Six schools in the Capital region are slated to receive $142,000 through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to purchase school lunch equipment.
The grants are designed to help school districts replace old, worn out food service equipment and improve the energy efficiency of school food service operations, or improve the quality or quantity of food served.
Highfields, a residential youth treatment center in Onondaga, is scheduled to receive $25,000 to replace 20-year-old equipment in its kitchen, including an institutional dishwasher, a salad bar, milk machine, stove, walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer, says Greg Pincumbe, vice-president for administrative services.
Highfields will buy its new equipment through Hospital Purchasing Service, a group service that negotiates bulk purchases for hospitals and schools throughout the Midwest.
The other recipients in the Capital region are: Ingham County Youth Center, formerly known as the youth detention center, $25,000; El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz Academy, a charter school, $21,000; Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy, a charter school, $24,600; Capital Area Academy, a charter school, $24,772; and New City Academy, a charter school, $21,471.
The grants are part of the $2.5 million package that is being disbursed statewide through the Michigan Department of Education. The Recovery Act requires the education department to fund schools in the National School Lunch Program where at least 50 percent of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
Source: Greg Pincumbe, Highfields
Gretchen Cochran, Innovation & Jobs editor, may be reached here.
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