Overview
On behalf of America’s pig farmers, the National Pork Board is committed to supporting school nutrition professionals with practical, evidence-based resources that make it easier to serve nutritious, appealing meals students enjoy.
Through partnerships with school districts, state agencies and school nutrition organizations, the National Pork Board provides recipes, nutrition resources, culinary training and technical assistance designed to help school nutrition operators successfully incorporate pork into school meal programs.
The National Pork Board School Menu Innovation Grant will provide funding and resources to a select group of school districts to pilot pork menu items through student taste tests and engagement activities.
The program is designed to better understand which pork menu concepts resonate with students while helping participating schools expand high-quality protein options. Insights and successful approaches from participating districts may also be shared with school nutrition professionals nationwide.
Selected school districts will receive:
- Grant funding to support menu innovation and student engagement activities.
- Access to USDA school meal-compliant pork recipes and supporting resources.
- Technical assistance and implementation support throughout the project.
- Opportunities to showcase successes and best practices with school nutrition professionals across the country.
The National Pork Board anticipates selecting 10 school districts for the inaugural program.
What Problem Would this Grant Address?
School nutrition professionals need appealing, practical and nutritionally appropriate menu options that meet school meal requirements while also encouraging student participation and acceptance.
The School Menu Innovation Grant is intended to help school districts test new approaches to serving pork, gather direct student feedback and identify successful menu and engagement strategies that may be replicated by other school nutrition programs.
Through structured taste tests, student engagement and data collection, the program will help the National Pork Board and participating districts better understand student preferences and identify scalable best practices for incorporating nutritious, high-quality pork menu items into school meals.
Criteria for Approval
School districts may apply for one of two grant opportunities.
Recipe Innovation Grant — $12,000
Applicants selecting the Recipe Innovation Grant must agree to complete all of the following:
- Implement one new, original pork recipe and conduct a student taste test of that recipe.
- Conduct two additional taste tests using recipes from the National Pork Board recipe booklet.
- Conduct a student focus group.
- Complete an additional student engagement activity.
- Fulfill all overall program requirements, data collection requirements and final grant deliverables.
Taste Test Grant — $8,000
Applicants selecting the Taste Test Grant must agree to complete all of the following:
- Conduct two taste tests using recipes from the National Pork Board recipe booklet.
- Complete at least one student engagement activity.
- Fulfill all overall program requirements, data collection requirements and final grant deliverables.
Eligible Student Engagement Activities
- Examples may include:
- Student taste testing.
- Student voting campaigns.
- Student advisory panels.
- Student, parent or community surveys.
- Menu promotion events.
- Cafeteria marketing campaigns.
- Family engagement activities.
- Staff recipe testing.
- Menu launch events.
Schools are encouraged to develop creative engagement activities appropriate for their district that encourage student participation and feedback.
Resources
The National Pork Board has two cookbooks in our database. See the following resources:
Program Requirements
All participating school districts must:
- Implement at least two pork recipes during the project period.
- Conduct at least one student engagement activity.
- Collect participation and student acceptance data.
- Participate in National Pork Board’s train the trainer online course, webinars and/or office hours.
- Participate in program evaluation activities.
- Submit a final report with supporting documentation.
Proposal & Application Format
This opportunity will use a grant application rather than the National Pork Board’s standard research proposal format.
The application is designed to take approximately 10–15 minutes to complete.
Applicants should have recent school meal participation data available before beginning the application.
Applicants should be prepared to identify the grant opportunity for which they are applying and demonstrate their ability to complete the associated taste tests, student engagement activities, required data collection and final deliverables.
Required Grant Deliverables
Participating districts will be required to collect and submit information that helps the National Pork Board evaluate program outcomes, including:
- School meal participation data.
- Recipes utilized during the program.
- Student feedback and acceptance data.
- Survey results, if applicable.
- Photos of implementation activities.
- Student and staff quotes.
- Success stories and implementation highlights.
Evaluation
The National Pork Board anticipates selecting 10 school districts to participate in the inaugural School Menu Innovation Grant.
Applications will be evaluated based on the school district’s ability to successfully implement the proposed activities, engage students, collect required participation and acceptance data and share meaningful outcomes and implementation learnings with the National Pork Board.
Due Date
Applications for the National Pork Board School Menu Innovation Grant will be accepted September 1–30, 2026.
Applications are due 11:59 p.m. CT September 30, 2026.
Applicants selected to receive funding will be notified October 16, 2026.
Project implementation will take place from January through April 2027, with all required taste tests and project activities completed by April 15, 2027.
Questions?
Questions regarding the School Menu Innovation Grant should be directed to:
LaChell Miller
Senior Manager, National Nutrition Programs
National Pork Board
[email protected]
