HARRISBURG — Two area school districts have been awarded grants for cafeteria improvements, state Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, announced.

“Our schools serve thousands of lunches each day and having state-of-the-art equipment available helps to keep the cost of feeding students, faculty and staff lower,” Dush said.

Ridgway Area School District, Elk County, received $14,343 for a new oven at the high school. Port Allegany School District, McKean County, received $28,572 for a convection steamer at the junior-senior high school.

More than $875,000 in competitive grants were awarded to 59 elementary, middle, and high schools across the state for the purchase of new food service equipment for cafeterias. Funding for the grants is made available through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grants are awarded to schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program. Schools use the grants to purchase or upgrade equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, stoves, and dishwashers.