Evanston Township High School will be able to provide additional breakfast options after receiving a grant that promotes healthy food for students, the school announced last week.

ETHS is one of 26 schools nationwide to receive the Fuel Up Breakfast Grant, awarded by the General Mills Convenience & Foodservice and the National Dairy Council. The grant will go toward an expanded healthy breakfast program, according to an ETHS news release.

Schools that participated in the national School Breakfast Program were eligible for the grant. The program, which is federally managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, offers money for states to implement nonprofit breakfast programs in schools and other establishments, according to the USDA website. Eligible schools also have to be enrolled in the Fuel Up To Play 60 program, which gives prizes to students who are active and nutritious, according to its website.

The ETHS Nutrition Services Department will provide a Grab-and-Go Breakfast Kiosk for students to purchase breakfast in the morning, an alternative option to the cafeteria, according to the news release.

The grant program aims to provide students with the opportunity to eat foods such as low-fat and fat-free dairy products, whole grain cereals and fruit, the news release said.

“We know that mornings can be a very busy time of day for families, and want to help ensure that our students have nutritional options available to them when they arrive at school,” said Kim Minestra, ETHS director of Nutrition Services, in the news release. “We are grateful for the Fuel Up grant, which helps support our ongoing efforts.”

The grant program, in its sixth year, gave out almost $50,000 to the 26 schools who received the grant, and each school received up to $2,000, according to the news release.

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