashers.

A complete statewide list of approved grants can be found here.

Healthy meals are an essential component to learning and growing. Every day, more than 1 million children and students receive nutritious meals through Federal School Nutrition Programs, which include the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Program.

Today’s announcement continues Bizzarro’s efforts to allocate funds for Erie schools, nonprofits, first responders and local businesses. So far this year, Bizzarro has helped secure more than $980,000 in funding for Erie County projects – including $742,888 in January.