Manatee Schools Food & Nutrition Services Wins Best Practice Award

BRADENTON - On Tuesday, December 1st Manatee County Schools Food & Nutrition Services department accepted the bronze Best Practice Award for Increased Expansion and Participation in the USDA Summer BreakSpot Challenge.

This award is for sponsors who showed the greatest expansion in participation between 2014 and 2015 in their summer feeding program. The award was presented by USDA FNS Southeast Regional Administrator Robin Bailey at the 2016 Summer BreakSpot Summer Partners Meeting held in Tampa.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Food, Nutrition and Wellness’ Summer BreakSpot Challenge was designed to highlight the innovative, creative and unique processes developed and implemented by sponsors of the summer feeding program. Manatee County Schools won the bronze Best Practice award for Increased Expansion and Participation in their summer feeding program by serving breakfast, lunch, and snacks to 57 sites totaling over 223,621 meals served in 10 weeks during the summer of 2015.

The district worked with community partners like the Boys & Girls Club, United Way, Meals on Wheels, Manatee County Parks and Recreation Department, the Bradenton Housing Authority, local backpack programs and different religious organizations to reach more children who were in need of meals.

These partnerships and new expansions in the program created an increase in participation and a growth of 24.89% in breakfast and 33.08% in lunch meals.

Vans, school buses, and a two mobile feeding bus were used to deliver meals across Manatee County. Food and Nutrition Services expanded their summer feeding program by implementing a second mobile feeding bus. Both retrofitted buses provided an opportunity to reach children north and south of the river that were not able to get to a site for a meal. The buses were able to serve seven lunch site locations providing an additional 27,262 total lunches.

About Manatee County Schools Food and Nutrition Services

As a self-supported program the mission of Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) is to provide quality nutritious meals so student can learn and succeed. As a student centered program FNS strives to cultivate a healthier future in an ever changing global society. FNS serves over five million student lunches and breakfasts each year and provides service to over 80% of the student population.

For more information please contact Food and Nutrition Service 941-708-8800, or visit www.manateeschoolfood.net.