2024 Santa Barbara School Wellness Grants

Igniting sustainable solutions to champion healthier communities through the Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative

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In collaboration, Santa Barbara County School Wellness Summit and Dairy Council of California aim to advance the health and well-being of schools and communities. Santa Barbara County School Wellness Summit will sponsor three community grants to advance collaboration and innovative solutions to foster healthy eating through the advancement of the Let’s Eat Healthy Initiative. 

Funding Program Goals:

• Advance equitable access to science-based nutrition education
• Enhance food and agricultural literacy that encompasses the role of dairy in local sustainable food systems
• Advance nutrition security by increasing access to healthy, wholesome foods, including milk and dairy foods 

Grant Criteria 

As a nutrition organization, Dairy Council of California is funded by the California dairy community to empower champions to elevate the health of children and communities in California through the pursuit of lifelong healthy eating patterns. The focus of the Santa Barbara County School Wellness Summit/Let’s Eat Healthy Community Grants program is to establish partnerships that expand our network of California champions. 

Application Period July 20, 2023 - September 4, 2023

Applications are now being accepted for 2023-2024 Santa Barbara County School Wellness Summit/Let's Eat Healthy Community Grants.

Funding Amounts

• Three grants valued up to $5,000 will be awarded in partnership with Santa Barbara County School Wellness Summit, for a total of $15,000 is available to be awarded.

Eligibility 

• Applicants represent an entity in California (district, school, non-profit/community organization, etc.) 
• Projects must target communities in the following regions: Santa Barbara County, San Luis Obispo County, Ventura County
• Projects must demonstrate activation of Let’s Eat Healthy by aligning to at least one Let’s Eat Healthy Strategic Framework goal and objective.
• Applicants must be a registered member of Let’s Eat Healthy.
  • Register to join and commit to building healthier communities here. 
• Projects must be implemented and evaluated by June 30, 2024

The application period is now closed.

Applicants will be notified at the end of September 2023. Awarded grantees or a designee must attend the 10th annual Santa Barbara County School Wellness Summit on October 4, 2023 and present a brief overview of the funded project. 


For questions, contact Sonia Fernandez Arana, Let’s Eat Healthy Program Manager at [email protected]  

Centennial Farm, OC Fair & Event Center
Orange County
$5,000

Project: Enhancing Milk and Dairy Education to the Community at Centennial Farm

Centennial Farm’s update of dairy ag literacy and education resources enhances the health benefits of milk and dairy foods within its messaging and positions milk, yogurt and cheese as daily food choices in a healthy, sustainable eating pattern. Resource updates include the milk processing module video shown during farm tours.

Dairy Council of California provided Centennial Farm, farm field trip docents with professional development on the sustainability of dairy and the functional health benefits dairy foods provide to equip docents with the latest agriculture and nutrition research and messaging. Docents educated participating classrooms on the production, sustainability and nutritional benefits of dairy.

To expand opportunities for dairy ag literacy, Dairy Council of California’s Mobile Dairy Classroom collaborated with Centennial Farm to educate approximately 10,000 participants attending the Imaginology weekend event in April 2023. Lastly, funding supported National Nutrition Month activities. Centennial Farm hosted a dairy nutrition segment through its Ranch After School Program targeting 4th and 5th grade students and offered experiential activities to learn about the importance of dairy.

Centennial Farm, OC Fair & Event Center

Enhancing Milk and Dairy Education to the Community at Centennial Farm

Watch here

North Valley Military Institute & Chef Gaby Schuster 
Los Angeles County
$5,000

Project: Cooking with Families: A Creative Twist on Familiar Foods

Through a collaboration with North Valley Military Institute and Chef Gaby, funding provided a cooking series for families of North Valley Military Institute. The cooking series fostered opportunities to empower families to recognize how culturally diverse foods contribute to making healthy food choices to support building lifelong healthy eating patterns.

The series featured creative twists on familiar foods and meals with an emphasis on simplicity, access, and availability. The four-week series was delivered in March 2023 virtually by Chef Gaby and implemented by North Valley Military Institute's Community Schools Manager. Chef Gaby conducted a series of live Q&A sessions and provided nutrition education through the resources offered by Dairy Council of California.

North Valley Military Institute & Chef Gaby Schuster

Cooking with Families: A Creative Twist on Familiar Foods

Watch here

City of Rancho Cucamonga, Healthy RC Program 
San Bernardino County
$5,000

Project: Empowering Healthy Choices: Cooking with Rancho Cucamonga Teens

City of Rancho Cucamonga, Healthy RC Youth Leaders program engaged teens through a youth empowerment project. Youth leaders enhanced their food literacy skills and knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating patterns through the project. They collaborated with a local chef to develop three dairy and culturally inclusive recipes that are budget and teen friendly.

Chef and youth leaders engaged and educated peers by hosting a cooking workshop at the 5th annual Teen Summit hosted by City of Rancho Cucamonga, Healthy RC in March 2023. Youth leaders delivered a demonstration of the developed recipes and provide nutrition messaging to attendees.

City of Rancho Cucamonga, Healthy RC Program

Empowering Healthy Choices: Cooking with Rancho Cucamonga Teens

Watch here