The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced over $225 million in supplemental funding awards to Head Start programs across the United States.
The federal grants are designed to upgrade nutrition services, repair physical facilities and assist local operators with one-time operational needs.
In Georgia, 10 organizations are receiving funding for these initiatives for a collective $2.43 million.
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HHS said the funding package will be distributed by the Administration for Children and Families, aimed at three primary areas of program operations.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. outlined the department’s focus on early childhood wellness in connection with the awards.
“Good health begins with good nutrition and the earliest years of a child’s life shape health for decades to come,” Kennedy said. “We are strengthening Head Start nutrition and creating healthier, safer environments that give children a stronger foundation for lifelong health. By putting prevention first, we are advancing President Trump’s commitment to Make America Healthy Again.”
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The awards allocate $89 million for nutrition initiatives, $88 million for facility improvements and $47 million for immediate operational expenses, HHS said in a statement.
The $89 million nutrition allocation will provide support to more than 400 Head Start grant recipients.
Local programs can use the grants to buy nutrient-dense foods, improve food storage and preparation equipment, develop farm-to-table or gardening initiatives and offer nutrition education to enrolled families.
Assistant Secretary Alex J. Adams of the Administration for Children and Families, saying the supplemental funds aim to give local administrators greater operational flexibility.
“The Trump Administration is committed to making Head Start better and brighter by returning the program to its core mission: giving children a healthy foundation to thrive,” Adams said. “The supplemental investments build on our broader efforts to strengthen Head Start by putting nutrition, healthy development and program flexibility back at the center of how we serve children and families. When we invest in healthier children today, we are investing in stronger families and a better America for generations to come.”
For physical infrastructure, 28 grant recipients will receive over $88 million to support facility improvements.
The department noted that funding may be applied toward major renovations, structural repairs and facility modernization to ensure learning spaces meet health and safety standards.
Lizbeth Casco White, director of the Office of Head Start, said physical environments play a key role in child development.
“Children thrive in environments tailored to their health, safety and development,” White said. “These supplemental investments empower local programs with the flexibility to enhance learning environments while reinforcing the critical nutrition and family services that build a strong, lifelong foundation for the future.”
Officials said an additional $47 million in one-time supplemental funding will be distributed among 180 grant recipients to resolve immediate operational priorities.
These targeted grants can be spent on purchases such as technology hardware, transportation buses, new HVAC installations, playground equipment, classroom furniture, staff training, and building security systems.
Here are the programs getting funding for nutrition:
- Clayton County Community Service Authority Inc. - $114,197
- Coastal Georgia Area Community Action Authority - $806,071
- Coastal Plain Area Economic Opportunity Authority, Inc. - $300,000
- Family Resource Agency, Inc. - $209,800
- Macon-Bibb County Economic Opportunity Council, Inc. - $328,710
- Ninth District Opportunity, Inc. - $333,382
- Our House, Inc. - $56,570
- Resurgent Education and Community Health Service, Inc. - $103,961
- Southwest Georgia Community Action Council, Inc. - $116,413
- Telamon Corporation - $53,994
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