Brandon Lipps talks to a girl about vegetables they harvested at a farm. |
By Veniqua Stewart and Rachel Polon
Food and Nutrition Service
Summer meals are critical in the lives of millions of America’s youth, who may not have access to nutritious meals when school meals are not available because school is not in session. However, summer meals are not simply about making sure that those in need have food to eat. In fact, summer meal programs, including the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO) through the NSLP, can positively impact children’s growth and development while also encouraging children to develop healthy habits at a young age. High quality summer meals provide energy day-to-day, and help our young people thrive and return ready to learn in the fall.
Turnip the Beet winners are perfect examples of how the summer meal programs can serve nutritious meals while equipping children and teens with lifelong skills. For example, Kids Unlimited, a gold award winner from Medford, Oregon, offers culinary classes five days per week so participants can learn to cook a variety of foods from scratch. Often, ingredients for the culinary classes come straight from the garden that the participants have planted and harvested!
Successful summer meals programs rely on feedback for continual improvement. Many Turnip the Beet awardees incorporated some type of regular feedback system (taste tests, voting systems, one-on-one discussions with children during meals, etc.) into their Summer Meals Programs. For example, gold-winning, Michigan-based Waterford School District hosted “Two Bite Tuesdays” as well as regular taste tests during which participants would try new recipes, as well as foods from the site’s garden and the local farmers’ market.
Turnip the Beet award winners are summer meal sponsors who are going above and beyond to ensure their meals are both nutritious and appetizing. They showcased their excellence by serving a variety of vegetables and fruits throughout the week; serving whole grains and dairy products; and serving culturally-appropriate meals. Sponsors also conducted taste tests with the children (and incorporated the feedback into the menus); and offered nutrition education activities along with the meals.
A total of 118 sponsors received a bronze, silver or gold award for their efforts in 2018. The 15 gold and 66 silver winners are listed below. To continue encouraging high quality meals and recognizing sponsors’ efforts, USDA plans to host the Turnip the Beet awards again in 2019; information on criteria and nominations will be available later this year.
Congratulations to our 2018 Turnip the Beet winners! Keep up the great work!
Gold Turnip the Beet Awardees:
| California- Redlands Unified School District California- South Bay Unified School District California- Victor Valley Union High School District Indiana- City of Indianapolis, Department of Parks and Recreation| Michigan- Waterford School District Food & Nutrition Service Mississippi- Biloxi Public School District North Dakota- Tri-Valley Migrant Headstart | Oregon- Kids Unlimited Texas- Hays CISD Child Nutrition Texas- Laredo ISD Texas- Leander ISD Summer Meals Program Texas- Magnolia ISD Texas- Plano ISD Food & Nutritional Services Virginia- Staunton County Wisconsin- Stevens Point Area School District |
Silver Turnip the Beet Awardees:
| Alabama- Feeding the Gulf Coast: Feel the Beat, Let's Eat California - Rialto Unified School District California- Natomas Unified School District California- San Jacinto Unified School District Colorado- Alamosa School District Nutrition Department Colorado- Greeley Evans School District 6 Nutrition Services Delaware- Christina School District Delaware- Colonial School District Florida- Family Worship and Praise Center CDC 1109 Florida- Star of the Sea Foundation Georgia- Douglas County Schools Georgia- Floyd County Child Nutrition Department Georgia- Wayne County School Nutrition Indiana- Ray Bird Ministries Camp Ray Bird Indiana- School City of Hammond Indiana- SON Ministries, Inc. Indiana- South Spencer County School Corporation Indiana- TRIO Upward Bound Summer Academy Indiana- Wabash Valley Youth for Christ AKA Camp Navigate Iowa- Council Bluffs Community School District Iowa- Nevada Community School District Iowa- Waukee Community School District Kentucky- Owensboro Public Schools Louisiana- St. Helena School Parish District Maine- Eastport Summer Lunch Rocks Massachusetts- Malden YMCA Michigan- Bendle Public Schools Michigan- Essexville Hampton Public Schools Michigan- Fenton Area Public Schools Michigan- Food Gatherers Michigan- Mattawan Consolidated Schools Michigan- Monroe Family YMCA Michigan- Montrose Community Schools | Michigan- Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency Michigan- Paw Paw Public Schools Michigan- YMCA of Greater Grand Rapids Missouri- Children’s Mercy Kids Eat Free Program Missouri- New Heights Community Resource Center Missouri- Saint Louis Public Schools North Carolina- Brigade Boys and Girls Club North Carolina- Campus Kitchen at Wake Forest University North Carolina- Carolina's HealthCare System University North Carolina- GrowthQuest North Carolina- Kirk of Kildaire Presbyterian North Carolina- Whiteville City Schools Oregon- Beaverton School District Pennsylvania- Boys and Girls Club of Lancaster Pennsylvania- Project Share of Carlisle Tennessee- Campbell County School District Tennessee- Morgan County Schools Food & Nutrition Texas- Austin ISD Texas- Garland ISD Texas- Grand Prairie Texas- Houston ISD Nutrition Services Texas- Lewisville ISD Child Nutrition Program Texas- North East ISD Texas- North Texas Food Bank Texas- Rio Hondo ISD Texas- Smithville Independent School District Texas- Spring ISD Virginia- Giles County Washington- Wallingford Boys and Girls Club Wisconsin- Gundersen Health System Wisconsin- Montello School District Wisconsin- Pulaski Area School District Wisconsin- UW Health Summer Food Service Program |
Children harvest vegetables from a garden. |
