Turnip the Beet! High-Quality Summer Meals Award Program

Award Overview

The Turnip the Beet! Awards recognize outstanding summer meal program sponsors across the nation who work hard to offer high quality meals that are appetizing, appealing, and nutritious to children during the summer months.

Summer meals are critical in the lives of millions of our nation’s youth, whose risk for hunger increases during the summer months when they no longer have access to the school meal programs. Summer meal programs, including the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and the Seamless Summer Option (SSO), present the opportunity to help alleviate summertime hunger and positively impact children’s growth and development by offering nutritious meals. High quality summer meals provide daily energy and help make sure children are healthy and ready to learn when they return to school in the fall.

The Turnip the Beet! Awards were created to showcase sponsors who are going above and beyond to ensure that children in their care are receiving high-quality meals that are both nutritious and appetizing. These awards are aligned with USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ priorities to create new opportunities to connect America’s farmers to nutrition assistance programs, infuse the federal nutrition programs with new energy and vision, and strengthen strategies to encourage healthy choices, healthy outcomes, and healthy families.

2026 Turnip the Beet! Awards

We are pleased to share the 2026 Turnip the Beet! nomination packet.

2025 Turnip the Beet! Award Winners

For summer 2025, we recognize 170 winners, with a total of 47 gold, 100 silver, and 23 bronze recipients. Congratulations to all awardees!

Gold

Arlington ISD (TX)
Auburn SD (WA)
Bartow County School Nutrition (GA)
Boys & Girls Club of the Columbia Basin (WA)
Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell Nutrition Team (MA)
Charlotte Public Schools (MI)
College Station ISD Nutrition Services (TX)
Colonial SD Nutrition Services (DE)
Crosby ISD (TX)
Crowley ISD (TX)
DC Public Schools - Self-Operated Schools (DC)
Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD (TX)
Fenton Area Public Schools (MI)
Galva-Holstein Community SD (IA)
Garland ISD (TX)
Gordon County School Nutrition (GA)
Irving ISD (TX)

Ivy Preparatory Academy (GA)
Judson ISD Child Nutrition (TX)
Kansas City Kansas Public Schools (KS)
La Villa ISD (TX)
Lamar CISD (TX)
Lawndale Elementary SD (CA)
Live Oak SD (CA)
Lodi USD (CA)
Magnolia ISD Child Nutrition Department (TX)
Manteca USD (CA)
Medical University of South Carolina (SC)
Monroe County Community Schools Corporation (IN)
Morongo USD (CA)
North Hills Cares, Inc. (PA)
Northwestern Ohio Community Action Commission (OH)

Pasadena ISD Nutrition Services (TX)
Pharr-San Juan-Alamo ISD (TX)
Redlands USD Child Nutrition Services (CA)
Rockdale County Public Schools (GA)
San Luis Coastal USD Food & Nutrition Services (CA)
San Miguel Joint USD (CA)
Santa Rosa ISD (TX)
Schaller-Crestland Community SD (IA)
Vermillion SD (SD)
Vista USD (CA)
West Ada SD (ID)
Willis ISD Child Nutrition (TX)
YES Prep Public Schools (TX)
Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint USD Child Nutrition Services (CA)
Zeeland Public Schools (MI)

Silver

Aldine ISD Child Nutrition (TX)
Anahuac ISD (TX)
Aramark Student Nutrition - William Floyd SD (NY)
Atchison County Multi-Purpose Center (MO)
Atlanta Public Schools (GA)
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation (IN)
Beaufort County Schools (NC)
Beeville ISD (TX)
Belle Fourche SD (SD)
Bentonville Schools (AR)
Bethlehem Area SD (PA)
Bibb County School Nutrition Summer Feeding Program (GA)
Big Horn County SD #1 (WY)
Bonneville Joint SD 93 (ID)
Boys and Girls Club of Massillon (OH)
Boys and Girls Club of Vernon (TX)
Burleson ISD (TX)
Camden County Schools (GA)
Carbondale ESD #95 (IL)
Caroline County Public Schools Summer Food Services (MD)
Cartersville City School Nutrition (GA)
Catawba County Schools (NC)
Central Texas Food Bank (TX)
Chicago Public Schools (IL)
City of Atlanta (GA)
Clayton County Public Schools (GA)
Cobb County SD (GA)
Coffee County School Nutrition (GA)
Coldwater Community Schools (MI)
Columbus Public Schools (NE)
Craven County School Nutrition (NC)
Culberson County-Allamoore ISD (TX)
Danville Community School Corporation (IN)

DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DC)
Dickinson ISD (TX)
Douglas County School Nutrition (GA)
Eagle Pass ISD (TX)
East Central ISD (TX)
Evans County School Nutrition Program (GA)
Fallbrook Union Elementary SD (CA)
Fallbrook Union High SD (CA)
Fort Bend ISD (TX)
Frankston ISD (TX)
Fulton County School Nutrition Program (GA)
Goochland County Public Schools Nutrition Program (VA)
Green Bay SD (WI)
Green Mountain Farm to School (VT)
Gregory-Portland ISD (TX)
Hall County School Nutrition (GA)
Hastings Public Schools (NE)
Hesperia USD Nutrition Services (CA)
Indianapolis Public Schools (IN)
Katy ISD Nutrition & Food Service (TX)
Kent City Community School (MI)
Kern High SD (CA)
La Joya ISD (TX)
Lewisville ISD (TX)
Mattoon CUSD #2 (IL)
McLean County Public Schools (KY)
Meigs Local SD (OH)
Mesquite ISD (TX)
Midlothian ISD (TX)
Monroe County School Nutrition Program (GA)
Monroe Family YMCA (MI)
Moreno Valley USD (CA)
Navasota ISD (TX)
North Clackamas SD (OR)

North East ISD (TX)
Northern IL Food Bank (IL)
Northwest ISD Child Nutrition (TX)
Ogallala Public Schools (NE)
O'Neill Public Schools (NE)
Parks Tacoma (WA)
Peace Baptist Church (GA)
Pender County Schools (NC)
Pitt County School Nutrition Services Summer Feeding Program (NC)
Pittsburgh Public Schools (PA)
Putnam County School Nutrition (GA)
Reading Public Schools (MA)
Ripon Area SD (WI)
Rockdale ISD (TX)
Round Rock ISD (TX)
San Antonio ISD (TX)
San Diego USD Food & Nutrition Services (CA)
San Marcos CISD Child Nutrition (TX)
Small Treasures Learning Center, Inc. (GA)
South Sioux City Community Schools (NE)
Southmoreland SD Food Service (PA)
Stevens Point Area Public SD (WI)
Storm Lake Community SD (IA)
Taylor ISD (TX)
Three Rivers SD (OR)
Tri Cities Family YMCA (MI)
Upriver Youth Leadership Council (ID)
Visalia USD (CA)
Warrick County School Corporation (IN)
Watertown Student Lunch (CT)
YMCA of the Northern Sky (ND)
York Public Schools (NE)
Yuba City USD (CA)

Bronze

Avoyelles Parish School Board (LA)
Bernalillo Public Schools (NM)
Cassadaga Valley CSD (NY)
Celina City Schools (OH)
Dodge County School Nutrition (GA)
East Hartford Public Schools (CT)
Fannin County Recreation Department (GA)
Food Bank of Eastern Michigan (MI)

Fort Wayne Community Schools (IN)
Fremont City SD (OH)
Greater Cleveland Food Bank (OH)
Henry County School Nutrition (GA)
Jeff Davis County School Nutrition (GA)
Merrillville Community School Corporation (IN)
Mossyrock SD (WA)
MSD of Decatur Township Schools (IN)

Palm Springs USD (CA)
Pleasant View Elementary SD (CA)
St. Vincent De Paul - Good Harvest Community Kitchen (MD)
Tift County School Nutrition (GA)
Troup County Schools (GA)
Valparaiso Community Schools (IN)
Waynesboro Area SD (PA)

Resources for Serving High Quality Meals

We have an abundance of resources available to sponsors to help make summer meals more appetizing, appealing, and nutritious:

The Nutrition Guide for Sponsors includes best practices and tips for serving high quality meals and incorporating local foods, as well as sample cycle menus.
The Team Nutrition Resource Library has free nutrition education materials to help reinforce and complement the nutrition messages taught by serving healthful foods.
The Farm to Summer Factsheet describes how to “bring the farm” to summer sites.