HCPSS to implement farm-to-table initiative, taste tests, town hall meetings and more to improve school meals beginning in the fall
Today, officials from the Howard County Public School System (HCPSS), the Healthier Choices Coalition and the Horizon Foundation announced new planned initiatives to improve school meals at all public schools beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.
“The school system, Horizon Foundation and the Healthier Choices Coalition are jointly invested in the health and wellbeing of students, making this the perfect partnership,” said Superintendent of Schools, William J. Barnes. “Together, we are providing students with healthy and fulfilling food options that exceed nutritional expectations and are informed by students. I appreciate the continued partnership of the Coalition, the Horizon Foundation and the daily efforts of our entire food and nutrition team for your work that directly supports student achievement.”
The Healthier Choices Coalition, a group of Howard County residents and organizations working to create policy change that will make healthier food and drink more accessible and affordable, worked with HCPSS over the last year to gather students’ and parents’ feedback about school meals and design solutions to make improvements.
“The Healthier Choices Coalition has been working for the last three years to fight diabetes and hunger in Howard County and to make healthier food and drinks more accessible and affordable to everyone in our community,” said Alice Harris, lead organizer of the Healthier Choices Coalition. “We are so excited about this new partnership with the school system to ensure that our students receive healthy, nutritious meals during the school day that will help support their academic and overall well-being. We are also incredibly grateful for the support of Superintendent Barnes and for Mr. Brian Ralph, Director of HCPSS’s Food and Nutrition Services, who has been so willing to collaborate with us and listen to feedback from students and their families.”
The Coalition conducted a survey of nearly 375 parents and students from across the county on their perceptions of school breakfast and lunch menu options. Overall, parents and students requested healthier, fresher, better tasting, and higher quality school food options. They also requested improved feedback loops and communication between parents, students and the food and nutrition service.
The Coalition took these survey results to HCPSS, which today pledged to:
- Implement a Farm-to-School Table pilot program to incorporate locally or regionally produced foods into school cafeterias. Working with other HCPSS academic programs (e.g., health education, culinary, etc.), provide promotional activities and experiential learning to support nutritional education.
- Conduct at least two regional, dinner-time taste tests for parents and students to try and rate existing and new potential menu items.
- Conduct town hall meetings with student groups including the Howard County Association of Student Councils and parent groups including the PTA Council of Howard County to obtain feedback and suggestions on how to improve the quality, taste and appearance of food served by the Food and Nutrition Service.
- Utilize LINQ Connect, the food and nutrition portal, to secure timely feedback on school food from parents and students throughout the school year, including disseminating school food feedback survey results and actions taken by the Food and Nutrition Service in response.
- Hold regional roundtable discussions to receive parent/student feedback on the cultural appropriateness of food being served by the Food and Nutrition Service.
- Implement a shared-table pilot program in selected schools to investigate whether doing so will reduce food waste.
“School meals play a critical role in promoting student health, well-being, academic success and equity,” said Brian Ralph, director of food and nutrition services at HCPSS. “The primary goal of the collaboration between the HCPSS Food and Nutrition Service, Horizon Foundation and the Healthier Choices Coalition is to develop a countywide promotional campaign focused not only on providing healthier, nutritional and cost-effective meal options in our schools but also to find ways to support parent and student confidence in the food service program. We believe that the collaboration will also result in increasing food security and reducing hunger in a manner that inspires public confidence.”
“Through our work in the underserved school community, we see firsthand how many students, staff and families struggle to access healthy food,” said Anna Beavan, founder and executive director of the Lindaben Foundation and a member of the Healthier Choices Coalition. “This partnership with the Howard County Public School System is incredibly exciting. It will ensure that every student, especially those relying on free and reduced meals, WIC and SNAP, will have access to healthier, fresher and better-tasting school meals starting next fall. Children who are well-fed are healthier and perform better in school.”
“All of our children and grandchildren should be able to access healthy, nutritious food,” said Yong Kim, president of the Korean American Senior Association and a member of the Healthier Choices Coalition. “This partnership with the Howard County Public School System will result in healthier, fresher and better tasting school meals for everyone. We are looking forward to seeing these initiatives get started in the fall.”
“The Horizon Foundation is incredibly proud to be a founding member of this coalition of incredible advocates who are working tirelessly to make healthier food and drinks more widely available and affordable,” said Glenn E. Schneider, Chief Program Officer at the Horizon Foundation. “We look forward to this important partnership with the school system to bring healthier, fresher and better tasting school meals to our students.”
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