Spring 2024 Healthy
Meals Summit Highlights
Inaugural Healthy Meals Summit Showcases Progress in School Nutrition
USDA and Action for Healthy Kids hosted 140 school districts from across the country to share innovative efforts in improving the nutrition quality of school meals.
Hundreds of school nutrition professionals joined experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Action for Healthy Kids, Chef Ann Foundation and RMC Health at the Healthy Meals Spring 2024 Summit in St. Louis, Missouri, April 9-10, to celebrate and share innovative efforts to enhance the nutritional quality of their school meals. The Summit hosted 140 small and/or rural school districts who received grants through USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative to empower them with the resources to improve their meal service operations.
The grant recipients shared progress on their projects and discussed best practices in school nutrition programs. A series of workshops and interactive stations focused on hands-on learning experiences, including new ways to provide farm-to-school programming and nutrition education, taste tests, salad bar demonstrations, menu planning, and activities to improve student engagement in nutrition education.
This is what School Nutrition Professionals said about the
Healthy Meals Summit
“The time spent connecting with other districts was inspiring. Our team brought back multiple ideas we would like to implement including updates to our nutrition website, better planning for our purchasing of ingredients, planning menus for the whole year, monthly meal rotation, strategies to increase our scratch cooking, etc.”
“Through networking with others, I gained some great ideas on how to better set up my limited space and serving line to be able to offer more choices.”
“I am definitely motivated to make changes and took home some terrific ideas for culinary classes and featuring celebrity chefs in the cafeteria.”
“Yes, we are inspired to continue to do more for our kids! More garden experiences, more farm to school, and more healthy options for kids.”
ATTEND THE FALL 2024 HEALTHY MEALS SUMMIT
Join hundreds of school nutrition professionals at an exclusive, national Healthy Meals Summit this fall in Las Vegas. You can earn complimentary registration and travel stipends for two staff members to attend when you receive a Healthy Meals Incentive Recognition Award.
Apply by August 30th to be eligible to attend the Fall 2024 Healthy Meals Summit!
Check Out the Highlights from Our Spring 2024 Healthy Meals Summit
“The Healthy Meals Spring 2024 Summit was a celebration of progress in our collective journey toward improving the nutritional quality of school meals,” said Rob Bisceglie, executive officer and president at Action for Healthy Kids. “The school nutrition professionals leading these efforts each and every day are shining examples of this unmatched collaboration between Action for Healthy Kids and the USDA.”
“USDA recognizes that school nutrition leaders across the country are embracing opportunities to provide students with meals that are both nutritious and delicious,” said Cindy Long, administrator of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. “School nutrition is a cornerstone of our children’s health and well-being, and the Healthy Meals Spring 2024 Summit helped school nutrition professionals learn from each other as they continue to elevate school meals.”
This material is based upon work that is supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.