The Pine Bush Central School District recently 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), Pine Bush received the Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals Award for its work in providing more scratch-made healthy meals for students.

The Innovation in the Preparation of School Meals Award winners incorporated new menu items that are prepared from scratch using a local agricultural product or USDA food in accordance with the USDA recipe standardization process and incorporated student engagement.

At Pine Bush, Caitlin Lazarski, director of school nutrition, submitted three new recipes made from scratch, that support local agriculture whenever possible. She provided tastings at several schools to encourage students to try lunch items.

Her submitted recipes included nachos made with New York State beef; garlic parmesan zucchini made with locally-grown zucchini, and fiesta corn salad made with New York State frozen corn, peppers and onions.

“We are so proud of Caitlin and the entire staff in our School Nutrition Department,” said Superintendent of Schools Joseph Lenz. “They have always prioritized the nutritional needs of our students. Caitlin continually looks for ways to improve the quality of the meals served. Receiving this award is a testament to her creativity and dedication to feeding our children.”

“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 Pine Bush 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.”

Congratulations to Caitlin Lazarski and her entire School Nutrition team here in Pine Bush! Without a doubt, they put the health and wellness of our students first with every meal they serve.