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Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards and Grants

Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Awards

USDA and Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) are collaborating to offer Recognition Awards to celebrate School Food Authorities (SFA) that have made significant improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals.

These awards will spotlight innovative practices, student and community engagement activities, and strategies schools have used to provide meals that are consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Awardees will receive:
  • National and Local Recognition
  • Digital Toolkit
  • Travel Stipend to attend a National Healthy Meals Summit

Important Dates
June 30, 2023 – Applications Open

June 30, 2025 – Applications Close
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis

Recognition Awards

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Click here for a brief overview of each award criteria.

Each SFA has the opportunity to apply for the 8 recognition awards presented below. They may receive recognition for each award once throughout the application period.
*Only small and/or rural school food authorities eligible.

Breakfast Trailblazer
 Small and/or Rural SFA
Breakfast Trailblazer*

 		 Lunch Trailblazer
Small and/or Rural SFA
Lunch Trailblazer*
 Innovative School Lunch Makeover
Innovation in the Cultural Diversity of School Meals
 Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals
 Innovation in Nutrition Education

Resources

Congratulations to the Texas HMI Recognition Awardees

Coleman ISD - Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals

Congratulations to the Texas HMI Grantees

As part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, Action for Healthy Kids announced that 18 Texas schools were awarded nearly $2 million to support their efforts in improving the nutritional quality of their school meals and supporting local agriculture. All HMI grantees will be required to apply for one or more of the HMI Recognition Awards. 
Congratulations to our 18 Texas grantees!
 
  • Aquilla ISD
  • Austin Achieve Public Schools
  • Beta Academy
  • Coleman ISD
  • Collinsville ISD
  • Florence ISD
  • Hawley ISD
  • Italy ISD
  • Miles ISD
  • Millsap ISD
  • Plainview ISD
  • Port Aransas ISD
  • Riviera ISD
  • Santa Anna ISD
  • Sinton ISD
  • Terrell County ISD
  • Waxahachie Faith Family Academy
  • Winnsboro ISD

Assistance available in English and Spanish. Please call 877-TEX-MEAL (877-839-6325) for help. Additional translations services available as well.

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
 

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
 

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
1. Mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
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