Through the Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, school food authorities (SFAs) that improved the nutritional quality of their school meals were celebrated with non-monetary recognition awards. The awards spotlight innovative practices, student and community engagement activities, and strategies schools have used to provide meals that are consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Download a List of Awardees (.xlsx)

Awardee Spotlights

Schools Reducing Sodium in Creative Ways

Across the country, school nutrition teams are finding innovative ways to reduce sodium while keeping meals delicious and appealing to students.

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• Sevier School District (Utah)
  Began preparing entrée favorites from scratch, replacing precooked beef with scratch-cooked beef in tacos, lasagna, Salisbury steak, and shepherd’s pie. This gave the team full control over seasoning and significantly reduced sodium in student meals.
• Frankfort Independent Schools (Kentucky)
  Rather than adding salt, Frankfort leaned on bold herbs and spices—like paprika, cumin, and black pepper—to build flavor across lunch offerings. This shift reduced sodium while keeping meals flavorful and familiar to students.
• Marcola School District 79J (Oregon)
  Marcola looked right outside their school building for flavor inspiration. By using fresh herbs from their own school garden in scratch made tomato sauce, their team added brightness and depth to meals without relying on added salt.

Planting the Seeds of Nutrition Education

Schools are using gardens and innovative growing methods to teach hands‑on nutrition, spark curiosity, and bring more fresh, flavorful foods to students.

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• Port Townsend School District (Washington)
  Hands‑on gardening helps students learn to grow and identify fresh herbs while inspiring healthier eating. Nutrition staff use garden-grown herbs to create flavorful, lower-sodium recipes like herb‑roasted potatoes and seasoned taco meat. Students are even asking for more veggies at home!
• Marcola School District (Oregon)
  Students learn to grow, harvest, and preserve produce through canning, freezing, and fermenting. Heritage squash becomes a flavorful, lower‑sodium cheese sauce for mac and cheese, and a student‑run farm stand connects the garden to the community. 
• Nauset Public Schools (Massachusetts)
  Students planted 12 fruit trees that will soon supply fresh fruit for school meals—and possibly neighboring districts. Fast-growing hydroponic gardens let students harvest lettuce and herbs year‑round for salads, sandwiches, and scratch-made dishes.
• Ashwaubenon School District (Wisconsin)
  Hydroponic towers allow students to grow lettuce all year, even through Wisconsin winters, producing 300 pounds every eight weeks. Students gain hands‑on experience in food production and pride in seeing their harvest served at school.

Get more inspiring stories with creative menu solutions in the Cafeteria Chronicles.