The School District of Palm Beach County, Florida
Nutrition Education, Standards & Promotion
During the 2017-2018 school year, the School Food Service Department partnered with a HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) Specialist with the Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness (FNW) under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) to submit 39 HUSSC applications.
The applications were submitted in different phases and at the end of June 2018, 10 schools were approved.?? The schools recognized were:
We also had the pleasure of recognizing 22 elementary schools that had submitted HUSSC applications the school year before.?? These schools were invited and recognized at the Wellness Promotion Task Force (WPTF) Meeting on February 15, 2018 and the School Board Meeting on April 18, 2018.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) established HUSSC in 2004 to recognize schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have voluntarily created healthier school environments.?? In total, we have 72 schools certified after starting with 2 schools in 2012.?? All of these schools have worked diligently to qualify for this award and make their school a healthier place to learn and achieve. ??These efforts contribute to the prevention of childhood obesity and will have a lifelong impact on the health and wellness of the lives of their students.
All qualifying schools received a HealthierUS School Challenge award banner for display and were presented with a plaque signed by Sonny Perdue, United States Secretary of Agriculture. ??In addition to the banner and plaque, these schools received $500 for achieving Bronze level and $1,000 for achieving Silver level to spend on nutrition, wellness, or garden-related items for their school.