The School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has named Renee Slotten-Beauchamp, Director of Nutrition Services for Milwaukee Public Schools in WI, the recipient of the Hobart Equipment Grant worth up to $40,000 in specialty school foodservice equipment. The grant is among 2026 SNF Equipment Grants available to help school meal programs overcome staffing, budget or operational challenges. The additional funding supports programs working to expand fresh and scratch-made menu options, increase efficiencies and enhance the cafeteria experience to nourish students’ school days.
With an impressive 79 hydroponic growing towers, the district has great opportunity to utilize lettuce grown by students in school meals. Without the necessary salad spinners and dryers to wash the lettuce, the towers are currently underutilized, serving as learning tools for science projects but not contributing to meal service.
The Hobart grant will enable Slotten-Beauchamp’s team to tap the full potential of hydroponic growing efforts. Providing eight salad spinners to three high school sites will cover a good portion of the district’s pre-made salad needs. Currently, more than 1,000 pre-made Chef, Southwestern, Garden and Greek salads a day are served as entree options across 19 high schools. Utilizing the towers would provide students with fresh lettuce that is student grown and support increased interest in these popular lunch choices.
Harvesting, washing, and drying fresh, student-grown lettuce on-site delivers significant cost savings, preserves peak freshness and quality, and creates a direct connection between classroom learning and the meals served in the cafeteria. Transporting lettuce to an off-site processing facility is costly, making on-site processing a practical and sustainable solution. With the ability to manage this at the school sites, the district hopes to add more towers and support the expansion of local foods for salad toppings as well as offering premade salads to students at other grade levels. By building this capacity within the schools, the district can expand its hydroponic growing program and increase the use of locally grown ingredients in school meals. The new equipment will play a critical role in supporting the growth of the hydroponic tower program.
“We started offering pre-made salads everyday this school year and the interest continues to increase. Engaging students in the process of harvesting lettuce for fresh packaged entree salads will also bring their science lessons to the cafeteria to highlight locally grown, school-made menu choices,” said Renee Slotten-Beauchamp, Director of Nutrition Services.
In a recent School Nutrition Association survey of school meal program directors, 94% of respondents reported a need for more equipment and infrastructure to expand scratch preparation and reduce reliance on ultra-processed foods.
“The district’s expansive hydroponic growing effort provides such a tremendous opportunity to support nutrition services and the students they serve. We’re honored that the Hobart grant can have such an immediate and substantial impact on getting freshly harvested lettuce into school meals,” said SNF Chair, Gay Anderson, SNS. SNF Chair, Gay Anderson, SNS.
As the recipient of the Hobart Equipment Grant, Milwaukee Public Schools will work with ITW Food Equipment Group brand representatives to have Hobart products delivered for the upcoming school year.
In addition, Milwaukee Public Schools was also awarded one of 50 Innoseal Set-up Kits, including two Innoseal Professional Sealers and a case of 28-pack multi-color refills. The SNF Innoseal Equipment Grant supports schools serving produce with an efficient bag sealing machine that keeps fruits and vegetables fresh, crisp and healthy.
To view the grant winner’s video submission, visit: https://vimeo.com/1203604652
About School Nutrition Foundation:
The School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) is the charitable arm of the School Nutrition Association (SNA). SNF supports school nutrition professionals by offering grants and scholarships, providing free training opportunities and identifying research, trends and innovations. The 2026 SNF Equipment Grants are made possible by the generous contributions of Alto-Shaam, AmTab, Cambro Manufacturing, Food Warming Equipment Company (FWE), Fork Farms, Hobart (ITW Food Equipment Group LLC Brand), Innoseal, LTI, Inc., Vulcan (ITW Food Equipment Group LLC brand), and Winston Foodservice.
About School Nutrition Association:
The School Nutrition Association (SNA) is a national, non-profit professional organization representing 50,000 school nutrition professionals across the country. Founded in 1946, SNA and its members are dedicated to making healthy school meals and nutrition education available to all students. For more information on school meals, visit www.SchoolNutrition.org/SchoolMeals.
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