Written by : Lea Kahn – September 3, 2025
Move over corn dogs, four-cheese enchiladas with local radish slaw are on the menu for lunch in the Princeton Public Schools.
The school district recently was awarded the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service in partnership with Action for Healthy Kids. It earned the award for innovative menus that go beyond traditional lunchroom fare, such as hot dogs and macaroni and cheese.
The Princeton Public Schools has made efforts to improve the quality of school meals – especially through the use of fresh, local ingredients and “from scratch” cooking, school district officials said.
The initiatives that helped the district to earn recognition include locally inspired menu items such as street corn, meatball parmesan made with local crushed tomatoes and fried rice that features local peas and spinach.
The school district participates in Garden State on Your Plate, which is a farm-to-school literacy program that brings local tastings to students. Chefs and farmers go into the school cafeterias with sample sizes of simple recipes made with season and local produce.
Garden State on Your Plate is an initiative of the Princeton School Gardens. Each school has its own garden, where students grow lettuce and other produce. The lettuce is used in the schools’ salads.
Garden State on Your Plate features apples, beets, cranberries, sweet potatoes, kale and bok choy. Cucamelons and lemon sorrel are crowd favorites at the elementary schools, officials said. The garden at Princeton High School has tomatoes, peppers, two pumpkins and some corn.
The Nutrition Advisory meetings, which is another initiative that helped the school district to gain recognition, gives students a voice in shaping the school menus, officials said.
And in another example of hands-on student involvement that helped to win the award, Princeton High School special needs students husked the local corn that was used in school lunches last fall.
The USDA’s recognition reflects the efforts of the school district’s food service team, school staff, students, families and community partners.