Urban School Food Alliance

📣 We need your help! Newman's Own Foundation is asking YOU to vote and help them award two $10,000+ grants to support food justice for kids. The Urban School Food Alliance is one of the 20 finalists, but we need your help—it’s free to join and vote today (donations not required, but welcome!): https://bit.ly/3AHY5vd

Missed today's Virtual Pep Rally? Be sure to watch the recording to celebrate and hear from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Vilsack and U.S. Department of Education Secretary Cardona on key priorities to ensure students have the resources they need to succeed this school year!

Virtual Back to School Pep Rally Celebrating Healthy School Meals U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Education are thrilled to be partnering with a wide range of education and school meal partners to cele...

Join the Urban School Food Alliance on Thursday at 1:45pm ET as we partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Education, and and education organizations to celebrate the season and hear from Secretary Vilsack and Secretary Cardona on key priorities to ensure students have the resources they need to succeed this school year! 💻 Stream live: http://usda.gov/live

🎉 Exciting news in member North East Independent School District! Breakfast and lunch will be free for all students in 48 schools in NEISD through the USDA's Community Eligibility Provision.

School meals are a critical part of the school day for children, much like textbooks and bus rides. The CEP program increases access by reducing stigma and barriers for students and families.

North East ISD announces free and reduced-price school meal program SAN ANTONIO - North East ISD (NEISD) is participating in a free and reduced-price school lunch program for qualifying students.This year, forty-eight NEISD cam

ICYMI: Gwinnett County Public Schools has joined the Urban School Food Alliance! GCPS is the largest school district in Georgia, with more than 182,000 students across 135 campuses. Gwinnett County School Nutrition Program serves 30 million meals each year across all programs, with an annual procurement budget of nearly $80 million. Welcome!

Gwinnett County Public Schools joins the Urban School Food Alliance The nonprofit now represents 19 of the largest school districts in the country.

The Urban School Food Alliance is excited to announce that Gwinnett County Public Schools has joined our membership! Their dedication to advancing school nutrition and their innovative solutions for large-scale food programs will strengthen our efforts to ensure that students across the country benefit from nutritious and sustainable food options!

Urban School Food Alliance welcomes Gwinnett County Public Schools to membership | Urban School Food Alliance WASHINGTON, Aug. 15, 2024 – The Urban School Food Alliance, a collaborative of the largest school districts in the United States, is pleased to announce that it will expand its membership to 19 districts with the addition Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS). “We are excited to welcome GCPS to ...

Students in member Dallas ISD returned this week to new recipes, old menu favorites, and the familiar faces of the dedicated team of school nutrition professionals who work hard every day to make healthy and happy. (D Magazine)

❤️ Thank you to the like Lessie Dixon of Alex W. Spence Talented/Gifted Academy for her 40+ years of service to the students of Dallas ISD! And Executive Chef Trina Nelson for bringing creativity and connection to the menu!

The Hardest Working Cooks in Dallas Dallas ISD's job: lunch for 144,000 picky kids. Every day.

The Urban School Food Alliance’s Dr. Katie Wilson and Jeremy West are in Cleveland, OH for the ASAE The Center for Association Leadership Annual Meeting. This week we will be able to connect and learn from our association peers!

School nutrition professionals are constantly challenging the misconception that are of low nutritious quality. In reality, meals like those served by Urban School Food Alliance members follow strict nutrition guidelines and feature fresh foods, local ingredients, diverse flavors, and creative recipes that students love!

Love this message from NxtGen Network!

#THISisschoolmeals School foodservice has an image problem, and we're going to change that. Together.In 2024, the perception of school meals doesn't match the reality. Too many...

Boston Public Schools is excited to offer free summer meals (breakfast and lunch) to all kids and teens, ages 18 and under, at more than 100 locations across the City of Boston This Summer Eats program will run between July 8 and late August. NO identification or pre-registration will be required.

Visit https://bit.ly/3oZBbd6 for more information.

is just around the corner! Students in member Los Angeles Unified School District return next week to new classes and updated menus. On Friday, students and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho previewed options, including whole-grain cinnamon rolls and acai bowls, to pick their healthy and delicious favorites.

📰 Los Angeles Daily News

Whole grain cinnamon rolls? LAUSD cafeterias are ready for 2024-25 school year Superintendent Alberto Carvalho taste-tested new cafeteria food options along with the students.

We were honored to be in attendance at the USDA Celebration for SUN Meals, SUN Bucks, and SUN Meals To Go today! Due to these programs, kids in over 600 NEW zip codes across the US, the US Territories, and Tribal Nations are participating in at least one of the programs! These programs ensure that the summer hunger gap is no longer an issue for over 21 million children.

USFA is proud to be a part of this extraordinary work to make sure all children have access to healthy meals when school is not in session. Be sure to check out the SUN Meals website to find programs available in your area: https://www.fns.usda.gov/summer

The Urban School Food Alliance is honored to announce we have been recognized by ASAE's Power of Associations Awards. The Alliance was selected to receive the , the highest distinction for associations, in the Power of Community Support and Engagement category.

This prestigious award embraces the value programs play, not only in a child's daily academic success, but in the community as a whole. Thank you, ASAE The Center for Association Leadership! Learn more: https://bit.ly/3Yrymkw

Student feedback is an important ingredient in healthy and delicious ! On Wednesday, students in member Chicago Public Schools tasted new recipes to help decide what ends up on the menu this upcoming school year. Students tried jollof rice, a blueberry crisp, fruit parfait, cinnamon peaches, and more, and shared their favorites with Chicago Sun-Times: https://bit.ly/3YkFcbk

Another successful Serving up Science session at Kansas State University for Urban School Food Alliance members! Staff from San Diego Unified School District, School District of Philadelphia, Dallas ISD, and North East Independent School District attended in June. The program provides participants an opportunity to learn from peers and to exchange ideas on all aspects of food safety, including , and engages attendees using lectures, hands-on activities, and facility tours.

Member Boston Public Schools and Green City Growers presented at creating successful partnerships and programs that bridge cafeteria to classroom learning. With thoughtful grant design, departments can capture academic attention and build excitement for a school district and school meals!

More from the floor: The Urban School Food Alliance team enjoyed meeting and speaking with attendees in the partner pavilion and Jeremy West, Chief of Finance & Operations, shared insights from his career in during the School Nutrition Career Strategy Workshop!

On Sunday, member Boston Public Schools Assistant Director of Culinary Programs Andrew Urbanetti presented on the successes and challenges the district faced in offering Halal and Kosher , upon request, to any student in the district! The program is just one aspect of the city’s goal to identify the needs, and celebrate the diversity of, its student body, and to ensure that every student is not only fed, but also heard.

The Urban School Food Alliance has been busy at School Nutrition Association ! In our first pre-con session, Dr. Katie Wilson led a panel of school nutrition experts, including member San Diego Unified School District's Director of Food and Nutrition Services Alicia Pitrone Hauser, on tips for better forecasting. Attendees learned how to receive the best quality food (at a reasonable price) — delivered on time to their district.

ICYMI: Urban School Food Alliance leadership and members have three pre-conference workshops this Saturday, July 13 at School Nutrition Association !

📈 8am-12pm - Team Up for Procurement Success: Your Future is Brighter with Forecasting with Dr. Katie Wilson

🏫 9:30am-1pm - Meal Service in America's Oldest Schools: Tour of Boston Public Schools

🧩 3pm-5pm - Putting the Procurement Puzzle Together with Dr. Katie Wilson

Pre-Conference Workshops - SNA Annual National Conference About the Pre-Conference Workshops Extend your learning and strengthen your knowledge by traveling to ANC one day early for pre-conference workshops. These sessions, which require additional registration, target all key areas and range from express options to half-day, in-depth workshops. Take full....

Exciting changes coming to member New York City Public Schools over the next five years, including café-style seating and deli-like grab-and-go meals. The dining environment is an important part of the overall experience for students and these cafeteria transformations are bringing more students to the lunch room and the lunch line!

NYC schools get $150 million for cafeteria upgrades (which might mean kids will eat more) Earlier this year, NYC officials blamed the upgraded cafeterias for encouraging kids to eat more, and as a result, they cut popular foods from school menus.

ICYMI: Hunger doesn't end when classes do! Nearly 30 million children participate in USDA's school breakfast and lunch programs. SUN Meals provides free, convenient meals and snacks for kids during the summer at schools, parks, libraries, and other neighborhood locations. Learn more and find local meal sites: https://www.fns.usda.gov/summer/sitefinder

ICYMI: Attendees of this year's Culinary Institute of America training represented chefs, dietitians, and food service trainers from Urban School Food Alliance members nationwide! They brought incredible best practices and problem solving to the group and left with new skills and plant-forward recipes to take back to their teams and districts. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4bLhuc5

Member Los Angeles Unified School District's famous coffee cake has been on the menu for more than 60 years! The recipe has changed with nutrition standards, and now includes whole grains, no trans fats, and reduced sugar and sodium, but the student love remains the same. In fact, every year Cafe-la Lausd serves up 800,000 slices of the coffee cake a year across 700 cafeterias! Learn more via The 74: https://bit.ly/4bm92PF

📸: Danielle Chiriguaya

📢 Headed to School Nutrition Association next month? Register for Dr. Wilson's interactive pre-conference workshop and take the stress out of procurement! Bring your procurement hot buttons and let's talk it through. You will leave with a better idea of how to prepare a bid that gets you what you want, when you want it and at the best price available. https://bit.ly/4aOiXNq

ICYMI: Decision makers need to understand that programs do not only reduce food insecurity for children, but they also support local economies, provide well paying jobs, and help teachers do what they were hired to do - provide excellent educational experiences! (via The New York Times)

How Free School Meals Went Mainstream Over the past decade, many more schools started to offer free meals to all children, regardless of family income.