Princeton, NJ – Last September the Princeton Public Schools announced a contract with a new food services provider, Pomptonian Food Service, and also the hiring of a new food systems “literacy coordinator,” Shannon Barlow.

Among other priorities announced at that time were “matching school foods to curriculum, to seasons, to student demographics, to equity, and to the district’s Edible Gardens at each of the six campuses” and “strengthening the expanded Garden State on Your Plate farm-to-table program, which celebrates a produce item every month at each of the K12 cafeterias and ensures that the produce item is served twice a week as part of the National School Lunch Program hot line and represents world cuisines and cultures.”

“Food literacy” apparently translates into an appetizing and healthy school lunch menu. The School District has just announced that Princeton has been awarded the Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award for Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, in partnership with Action for Healthy Kids.

According to a district press release, the award celebrates the district’s creative and collaborative efforts to improve the quality and nutrition of school meals—especially through the use of fresh, local ingredients and “scratch cooking” (avoiding processed foods).