Princeton Schools Earns National USDA Award For Farm-to-School Meal Program

PRINCETON, NJ — Princeton Public Schools has been awarded the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award for Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service, in partnership with Action for Healthy Kids.

The Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award celebrates the district's creative and collaborative efforts to improve the quality and nutrition of school meals—especially through the use of fresh, local ingredients and scratch cooking, district officials said.

Some of the initiatives that helped the district earn this award include:

• Locally inspired menu items, such as street corn, meatball parmesan made with local crushed tomatoes, and fried rice featuring local peas and spinach.
• A strong partnership with the school gardens, which supplied the lettuces used in student salads.
• Participation in the Garden State on Your Plate program, bringing local tastings to students with support from parent organizations.
• Hands-on student involvement—our high school special needs students proudly husked all the local corn used in school lunches last September.
• Collaboration with Pomptonian Food Service to create newsletters, videos, and other educational communications for families and the community.
• Nutrition Advisory meetings that give students a voice in shaping school menus.

This recognition reflects the work of the district's food service team, school staff, students, families, and community partners. This partnership created meals that were not only nutritious and delicious—but also rooted in community and care.