Huntington, IN October 16, 2026 – Huntington County Community Schools received a Healthy Meals Incentives Recognition Award for improving the nutritional quality of their school meals. Awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) in collaboration with Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK), Huntington County Community Schools received the Lunch Trailblazer Award for work in improving the nutrition quality of school lunches by increasing access to fresh, healthy foods daily, meeting weekly sodium guidelines, and implanting student engagement and nutrition education.
“We congratulate Huntington County Community Schools on this important achievement,” said Rob Bisceglie, Executive Officer & President for Action for Healthy Kids. “The HMI Recognition Awards are an opportunity to showcase innovative school nutrition practices that provide children with access to nutritious school meals,” he added.
“One of America’s best opportunities to improve child health is by supporting schools in providing tasty and nutritious meals,” said Cindy Long, administrator of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service. “This Recognition Award highlights the remarkable achievements HCCS has made in offering nutritious meals that students enjoy, and we look forward to them sharing their best practices to help other schools follow in their footsteps.” Long added that each school day, USDA school meal programs reach around 30 million children from all communities and backgrounds across the country.
“My bucket is full,” stated HCCS Food Services Director Alex Burgess when asked to comment on his reaction to receiving this prestigious award. “This recognition is a testament to the dedication and care that our cafeteria employees put into the meals that serve the students in our school district every day. They go above and beyond the standard expectation of K12 food service to ensure that our children have fresh, natural options to choose from for breakfast and lunch every day. I am just blessed to be in a position to support them in their endeavors.”
As an award recipient, HCCS will receive national and local recognition and travel stipends to attend a national Healthy Meals Summit in Las Vegas, NV. The HMI Recognition Awards are open to all school districts, and more information can be found at www.healthymealsincentives.org/recognition-awards/.
AFHK is recognizing school districts that have made improvements to the nutritional quality of their school meals as part of a cooperative agreement to develop and implement the USDA FNS’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative. The Recognition Awards spotlight innovative practices, student and community engagement activities, and strategies schools have used to provide meals that are consistent with the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Healthy school meals are an essential part of the school environment and a proven tool for improving a child’s health, growth, development, and educational outcomes. AFHK and USDA are committed to working together to strengthen school meals and investment in a bright future for our children.
About USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service
USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service works to end hunger and improve food and nutrition security through a suite of 16 nutrition assistance programs, such as the school breakfast and lunch programs, WIC and SNAP. Together, these programs serve 1 in 4 Americans over the course of a year, promoting consistent and equitable access to healthy, safe, and affordable food essential to optimal health and well-being. FNS also provides science-based nutrition recommendations through the co-development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. FNS’s report, “Leveraging the White House Conference to Promote and Elevate Nutrition Security: The Role of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service,” highlights ways the agency will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy, released in conjunction with the historic White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022. To learn more about FNS, visit www.fns.usda.gov and follow @USDANutrition.
About Action for Healthy Kids
Action for Healthy Kids is dedicated to improving children’s health and well-being by bringing together and mobilizing educators, families, and other key stakeholders to help children lead healthy lives. Through its core programming and family-school partnerships, Action for Healthy Kids has impacted more than 20 million children in 55,000 schools nationwide to address systemic challenges in underserved communities. In 2023, AFHK joined in a cooperative agreement with USDA Food and Nutrition to help implement the Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, designed to improve the nutritional quality of school meals through food systems transformation, school food authority recognition, and technical assistance. To learn more about its growing network of volunteers and champions, visit: actionforhealthykids.org.