Lynchburg City Schools (LCS) received a national Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award for supercharging the nutritional quality of our school meals. The Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals Award recognizes the division’s work with Brigaid to transform school nutrition across the division through house-made food, fresh and local ingredients, innovative menus, and community engagement.
Awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in collaboration with Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), this distinction celebrates school divisions that incorporated new, made-from-scratch menu items using a local agricultural product or USDA food per the USDA recipe standardization process. Awardees also incorporated student engagement in the implementation of these menu items.
“This recognition affirms steps we’ve taken to transform school meals by prioritizing fresh ingredients, scratch cooking, creative recipes, and student engagement. By partnering with Brigaid and embracing a more thoughtful, ingredient-driven approach, LCS is reimagining school meals, both raising the bar in Lynchburg and setting an example for divisions across the nation,” said LCS Director of School Nutrition Beth Morris.
As part of this recognition, LCS Nutrition staff members will receive travel stipends to attend a national Healthy Meals Summit, where they will connect with school nutrition professionals from across the country and return home with fresh ideas and wisdom to help them elevate LCS meals even further.
“We congratulate LCS on this important achievement,” said AFHK Executive Officer & President Rob Bisceglie. “The HMI Recognition Awards are an opportunity to showcase innovative school nutrition practices that provide children with access to nutritious school meals.”
The Healthy Meal Incentives Awards spotlight innovative practices, student and community engagement activities, and strategies schools have used to provide meals consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Nutritious school meals are an essential part of a healthy school environment and a proven tool for improving a child’s health, growth, development, and educational outcomes. LCS is committed to accelerating student success through high-quality school nutrition.