Schools, districts and childcare organizations in Idaho will receive funding to implement innovative technology solutions through funds provided to the Idaho Department of Education through the USDA’s FY 2021 Technology Improvement Grant (TIG).
Under the grant, Idaho was awarded $518,028 to award Child Nutrition Program (CNP) sponsors in the form of mini-grants over the course of three years. This distribution is the third and final round in the mini-grant cycle, with total grant awards of over $171,000 in federal funding.
Some of the items purchased with the grant funds include upgraded hardware, menu planning software and more.
Funds will be distributed to 21 CNP sponsors in Idaho schools and districts for the purpose of adding technology solutions that will improve program accountability, data accuracy, program performance and the capacity to identify and target error-prone areas within all Child Nutrition Programs at the state and local education agency or sponsoring organization levels.
“We don’t often think of things like printers, laptops and software as essential for use in our school cafeterias,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield. “In reality, these technology improvements are another important way to ensure that we’re efficiently and effectively delivering healthy food to Idaho’s students.”
More information about Child Nutrition Programs is available on the Idaho Department of Education website. Schools receiving 2021 Technology Improvement Grant Round 3 grant awards include:
| SFA
|
Equipment | Grant Award |
| Payette School District | 2 point of sale computers and 3 printers | $3,419.19 |
| Caldwell School District | Mosaic menu/inventory software, 4 point of sale monitors | $23,102.00 |
| Orofino School District | Health-e Pro menu planning software, 4 laptops, 2 monitors, media player & license, cameras | $24,000.00 |
| Elevate Caldwell Charter School | Health-e Pro software | $3,752.50 |
| Elevate North Charter School | Health-e Pro software | $3,752.50 |
| Plummer/Worley School District | Titan software, 2 laptops, printer | $6,900.80 |
| Blaine County School District | 10 Chromebooks, card printer | $4,803.90 |
| The Small World Child Care Center | 1 desktop stand, 2 laptops, iPad Air, keyboard | $5,700.63 |
| American Heritage Charter School | 2 laptops, tablet, LINQ/Titan software | $13,601.62 |
| Fingerprints Pre School | Laptop, 8 iPhones for meal counting | $15,172.20 |
| Basin School District | Mosaic software | $2,845.00 |
| New Plymouth School District | Nutrition analysis software (point of sale, F&R apps, menu & inventory planning) | $11,245.00 |
| Kootenai School District | 3 computers, monitors, printer, printer toner | $3,174.36 |
| Midvale School District | Point of sale computer system (all-in-one computer with Windows 11) | $1,399.99 |
| Minidoka School District | 12 point of sale computers and 8 desktop computers, 12 stands | $18,971.88 |
| West Bonner School District | 2 printers and toner | $1,423.66 |
| West Side School District | 3 laptops, 4 point of sale laptops, finger scanning software | $5,743.00 |
| Richfield School District | EMS Linq software | $8,700.00 |
| St. Vincent De Paul Coeur d’Alene | 25 tablet, 2 laptops, Adobe, Microsoft Office, 2 monitors | $7,148.68 |
| Our Lady of Good Counsel – St. Vincent de Paul | 2 tablets, mobile hotspot, printer, laptop | $840.50 |
| Kamiah School District | Computer with double screen, printer, EMS LINQ and Café Plugin software | $5,885.18 |
