The School Nutrition Foundation (SNF) has named Lexi Hicks, Director of Food & Nutrition Services for Ojai Unified School District in California, the recipient of the Food Warming Equipment (FWE) Grant, worth up to $25,000 in specialty school foodservice equipment. The grant is among 2025 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.
Hicks and her team spend valuable time navigating issues associated with old equipment in constant need of maintenance and repairs. They manage everything from loose handles, missing knobs and faulty fans that consistently break down to freezers that require frequent maintenance.
Across various campuses, the nutrition staff faces issues such as a hot holding cabinet with a faulty fan that frequently breaks down, freezers that need regular servicing, and outdated hot food counters with missing parts. In some locations, the hot holding cabinet handles are missing causing the temperatures to fluctuate significantly, making it difficult to maintain consistent food service operations.
“New equipment will provide safe and efficient solutions for our team and will greatly benefit our students as well. Working with outdated, underperforming kitchen appliances limits what we can prepare for students. We’re doing more speed-scratch cooking and we want to further our scratch efforts,” said Hicks.
Hicks anticipates at least 15% increase in student meal participation with new equipment that enables serving hot scratch-made meals and supports more fresh fruit and vegetable offerings and local foods. The district’s nutrition staff aims to create menus that meet the diverse tastes and needs of students. Hicks believes the influx of modern, fully functional equipment will enhance those efforts while easing the stress level of staff.
“Serving nutritious, high-quality meals using outdated kitchen appliances is a tough task,” said SNF Chair, Becky Domokos-Bays, PhD, RD, SNS. “We are thrilled to award Ojai with this grant and empower staff to increase menu options and enhance the meal experience for students.”
As the recipient of the grant, Ojai Unified School District will receive up to $25,000 worth of FWE equipment. They will work with a representative from the company to determine the delivery and installation of the new equipment.
In addition, Ojai Unified School District 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 enables schools with an efficient bag sealing machine that keeps fruits and vegetables fresh.
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 2025 SNF Equipment Grants are made possible by the generous contributions of Alto-Shaam, AmTab, Cambro Manufacturing, Food Warming Equipment Company (FWE), Hobart (ITW Food Equipment Group LLC Brand), Innoseal, LTI, Inc., Sterno Delivery, 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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