Three Tennessee School Systems Recognized by USDA for Best Practices
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Department of Education is proud today to announce three Tennessee school systems have received top honors from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for best practices in school nutrition.
Knox County (Powell High), Montgomery County (Burt Elementary) and Unicoi County Schools were recognized by the Southeast Regional Office of the USDA in various categories related to school health and nutrition including increasing participation in school breakfast and lunch and customer service.
“I’m very proud of our school districts for doing an outstanding job of providing healthy options for our students during the school day,” Education Commissioner Timothy Webb said. “School meals and health programs are vital to the academic success of our children and their overall success.”
The three school systems selected by the USDA were chosen from several schools and systems nominated by the State Department of Education. All schools and systems in the state could apply for consideration in the competition as part of the department’s School Nutrition Program.
The schools and systems were recognized for their performance in one of the following categories determined by the Southeast Regional Office of the USDA: Promoting a Healthy School Environment, Increasing Participating in School Lunch and/or School Breakfast, Customer Service, Food Safety, and Creative Utilization of Commodities. Overall, eight Tennessee programs were nominated this year. They are:
Promoting a Healthy School Environment: Customer Service:
Jackson County Schools Unicoi County Schools
Knox County Schools Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools – Burt Elem.
Knox County Schools
School Breakfast Expansion:
Knox County Schools
Knox County Schools – Powell High School
Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools-Northwest High School
For more information, contact Rachel Woods at (615) 253-1960 or Rachel.Woods@tn.gov.
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