School Food Service Stimulus Package

In addition to the numerous small business grants available, the federal government has delivered a $100 million dollar food service equipment stimulus package targeted directly at public and private schools which participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and qualify (at the building level*) with a 50% or more participation in a free and reduced lunch program.

Funds have been allocated to each state education department. Funds vary by state and range from $215,000 to $12 million. The grants are competitive which means preparation is important. The window of opportunity is very narrow so this is an actionable item. The funds are intended to be dispersed within three months.

Items the schools may wish to consider include the repair, replacement or addition of walk-in coolers and freezers. Some of the reasons these qualify include: improving food safety, reducing operating costs translating into energy savings, increased storage capacity to handle expanded breakfast, lunch and snack programs. The link below contains detailed information regarding all qualifying food service equipment. A general rule of thumb is that the equipment must support the reimbursable meal program and not specifically targeted to an ala carte program.

Here is a link to the National School Nutrition Association website where school food service directors can find the most current USDA issued communication related to this process. There are links to each individual state where the food service director can view the requirements and download the required forms.

School food service directors are welcome to call on U.S. Cooler to assist with specification, sizing etc. Contact information is easily accessed via our interactive territory map.

*Participation is measured at the building level rather than the District Level. If the equipment is for a central kitchen, all buildings served by the central kitchen are listed and included in the calculation.

Get a Small Business Grant to Help Purchase Your Walk-in Cooler or Freezer

Being “green” and “energy efficient” are big advertising buzzwords today.
But besides the benefits to the environment, there are definitely good economical reasons for “going green“. There is a HUGE potential for savings on your next electric bill (you can check out our walk-in energy savings calculator). However, investing in new efficient equipment like walk-in freezers, furnaces, or stoves often present too much of an up front cost (even if they would pay for themselves in energy savings in a few years) so the purchase is delayed as long as possible. Think you can’t afford that new refrigerator or ice machine? Maybe you can with the help of your state government.

In this political environment there are many grants available for small businesses, especially when it comes to making your business more energy efficient. The following is a list of websites where you can find and apply for grants in your state (most are linked to the state’s business website but some are linked to specific energy grants). There is also an online government grant and loan search available. Different grants have different requirements and payouts (for example, some will require you to reduce energy usage by at least 20% and the state will foot 25% of the equipment bill).

Economic Development Websites:

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Department of Energy Meeting

The Department of Energy (DOE) has begun the first step in developing a standardized testing procedure for energy efficiency requirements in walk-in coolers and freezers. On February 4, 2009, the Department of Energy held a public meeting to discuss the proposed standardized testing process. In the Energy Independence and Securities Act of 2007 (EISA), it states there must be a performance-based standard for walk-in coolers and freezers in place by January 1, 2012. This requirement was one of the main topics presented at the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize interested parties with the approach and analytical tools that DOE anticipates using in the future. DOE proposed a preliminary document describing their plans for regulating energy efficiency in walk-ins. The meeting provided an opportunity for feedback and comments on the Framework Document.

Ellis Craig (Owner) and Luke Craig (VP of Operations) represented U.S. Cooler by attending the meeting in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of February. The meeting represented just the beginning steps of arriving at a standardized testing method for the walk-in cooler and freezer industry.

There Needs to be a Walk-In Cooler and Freezer Certification Program

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) warns that the new walk-in cooler and freezer law could hurt manufacturers. The problem with the new law is that there is no enforcement mechanism built in, so a non-compliant company can manufacture walk-ins using their same old inferior panels and methods and beat compliant manufactures on price.

To address this issue, AHRI is launching an initiative to educate distributors, installers, and equipment owners about the new standard and its requirements. The association has developed a simple checklist that installers and equipment owners can use to make sure the walk-in cooler or freezer being specified or installed complies with federal law. The checklist is available at www.ahrinet.org/ARI/util/showdoc.aspx?doc=1202.

In addition to customer education, manufacturers believe the solution is the development of a certification program for walk-in coolers and freezers that would clearly identify those units that have been independently tested to verify they achieve a federally established minimum performance rating.

AHRI said the federal government is working with industry to develop a testing methodology for this equipment by 2010. In addition, a final rule is expected to be adopted in January 2012 that will establish a performance-based standard.

The full article can be found here.