Urban School Food Alliance

✈️ Headed to SNA ANC in Charlotte, NC next month? Make sure to vote for your favorite recipe! One of our member districts, The School District of Palm Beach County is in the TOP 4 finalists of the J.T.M. Crave Contest! Stop by booth 2823 at ANC to taste and vote!

Palm Beach County School District Visit Sneak Peek Take a quick look at our visit to Palm Beach County School District...

RESOURCE SHARE: 🍓Digging In - Farm to School Activities, Case Studies, and Resources
🔗 https://bit.ly/4uypdmj

"Imagine a student biting into a fresh strawberry from a local farm or pulling a carrot from the school garden. Farm to school experiences spark curiosity, encourage healthy habits, and deepen students’ connections to the places where they live and learn.

There is no single blueprint for farm to school — every community is unique. Whether you are launching a new initiative or strengthening an existing program, this resource offers hands-on activities, real-world case studies, and adaptable strategies to help you expand farm to school programming.

Let’s dig in together."

This resource was created by the Center for Ecoliteracy in partnership with CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California. Thanks for your hardworking and dedication creating this resource!

🎉80 Amazing Years of School Meals: 1946 – 2026 🍎 On this day, June 4, 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch Act, creating a program that would nourish millions of children for generations to come.

Today, we proudly celebrate 80 Amazing Years of the National School Lunch Program and extend our deepest gratitude to every school nutrition professional who has worked tirelessly in cafeterias across the country.

From early morning prep to serving smiles with every meal — thank you for your dedication, passion, and care over the past eight decades. You’ve made history every single day.

🍎 As we celebrate 80 years of the National School Lunch Program, the Urban School Food Alliance is proud to support ButcherBox’s Raise the Tray initiative. We believe students deserve stronger quality standards for the meat and seafood they receive in school — matching the standards already set for fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Together, we can help build a healthier future for school lunch.

Take action today: Sign the petition and help Raise the Tray!
👉 Sign the Petition: https://bit.ly/3RKGrPQ

🗓️YOU'RE INVITED! Local Producer Webinar tomorrow, 6/4/2026 at 12:30pm CST

This Local Producer Webinar, hosted by USFA, is open to anyone - but will be especially insightful for those in the state of Alabama. The event is co-hosted by the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries AND Elmore County Child Nutrition.

The webinar will give an overview of school food procurement and introduce producers to school districts as potential revenue streams from their operations.

👉 Register Now: https://bit.ly/4o9Nluf

As we celebrate 80 years of the National School Lunch Program, USFA is proud to partner with ButcherBox. Together, we’re working to ensure students receive better quality proteins in school meals.

“ButcherBox has spent more than a decade proving that better standards lead to better meat and seafood. As we mark the 80th anniversary of the National School Lunch Program, the gap in protein quality standards for school meals feels impossible to ignore.
We're proud of the momentum behind Raise the Tray and grateful for partners like the Urban School Food Alliance who are helping push this work forward.” - Kelly Hilovsky, Senior Director of Impact and Sustainability at ButcherBox

👉 butcherbox.com

🍎 Day 3: The Future is Clean! 🍎 As part of our 80th anniversary celebration of the National School Lunch Program, the Urban School Food Alliance is proud to highlight our work building a healthier future for school meals.

Our Boost the Roost NAE Chicken Pilot successfully introduced 100% antibiotic-free chicken into school cafeterias across the country proving that clean-label, high-quality proteins can be scaled in schools.

We believe that if we truly want to improve children’s health for generations to come, we must start with school meals. The future is clean!

Read the full pilot recap and results here: 👉 https://bit.ly/43JJSZL

🍎 Day 2: Watch the Needle Move – We’re All In! 🍎 As part of our 80th anniversary celebration of the National School Lunch Program, the Urban School Food Alliance is proud to partner with Eat Real Certified to transform school meals nationwide.

We’re excited by the growing momentum and continued conversations with more of our member districts — including some of the largest in the country (with more to come!):
✅ Miami-Dade County Public Schools (FL) MDCPS Department of Food and Nutrition
✅ The School District of Palm Beach County (FL)
✅ Seattle Public Schools (WA)

As Eat Real noted: “We are also excited by continued conversations with more Alliance members… to move the needle on transforming school nutrition.”

The Urban School Food Alliance is fully committed to being a leading change agent, working every day to deliver healthier, fresher, and more responsibly sourced meals for all students across America.

We’re all in — join us!

🍎 Celebrating Our Districts on the Eat Real Journey 🍎 As part of our 80th anniversary celebration of the National School Lunch Program, we’re highlighting powerful partnerships that help us serve students better.

Today we celebrate three Urban School Food Alliance member districts that have started their Real Certified journey:
✅ Diego Unified School District (CA) Coast Cafe
✅ ISD (TX)
✅ County Public Schools (GA) County School Nutrition Program

We’re pleased to support these forward-thinking districts! As Eat Real says: “We are so thrilled to have San Diego Unified, Aldine ISD, and Gwinnett County start their Eat Real journey!”

Here’s what Alicia Pitrone Hauser, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at San Diego Unified had to say: “We joined Eat Real because it aligns perfectly with our vision to set a standard of excellence in school nutrition where our food is culturally relevant and reliably delicious, where student voices are invited and valued, and where our people can grow.”

The Alliance is committed to delivering meals that are more delicious, nutritious, and responsibly sourced. Working with Eat Real helps our districts showcase their great work and find even more ways to provide the best possible meals for students every day.

Eating Real, Together!

🍎 Day 2: Celebrating 80 Years with Eat Real 🍎 As part of our 80th anniversary celebration of the National School Lunch Program, the Urban School Food Alliance is shining a light on partners who share our vision for stronger school meals.

Today we celebrate Eat Real Certified - a doctor-led, science-based program helping school foodservice leaders serve meals that are more delicious, nutritious, and responsibly sourced. Their mission? Prevent diet-related illness before it starts.

We couldn’t agree more with their powerful statement: “The cafeteria can change the future.”

Eat Real by the numbers:
🍊 Serving 1.3 million students
🥑 Across 2,074 schools
🍐 In 21 states

Our partnership is built on shared values:
✅ Minimally processed, cleaner ingredient meals
✅ Data-driven impact
✅ Passion for uplifting school nutrition leaders

Thank you, Eat Real, for helping us build a brighter future through school lunch!
Learn more: https://bit.ly/43Kv2SK