Unionville-Chadds Ford School District Receives Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School District (UCFSD) Food Services Department recently received a Healthy Meals Incentives (HMI) Recognition Award for bringing “Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals.” Organized by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food, this national achievement is just one of only six in Pennsylvania awarded this year. 

The HMI Recognition Awards recognize and share best practices from school food authorities (SFA) who made operational changes to improve the nutritional quality of their school meals, as well as SFAs who engage students and families in nutrition education and the planning and preparation of nutritious school meals.

To earn this recognition, UCFSD Food Services incorporated recipes prepared from scratch using local agricultural products or USDA food under the USDA recipe standardization process. The recipes included Beef Pasta Bake with local ground beef, Local Herbed-Baked Chicken Drumsticks, Baked Local Cinnamon Apples and Local Mushroom Alfredo. These menu items were promoted through posters and social media channels, and students and staff also had the opportunity to interact with the local chef who helped develop the menu items.

“I am incredibly proud of our Food Services Department for earning this prestigious award,” Director of Finance Joe Deady said. “This award is a reflection of the planning and hard work of Ms. Sundberg, Ms. Baumeister and the entire food service team. Their dedication to providing nutritious and delicious meals for our students is truly commendable."

Sundberg shared that serving over 200,000 school lunches annually is more than just meeting federal guidelines, “it's about nourishing young minds and bodies with meals that feature local ingredients, include scratch cooking, and prove that delicious and nutritious can go hand-in-hand.”

As an award recipient, the UCFSD Food Services Department will receive national and local recognition and travel stipends to attend a national Healthy Meals Summit this summer. The HMI Recognition Awards are open to all school districts, and more information can be found here.